💥📚 Sept 25 – Comic Book Day: Pow! Bam! Zap! It’s Time to Nerd Out in Style 🦸‍♀️🦹‍♂️

Written By Celebrate Quirky

Whether you're team Marvel, DC, indie, or “I just really like the art,” Comic Book Day is your official excuse to dive headfirst into a world of capes, cosmic rays, mutant angst, and overly dramatic monologues. On September 25, we celebrate the colorful, punch-packed panels that have shaped pop culture, inspired countless fandom feuds, and taught us that with great power comes an unreasonable number of spin-offs.

So dust off those longboxes, channel your inner vigilante, and prepare for a celebration that’s one part nostalgia, two parts nerdy, and all-out awesome. 🦸‍♂️

Affiliate Disclosure
Just so you know, this post may contain affiliate links. That means if you click through and buy something, I might earn a tiny commission—enough to keep the lights on and maybe snag a celebratory cupcake. It doesn’t cost you anything extra, pinky promise.

🕵️‍♂️ A Quick Origin Story (Because Every Hero Needs One)

Comic Book Day doesn’t have a super-secret origin story with gamma rays or radioactive spiders (tragic, we know), but it’s widely observed on September 25 as a way to appreciate the art, storytelling, and cultural impact of comic books.

It’s a day for readers, collectors, creators, and casual fans to unite over shared obsessions, unlikely team-ups, and the eternal question: Why do superheroes wear their underwear outside their clothes?

🧠 Fun Facts to Drop Like a Mic (or a Mjolnir)

  • 🦇 Batman debuted in 1939—and still hasn’t figured out how to keep sidekicks alive.

  • 🐢 The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles started as a parody of Daredevil, and then… pizza happened.

  • 💸 Action Comics #1 (Superman’s debut) sold for $3.2 million—which is probably what Bruce Wayne tips.

  • 🧬 X-Men were originally seen as too edgy, until teenage angst became a lifestyle.

  • ✍️ Comic book artists have been known to hide Easter eggs in the backgrounds—like sneaky cats, obscure cameos, or political jabs.

🦸‍♀️ 10+ Quirky Ways to Celebrate Comic Book Day

  1. Read Something New (or Weird)
    Ditch the usual suspects and try a lesser-known series. Saga, Invincible, Lumberjanes, or Chew, anyone?

  2. Dress Like Your Favorite Character… But Make It Fashion 👗🦸
    Closet cosplay is totally valid. A red scarf and trench coat? Hello, Carmen Sandiego!

  3. Draw Your Own Comic Strip ✏️
    No artistic skill? No problem. Stick figures deserve a dramatic origin story, too.

  4. Support Your Local Comic Book Store 📦🖤
    Grab a few issues, chat with the shop owner, and don’t ask if they have “that one comic with the guy who does the thing.”

  5. Host a Superhero Movie Marathon 🎬🍿
    From gritty Nolan Batman to chaotic Deadpool energy—line up your faves and go full cinematic universe.

  6. Bake Superhero-Themed Snacks 🍪⚡️
    Hulk Smash Cookies. Wonder Woman Waffles. Batman Banana Bread. (Fine, that last one’s a stretch, but it sounds delicious.)

  7. Create Your Own Hero (or Villain) 👑💥
    Give them a weird power—like the ability to always find the cleanest public restroom. Honestly, that’s S-tier.

  8. Start a Graphic Novel Book Club 📚🧃
    Gather your quirky crew and rotate reads every month. Bonus points for dramatic readings in costume.

  9. Frame Your Favorite Covers 🖼️
    Comic book art is actual art. Display it like the pop culture royalty it is.

  10. Quiz Your Friends with Comic Trivia 🤓🧩
    Winner gets to assign someone a ridiculous super-name for the day. Sorry, “Captain Flatulence.”

  11. Make a TikTok or Reel Reviewing Your Top 5 Comics 📱
    Embrace your inner geek-influencer and get those opinions off your chest (like Superman with his whole costume situation).

