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<p>WEST PITTSTON &#8212; If Anniversary Man were a super hero, his powers would include giving away free comic books and his base would be in this borough.</p><p>Free Comic Book Day takes place May 6 and includes free books from publishers Marvel, DC Comics, Image Comics and more. For Rubber Mallet Comics, Free Comic Book Day holds extra meaning &#8212; five years ago, Free Comic Book Day was shop owner Chuck Rowles&#8217; first day of business.</p><p>&#8220;I feel accomplished,&#8221; said Rowles of his fifth year in business in the borough. &#8220;Obviously we&#8217;re not done, and there&#8217;s still a lot of room to grow, but we&#8217;ve had a successful store, we&#8217;ve grown the customer base, and it&#8217;s been fun too, which is nice.&#8221;</p><p>Rowles plans to celebrate with specials on graphic novels and back issues, as well as licensed novelty items. A limited edition T-shirt commemorating Rubber Mallet Comics&#8217; fifth year will also be available. The shop will host members of Suzuki School of Strings in Wilkes-Barre for a performance of comics-related theme songs.</p><p>The anniversary happenings occur on top of the shop&#8217;s Free Comic Book Day participation. Rowles said customers can pick three books from a list of official Free Comic Book Day releases to take home, and another three if customers make a purchase in the shop.</p><p>There are 50 books included in this year&#8217;s Free Comic Book Day, including well-known franchises like &#8220;Guardians of the Galaxy,&#8221; pop culture properties like &#8220;Rick &amp; Morty&#8221; and kid-friendly reads like &#8220;Barbie&#8221; and &#8220;Underdog.&#8221; The push to reach new readers also continues this year, with DC Comics making its case to young women interested in joining the comic book world.</p><p>&#8220;DC is reprinting &#8216;Wonder Woman&#8217; and putting out a new chapter of &#8216;Super Hero Girls&#8217; stories,&#8221; Rowles said. &#8220;There are so many books. Marvel and DC always do a good job.&#8221;</p><p>Rowles said serious readers will have something to look forward to also, with a number of books acting as more than just one-shot, self-contained stories. &#8220;Captain America&#8217;s Secret Empire&#8221; and &#8220;Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles&#8217; Dimension X&#8221; stories will kick off on Free Comic Book Day, with a new iteration of canine caped crusader &#8220;Underdog&#8221; also debuting May 6 .</p><p>For his next five years, Rowles sees continued growth. He said he&#8217;ll continue to integrate his store into Greater Pittston through community-based advertisements like Little League sponsorships, expanding the shop&#8217;s always widening selection of books, and making the best of space provided.</p><p>Free comics are only part of that plan once a year; to take advantage, visit Rubber Mallet Comics between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. May 6 at 802 Wyoming Ave. Rowles encourages customers to arrive early and expect a line. Patience, after all, is a super power.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Rubber Mallet Comics Owner Chuck Rowles adjusts the shelves in his West Pittston shop. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_comics03-2.jpg</photo0><caption0>Rubber Mallet Comics Owner Chuck Rowles adjusts the shelves in his West Pittston shop. </caption0><photoCredit0>Times Leader file photo </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_FCBD-untoned-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Books available during this year&#8217;s Free Comic Book Day include titles for young readers like &#8216;Barbie&#8217; and &#8216;Underdog,&#8217; books that draw on pop culture like &#8216;Rick &amp; Morty,&#8217; and comic mainstays like &#8216;Captain America,&#8217; &#8216;Wonder Woman&#8217; and &#8216;Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.&#8217; </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_FCBD-untoned-2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Books available during this year&#8217;s Free Comic Book Day include titles for young readers like &#8216;Barbie&#8217; and &#8216;Underdog,&#8217; books that draw on pop culture like &#8216;Rick &amp; Morty,&#8217; and comic mainstays like &#8216;Captain America,&#8217; &#8216;Wonder Woman&#8217; and &#8216;Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.&#8217; </caption1><photoCredit1>Gene Axton | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Local shop celebratesFree Comic Book Day</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Gene Axton</p><p>gaxton@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Gene Axton at 570-991-6121 or on Twitter @TLArts</p></shirttailMeta></div>

West Pittston’s Rubber Mallet Comics celebrates five years with free comics