May the Fourth Be With You: a reflection

I love Star Wars. I have ever since my grandma took me to see Star Wars in the theater in Yorkville, Illinois, in 1977. Who knew my life would be shaped in such a way on that unassuming trip to the movies.

I don’t know. I guess I accept it as a day for me, a fan of Star Wars. I appreciate when someone says to me, May the Fourth Be With You or Happy Star Wars Day. It makes me feel good. I enjoy my fandom. So how do I spend the day?

To start, I don’t take the day off from work. I am fortunate to work in an environment where I can wear a Star Wars shirt. So I get to show off my newest or most favorite Star Wars threads. This year, I wore my new Mandalorian and Grogu film t-shirt. I listened to my Star Wars playlist on Spotify as I got ready in the morning. I collected the limited May the Fourth cards on Star Wars Card Trader. It is always fun to see what card designs they come up with. This year, the cards were pretty much focused on the Mandalorian and Grogu. That is fine with me!

When I came home from work, I immediately fired up Disney+ and watched the final two episodes of Season One of Maul: Shadow Lord. I gasped, sat on the edge of my seat, said “Oh No!” many times, pondered, cheered, pondered some more, then it ended, and I was in disbelief. It is an amazing show and was a great way to celebrate Star Wars Day.

I wasn’t done. I knew I wanted to do more to celebrate my fandom in my own little way. My family left me alone (although I always do wish they would join me), and I decided to watch Solo: A Star Wars Story. I love this film and was always disappointed that it didn’t do better at the box office. I still can’t figure out why people didn’t care for it. I think it gets better the more it ages. It was hard for some to accept that someone other than Harrison Ford could play Han Solo, but I feel that Alden Ehrenreich did an exceptional job.

Anyway, I have to share a moment that just turned out perfect. When Solo and crew enter the malestrom on the way to Kessel, a thunderstorm heavy with lightning started to roll in outside. I had the window open so I could hear the thunder off in the distance. As the Kessel scene started to pick up with action in the mines, the storm hit outside and lasted all the way to the takeoff, and Kessel run in 12 parsecs. It was a dramatic play in the movie and a dramatic storm outside. It was great!

I didn’t want the night to end even though it was getting late on a work night. I let Rogue One roll anyway. I got about an hour in before I called it a night.

It was a great day and pretty par for the course over the last several May the 4ths. I love celebrating “Star Wars Day.” I know it isn’t for everyone. It isn’t their fandom, and I am totally cool with that. I mean, I don’t celebrate Die Hard at Christmas, which isn’t really parallel to this at all, but it was the best I could come up with. Well, May the Fourth Be With You…Always.  

Free Comic Book Day 2024: What to Expect

The annual "holiday" Free Comic Book Day is this Saturday, May 4!  It is that day when we are invited to our Local Comic Shop (LCS) to peruse a sizeable collection of Free Comic Books.  It is a fun day where many LCS's will host fun events and activities to celebrate the day.  Be sure to check with your LCS.  

Before we get to the fun stuff, I just want to remind you to thank your local owner for hosting this fun event and consider making a purchase when you are there to support their efforts.  These LCS owners took a risk on your community to support them, and most LCS's create a positive community of commonality with books, stories, and support.  Be sure to support them!  

Now, what to expect from the 2024 Free Comic Book Day!!  

Let's start with a universe you don't want to miss, Energon Universe.  This is a universe that includes G.I. Joe, the Transformers, and Void Rivals.  The art is excellent but might be rivaled by the writing of these books.  Be warned, if you grab this book on FCBD, you will want to add it to your pull list at your LCS. 

A free Marvel Book by Zeb Wells, yes please.  A free Marvel Ultimate Spiderman book, oh yeah!  A Free Comic Book Day Marvel book with Spidey, Cap, Iron Man, the Goblin, and Doom on the cover, I'm running to my LCS on Saturday to grab this.  It is the return of the Goblin and the debut of a new powerful hero to the Ultimate universe.  

Archie Horrors presents The Cursed Library Prelude.  The Cursed Library returns to FCBD and this year previewing a summer of horror stories.  This is a fun series and if you haven't experienced Archie Horror stories, be sure to pick up this prelude book on FCBD on Saturday.  

Finally, the kids love them, adults love them, and I love them...they are the Investigators.  I said it last year and it is still true today, I have a reluctant reader at home, but the Investigators always get a look and garner some chuckles too.  Join Mango and Brash on their undercover investigation to save the middle school Mascot
.  

This is just a small look at the offerings on Free Comic Book Day this Saturday, May 4.  Be sure to dress in your best Star Wars costume or t-shirt as FCBD is also May the Fourth Be With You Day!  But, you will find familiar titles like Conan the Barbarian, Pokemon, Disney's Encanto, Jonny Quest, Doctor Who, Monster High, and Snoopy

For a full look at the Free Comic Book Day Catalog, check out this link.  

See you at Free Comic Book Day!  

May the Fourth Be With You!

Happy May the Fourth Be with You!!  What a fun day to celebrate our fandom of Star Wars!  This year there are so many things to celebrate, but the 70-minute release of the new animated show, Star Wars: The Bad Batch, on Disney+ may be the most notable.  

There are so many ways to celebrate.  Starwars.com offers five ways to celebrate Star Wars Day.  It has become a tradition for me and my family that we celebrate by wearing Star Wars t-shirts on this day.  In fact, I invite everyone at the school I work at to wear Star Wars shirts or other Star Wars apparel.  It is not unusual for roughly 100 kids and staff to wear Star Wars apparel!  In other years, I walk around the lunch room with a microphone and ask students Star Wars trivia and I give away random Star Wars prizes. Since the pandemic has kept us from having lunch at school this year, it will be a tradition I will continue next year.

This year our foods classes will whip up some fun Star Wars food with May the Fourth recipes (Chewy Cookies and Lightsaber Pretzels) they found in the April/May edition of the Taste of Home magazine.  

This day gives all of us a positive, fun day to celebrate our fandom and to share it with the world.  What are some fun ways that you enjoy this day?  How do you share it with others?  Comment here or share on Twitter and tag me @draftline  Enjoy the day and May the Fourth be with You!