The Mall

Ah, a Saturday at West Edmonton Mall! There's nothing finer.

Of course, the main reason for today's trip was to see Iron Man. It was a great film, but.... there were no moments that blew me away. There were no moments that gave me goosebumps. There were no moments that made me geek out completely.

I blame the fact that all those moments are in all the trailers and TV spots, so by the time I saw them on the big screen, I had seen them many, many times.

But all in all, it was really good. I give it 3.5 nibs. I'll have a complete review in the days ahead.

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And since I was there, I thought I would partake in Free Comic Book Day. Usually the first Saturday in May, Free Comic Book Day is a comic book industry wide event in which comic book stores give out free comic books in an attempt to attract new readers.

I stopped in at my usual haunt, Comic King, and I have to say it went much better than my Free Comic Book Day experience at Comic King last year.

This is how it went down last year. I walked up to the front counter....

Me>> Hello.
Clerk>> How can I help you?
Me>> Is it true that today is Free Comic Book day?
Clerk>> (annoyed sigh) Yes.
Me>> May I have a free comic book, please?
The clerk muttered under his breath while he randomly grabbed a comic from a box behind the counter and tossed it to me.
Me>> thank you!

But this is how it went down this year. I walked into Comic King, and was greeted by a clerk who'd been working there forever. He gave me a great deal on a Star Trek action figure many moons ago.

Clerk>> Good day! How are you today?
Me>> I'm doing good.
Clerk>> Can I help you find anything?
Me>> Nope...just browsing.
Clerk>> Hey! Did you know that today is Free Comic Book Day?
Me>> (flabbergasted that he was freely offering this information) Umm, yeah, I think I read something...
Clerk>> Well, we've got all the free comics spread out on a table at the back of the store. Just head on over there and grab yourself one.
Me>> Um...thank you.
Clerk>> Ya know what? Grab yourself two!
Me>> Uh..wow! thank you very much!

Even though Free Comic Book Day would be the prefect opportunity to grab something new and different, I wussed out and went with the big two. DC's offering is a reprint of #1 of All Star Superman, and Marvel's offering was Secret Invasion Saga, which is everything you needed to know about Skrulls but were afraid to ask.

Although, I was sorely tempted to get Archie Comics' offering, which was a special issue of Jughead.

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I also managed to drift by the mall's petting zoo. I took a moment to stop and take a look at the animals.

Petting zoos make me feel sad. Being kept in a pen and put on display is one thing, but what's got to be worse is being kept in pen, put on display, and poked and prodded by hundreds of screaming kids. Not much of a life.... I hope that petting zoo animals eventually get retired to a nice big farm where they can run and be free from any screaming youngsters pulling on their ears.

I swear, I'm just two steps away from going vegetarian. Vegetarian, not vegan. I don't think I'd ever be able to give up starting my mornings with a nice cold glass of milk.