🦸‍♂️Comic Book Dinner Theme - Panels & Pasta📚💥

🦸‍♀️ Main Dish: POW! Pasta Primavera

A rainbow of veggies that look like they leapt off the page—bright, bold, and fast (like The Flash). This dish is colorful, crunchy, and packed with heroic flavor.

Ingredients:

  • 12 oz penne or rotini (bonus points for tricolor pasta)

  • 1 zucchini, chopped

  • 1 red bell pepper, sliced

  • 1 yellow squash, sliced

  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes

  • 1 cup broccoli florets

  • 3 cloves garlic, minced

  • 3 tbsp olive oil

  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan

  • Handful of basil, torn

  • Salt, pepper, red chili flakes (for a spicy kick)

Instructions:

  1. Roast veggies at 425°F for 15–20 mins with olive oil, salt, and pepper.

  2. Cook pasta until al dente. Drain and reserve some pasta water.

  3. In a large skillet, sauté garlic in olive oil, add roasted veggies, pasta, Parmesan, a splash of pasta water, and toss until saucy.

  4. Sprinkle chili flakes for a little ka-pow! and top with basil.

🥗 Side: Kryptonite Kale Caesar

A superpowered Caesar salad with bold greens, a punchy dressing, and crunchy croutons that even Clark Kent couldn’t resist.

Quick Assembly:

  • Chopped kale + romaine mix

  • Homemade or store Caesar dressing

  • Garlic croutons

  • Shaved Parmesan

  • Optional: Anchovy filets (for real Caesar fans)

🍹 Drink: The Secret Identity (Blackberry Lime Fizz)

Mysterious. Bubbly. A little sweet, a little tart—just like a vigilante with a soft side.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup blackberries

  • Juice of 2 limes

  • 1 tbsp honey or agave

  • Sparkling water (or champagne for grown-up sidekicks)

  • Ice + mint sprig

Instructions:

  1. Muddle blackberries, lime juice, and sweetener.

  2. Pour into a glass over ice and top with sparkling water.

  3. Garnish with mint and serve with a smirk.

🍫 Dessert: Dark Chocolate Bat-Signal Tart

Mysterious. Rich. Utterly iconic.

This is your moody, noir-inspired dessert. Think silky dark chocolate ganache in a buttery crust, topped with a powdered sugar Bat-Signal stencil (easy to make with a printed cut-out).

Ingredients:

  • 1 store-bought or homemade tart shell (graham or shortcrust)

  • 8 oz dark chocolate (60–70%)

  • 1 cup heavy cream

  • 2 tbsp butter

  • 1 tsp vanilla

  • Pinch of sea salt

Instructions:

  1. Heat cream until just simmering, then pour over chopped chocolate.

  2. Add butter, vanilla, and salt. Stir until glossy.

  3. Pour into the tart shell and chill for at least 2 hours.

  4. Before serving, lay your Bat-Signal stencil on top and dust with powdered sugar. Remove stencil = instant Gotham drama.

🎭 Bonus Ideas:

  • Use comic book pages as placemats or coasters.

  • Name your dishes like comic issues:

    • “Issue #1: The Rise of Roasted Veggies”

    • “Caesar: The Last Romaine”

    • “Fizz of Justice”

  • Dress up like your favorite hero or villain—or just wear dramatic eyeliner and call it a mood.

📚✨ ELEMENTARY CLASSROOM IDEA: “Create-A-Comic Day: Super You!”

Theme: Self-esteem, storytelling, and creative expression
Grade Level: K–5
Time Needed: 1–2 class periods (can be simplified for one)

🛠️ Materials:

  • Printable comic strip templates

  • Pencils, crayons, colored pencils, markers

  • Optional: speech bubble stickers or printouts

  • Anchor chart paper with “Comic Book Elements” (panels, speech bubbles, action words like BAM, ZAP, etc.)

  • Mirror or phone camera (for “Super You” inspiration)

📋 Step-by-Step Plan:

  1. Hook (10 min):
    Start with a quick read-aloud or flip-through of a kid-friendly comic (ex: Dog Man, Narwhal and Jelly, or Captain Underpants).
    👉 Ask: “What makes a comic different from a regular storybook?”
    Chart answers: speech bubbles, action words, pictures tell the story, panels, etc.

