May the 4th Be With You at Grasshopper’s Comics
by Jenny Rolston
One of Williston Park’s most beloved local businesses, Grasshopper’s Comics, hosted the annual Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) on Saturday, May 4th.
“Each year stores nationwide give out literally millions of comic books in a wide variety of genres to introduce people of all ages to the wonders of the comic book artform,” says store owner John Riley.
“Free Comic Book Day books are made specifically for that day, and each year somewhere around 40 titles or so are made available for us to give out.”
The first FCBD was held in 2002, which coincided with the release of the first Spider-Man movie. Only two comic shops on Long Island, including the one in Williston Park, participated in that first year and it was an enormous event.
FCBD is always held on the first Saturday in May every year. Despite the hiatus in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid, the last few years participation has been steadily growing, with stores nationwide saying that crowds this year were definitely back to pre-Covid levels.
Adding to the fun this year was the fact that the event fell on “Star Wars Day.” May the 4th is the unofficial holiday for fans of the Star Wars franchise, a play of words from the famous Jedi phrase “May the Force be with you." Darth Vadar greeted customers on Hillside Avenue, posing for photos with fans often dressed in their Star Wars best.
In addition to mingling with Darth Vadar, and enjoying the selection of free comic books, guests got to see demonstrations by artist Tom Travers, a frequent guest at Grasshopper’s and the creator and illustrator of the Battle Skull comic book series.
Grasshopper’s Comics was founded in 1992 by John Riley and his wife Elaine, and have been named Long Island’s Favorite Comics Shop. Besides selling all the new comics which are still being published every week, Riley says they have approximately 200,000 back issues in stock and also stock somewhere around 10,000 different trade paperbacks and graphic novels.
FCBD is one of the two big events each year at Grasshopper’s. The other is for the John Theissen Childrens' Foundation which helps sick and underprivileged children throughout Long Island. The first Saturday in December each year the store hosts an all-day event with artists sketching for free, creator signings, appearances by superheroes, Santa Claus, Darth Vader and characters from Star Wars.
The entire day is a big toy drive and culminates in a giant raffle to support the foundation in which they raffle off over a hundred cool comic prizes including everything from rare signed comics to original art.
To date the store has raised a little over $250,000 to support children on Long Island and everyone is encouraged to come down and help continue to support a very worthy cause. Just another reason why Grasshopper’s Comics is truly a gem of Williston Park!
