Baseball Season is here. People that know me (Spare them your sympathy, they knew what they were getting into), know that I have three primary passions: Comics, Music and Baseball. It is probably no coincidence that Baseball, like comic books and Jazz music, is more and more frequently being viewed as a relic of simpler times. What was once the National Pastime now struggles to gain an audience even for its World Series. Oh, certainly there are still fans of the sport. There are enough fans to somehow pay the top players zillions of dollars, even while everyone from the team owners to the hot dog vendors say that the sport is choking on its own excessive spending. Just as the cost of a comic book has skyrocketed from a dime to nearly three bucks, the cost of an afternoon at the ballpark is now a luxury for which we pay dearly.

Still, passionate fans cling to every stat generated by every player (well, except maybe for the Brewers) as if each game was a matter of cosmic importance. We argue over who is the better shortstop: Jeter, Garciapara or A-Rod. We debate the merits of a solid defense versus a spectacular offense. When our friends compare Baseball to various sleep aids, we go into long lectures on the value of the game. We chastise them for not being able to see the strategy the goes on between every at bat, between every pitch. We tell them that this is a game that is about more than just home runs and final scores. This, we tell them, is a metaphor for the American Dream. We're a pompous and long winded bunch, and most sensible people avoid us, at least during the summer.

Which brings us to Free Comic Book Day.

Do you remember the first time you discovered Watchmen? Or perhaps it was Dark Knight Returns. It could have been any comic book, but you remember the excitement that you felt when you read it. It was like being allowed into an exclusive club. Sadly, comic book reader have become a more and more exclusive club with each passing year. Let's be frank here: That's why comics cost so much. It's simple math. Less people buy comics, so they have to charge more for the comic books that they do sell. Now, you're probably thinking, "What does this have to do with me? I don't even Like baseball?"

As long as comic books remain the providence of a small, elitest group of fans, then the world at large will continue to ignore the art that we care about. But there's hope for the masses. Sometimes all it take is a little exposure. Without that initial exposure you yourself would never have discovered the joy and fulfillment that are comic books. Now, it's your turn to spread that exposure, to set it loose on the wind like a viral fungus that grows and multiplies on contact with non comic readers. (And before any Pre-Med majors contact me, I know that there's no such thing as a viral fungus, but come on- we're talking comic books here.)

I'm challenging every comic reader who goes to this site, whether you shop at Ground Zero or somewhere else (Don't ask, don't tell), mark May 3rd on your calendar. Tell your friends about Free Comic Book Day. Make a date with that attractive member of the opposite sex for Free Comic Book Day. She/He will see just what a hip, with it kind of person you are. When that awkward moment at the end of the date comes and you are standing at the door desperately needing an icebreaker, you can say "Hey, how 'bout those Transformers? Do you think that the Decepticons will ever learn?" Trust me, sharing a hobby that you love is much better than any goodnight kiss and way more sanitary.

Like Baseball, comics are a part of America. They link us with a simpler time when only 10 cents bought you all the adventure that your imagination could handle. Some say that as people have moved away from comics, America has grown cynical and harsh. Perhaps it is time to warm up our great nation to the thrill that only comics can provide. Don't just do it for me, do it for America! Then, many years from now when your grandchild sits on your knee and asks, "Grampa, what did you do on Free Comics Book Day?", you won't have to tell them, "Well sonny, I sat at home and watched Jerry Springer."

Don't let oportunity pass you buy. Let's make this Free Comic Book Day the biggest ever.

Do it for your Future!

Do it for Baseball!

Do it for America!