Kino Free Comic Book Day turned 10 years old on May 7th 2016 and we had a whopper of a birthday!

The number of FCBD-goers once again blew our expectations out of the water with hordes of comic and pop-culture fans waiting patiently to get into the store. We couldn’t believe the turnout!!

People turned up bright and early, waiting patiently on the Ground Floor of The Galeries for our doors to open.

And the queue continued on outside the centre…

And around the block!

But once again, like every year, the wait was worth it. This year we beefed up our Free Comic Showbag and gave away not one, but TWO separate showbags with different goodies inside!

Our first customer of the day at Free Comic Counter #2!

There was the annual Artists’ Alley, featuring some of our very best local comic creators and including one high-profile cosplayer. Artists were meeting, greeting and even sketching for FREE for kids under 15!

Lesley Vamos at the Artists’ Alley

Jon Sommariva at the Artists’ Alley

Plus there was also our ever-popular Cosplay Competition, where this year entrants had the chance to be in our first ever Kinokuniya Cosplay book. The calibre of cosplays were OUSTANDING this year, we could not believe how incredible everyone looked!

We also gave everyone who turned up on the day 20% off all graphic novels and manga, which went down a treat for all those comic and manga fans! (Terms and conditions applied)

And after waiting in all those queues, posing for all the photos and doing all that shopping, customers could relax and unwind with tasty cakes and pastries at the Black Star Pastry X SMASH! Maid Café!

We had the BEST 10th birthday ever, and cannot wait for the next 10 years!  But what we want to know is… how can it possibly get any better than this???

Huge thanks to everyone who came on the day who made it spectacular! We can’t wait to see all your beautiful faces again next year. For now, much peace and ♥ from the Kino FCBD crew!

Here’s a snapshot of the day from Big Review TV:

And a full length episode of Kapow! for a closer look: