Celebrate Free Comic Book Day at Detroit Comics in Ferndale

Detroit Comics in Ferndale will celebrate Free Comic Book Day on Saturday, May 4, with giveaways, prizes, refreshments and visits from "Mouse Guard" creator David Petersen of Ferndale and Ernest R. Dickerson, who has directed several episodes of "The Walking Dead."

The event, which began in 2002, is held the first Saturday of May at shops around the world, according to the Free Comic Book Day website.

"It's a way of getting people into the comic book stores," said Brian Kelly, who co-owns Detroit Comics with his wife Lori. "There's kids who come in here and say: 'Hey! There's Super Man! There's Spider Man! They're in books?!' No one reads books anymore."

Monday Busque of Ferndale, who loaded up on comics Friday evening, said they can be a good way to engage kids.

"If I'm going to quote Scott McCloud's 'Understanding Comics,' it's one of the few story forms where writing and art come together. Kids are very visual and the art is very exaggerated and kids are drawn to it," he said. "I grew up with comic books – my dad got me into them."

Busque said the rise of indie comic books has kept him hooked as an adult.

"It's like a habit, a hobby, a passion and loyalty all in one," Kelly said.

If you go

• When: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, May 4; meet "Mouse Guard" creator David Petersen between 10:30 a.m. and noon and "The Walking Dead" director Ernest R. Dickerson between 2 and 4 p.m.*
• Where: Detroit Comics, 23333 Woodward Ave., Ferndale.
• Cost: Free, silly!
• What else: Visit Detroit Comics on Facebook for updates.

*The timing of Dickerson's appearance is somewhat fluid, as he is in Metro Detroit shooting a television show called "Low Winter Sun," which will dictate when he arrives, Kelly said.