ESSAY // 2.13.03

PROCLAMATION FOR MARCH 3rd
by Kyle Rivest

I hereby declare March 3rd to be International Read a Comic Book in Public Day.

Now, I'm sure many of you are saying something akin to "Wait a tick! You can't just go about declaring days to be some sort of event or what have you at your leisure!" Quite the contrary; I assure you that I can. I'm the Messiah of my own religion and this allows me to do all sorts of things beyond you mere mortal ken.

Now that we've gotten all the messy technical difficulties out of the way let me elaborate on what exactly International Read a Comic Book in Public Day entails. Everyone pay attention now, as it's rather complex and I don't like having to repeat myself, except in cases where it adds dramatic effect.

To celebrate International Read a Comic in Public Day, I want you--yes, that's right, you--to read a comic book in some sort of public place. Mind boggling, I know.

But wait, there's more! To further complicate things, I'm going to add a few conditions:

- The comic book you read has to be in pamphlet format. Such things are easily recognizable as comic books, and it would go against the spirit of International Read a Comic Book in Public Day to read something that could be mistaken for something else.

- Locally made mini-comics are encouraged, but not required. In fact, if the mini-comic isn't in pamphlet size, it's still allowable.

- Only one comic book. Don't sit down with a big stack of books and geek out. No one sits down on a park bench with fifteen novels they've been wanting to read or re-read.

- For all you fine and wonderful people who slave long hours over a keyboard and/or drawing table to make your own comics: it has to be someone else's book that you read.

- It has to be in a public place where people can actually see you. This isn't like when you have sex in the elevator or in the change booth at the clothing store and worry/hope you get caught.

- Most importantly--I really can't stress this enough--it must be a book you enjoy and would be willing to recommend to a complete stranger. The reason for reading something you enjoy is obvious, so I won't expand upon that. Being certain the book is something you'd be willing to recommend to a total stranger is necessary on the off chance someone asks you what it is you're reading. A lot of people's eyes are going to start to glass over if you begin to yabber about superheroics, whereas most people can appreciate humour or drama.

Now then, I realize a lot of you folks reading this probably already read your comics where other people can see you doing it. For you people, class is dismissed. You get recess early. Enjoy.

Everyone else, listen up.

An unfortunate fact is that reading comics carries a certain stigma with it. Your average person on the street, if he or she has ever even considered the matter, most likely thinks all those who enjoy the medium fall into one of two camps: children and socially mal-adjusted cat-piss men. I know it, you know it, everyone knows it, and it sucks. It's due to such incorrect assumptions by the mainstream that some of those folks who read comics hide their appreciation of the medium from their friends and co-workers out of worry they might be judged. I find that rather sad, myself.

The only way to erase the ignorance of others is to prove them wrong. Therefore, by participating in International Read a Comic Book in Public Day, you can quite easily defy the preconceived misconceptions so many people have regarding comic books. It's as simple as just sitting down at the bus stop or in the food court and enjoying a comic without feeling self-conscious about it--as if it were a newspaper, magazine, novel or whatever else you might like.

Granted, you're not going to start any sort of massive purchasing spree at your local comic book store simply because a few strangers suddenly see you enjoying a comic. Most people aren't even going to notice you, and that's fine. Some people might, though. They might remember having read comics at some point and wonder what's currently available that they'd enjoy. They might even go so far as to make an attempt to find out what's available to them. Probably not, but they might. Also, someone else who reads comics but is self-conscious about it might see you and come to the sudden realization that enjoyment of comic books isn't anything to be ashamed of.

At the very least, you'll spend a few minutes on a Monday reading something you know you'll enjoy, and who can object to that?

And remember, just because March 3rd is the official date of International Read a Comic Book in Public Day, that doesn't mean you can't celebrate it every day, should you so desire.