Lit pick of the week: Free Comic Book Day

Saturday marks the 15th annual Free Comic Book Day, and free comics will be given out at comic book shops all over Southern California, including Alternate Universe, Blastoff, Comic City, Comic Cult, Comics vs. Toys, Cool Cats, Dream World, Emerald Knights, Geoffrey’s, Golden Apple, House of Secrets, Mega City One, Meltdown, Nostalgic Books and Comics, Pulp Fiction, Secret Headquarters, Comic Bug, Comic Cellar, Perky Nerd and Things from Another World.

To celebrate, Blastoff is holding its second Blastoff ComicsFest from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Federal Bar in North Hollywood, featuring more than 30 artists from Marvel, DC, IDW, Dark Horse, Boom and other publishers. Highlights include an appearance by comics co-writers PJ Haarsma and actor Alan Tudyk, who fans will recognize from his role in the canceled-too-soon “Firefly” and Web series “Con Men.” The pair are launching a new comic book series, “Spectrum,” based on “Con Men.” The new “Spectrum” comic No. 0 will be distributed nationwide for Free Comic Book Day -- it’s got a 100,000-copy run.

There will also be a round-table discussion with writers and creators from multiple genres: comics, movies and music. For $15 admission you’ll see and hear singer Gerard Way from My Chemical Romance; Nicholas Meyer, director of the films “Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan” and “ Star Trek VI: The Voyage Home”; Quinton Peeples, co-executive producer of Netflix’s “Iron Fist,” Brigitte Hales, writer on Hulu’s Stephen King adaptation “11/22/63”; and graphic novelist Jim Krueger, author of “The High Cost of Happily Ever After.”

The bar is a slightly steampunk gastropub with plenty of performance space, and will have a beer garden and a DJ. I’ve hosted two events at Blastoff’s regular store, and the staff’s passion for comics, graphic novels, prose and collectibles is infectious.

Free Comic Book Day 2003 at Geoffrey’s Comics in Gardena.

(Gary Leonard / Los Angeles Times )