  2. Mini-lesson (10 min):
    Introduce the concept: Today, YOU become the hero!
    Discuss what makes a hero — not just superpowers, but kindness, bravery, creativity.

  3. Plan It Out (15 min):
    Have students brainstorm their superhero identity using this prompt:

    "My superhero name is __________. My power is __________. I help people by __________."

    Option: Have students look in a mirror to draw a version of themselves as their hero!

  4. Create-A-Comic (30–45 min):
    Distribute templates and let students write and illustrate a short comic about “Super Me.”
    Encourage 3–4 panels, one simple problem, and a heroic resolution.

  5. Share & Celebrate! (15 min):
    Do a classroom Comic Book Walk — lay comics on desks and let students walk around silently to “read” each other's.

💡 Extension Ideas:

  • Create a classroom comic book binder to collect them all!

  • Record short videos of students “narrating” their comic as a read-aloud.

🎓📖 SECONDARY CLASSROOM IDEA: “Comics as Commentary: Make a Mini Zine!”

Theme: Social commentary through comics
Grade Level: 6–12
Time Needed: 1–2 class periods

🛠️ Materials:

  • Paper (1 sheet per student for zine folding – 8.5x11)

  • Pens, pencils, markers

  • Sample mini-zine

  • Optional: copies of political/editorial cartoons or graphic novel excerpts

📋 Step-by-Step Plan:

  1. Intro (10–15 min):
    Start with a quick overview of comic books as tools of commentary and culture. Show examples:

    • A panel from Maus, March, or Persepolis

    • A political cartoon or webcomic that tackles a social issue

    Discuss: What makes comics powerful for expressing big ideas in small spaces?

  2. Zine Folding Tutorial (5 min):
    Use a quick how-to video or live demo to show how to fold a mini-zine

  3. Brainstorm & Plan (15–20 min):
    Prompt:

    "Choose an issue you care about — big or small. It could be global (climate change), local (school dress code), or personal (mental health, identity). Now tell a story about it in 6–8 comic panels."

    Provide brainstorming scaffolds as needed:

    • What’s the message?

    • Who are your characters?

    • What’s the tone: funny, serious, hopeful?

  4. Create the Zine! (30–45 min):
    Students write and draw their mini comic zines. Focus on clarity, creativity, and message.
    Optional: peer share or “gallery walk” when finished.

💡 Extension Ideas:

  • Bind the zines into a “Voices of Our Class” collection.

  • Share with school library or community center!

  • Host a “Comic Con”-style event where students present their zines.

🎉 Final Spark:

Celebrate the day with a 🎶 Superhero Playlist during work time — think Marvel soundtracks, retro cartoon themes, and some “Eye of the Tiger” energy. Bonus points for a superhero dress-up challenge or “most creative action word” contest (POWkaboom! anyone?).

🦸‍♀️ Quirky in the Workplace


A.K.A. “When HR says ‘dress code,’ but you hear ‘multiverse cosplay.’”

Comic Book Day is your once-a-year excuse to unleash your inner nerd with pride—whether you’re Team Marvel, DC, indie zine, or just here for the sound effects. BAM! ZAP! TPS REPORTS! This isn’t about reading comics quietly in a corner—it’s about bringing big superhero energy to your workplace, minus the radioactive spiders.

🗯️ "Office Origin Story" Contest

Everyone writes (or illustrates, if you’re feeling graphic) their own workplace superhero origin story and shares it via email, Slack, or the whiteboard in the breakroom. Bonus points for dramatic flair, tragic backstory, and extremely unnecessary powers.

Examples:

  • The Shredder – Gained powers after falling into the paper shredder. Can now disintegrate any document by glaring at it.

  • Captain Caffeina – Born from an espresso machine explosion. Can summon lattes with a snap and decaffeinate enemies at will.

  • The Meeting Phantom – Always on the invite, never actually present. Exists in 14 time zones simultaneously.

  • HRagon – Breathes fire only when policies are breached. Wears sensible heels.

Winner gets:
A custom-made superhero mask (crafted from printer paper and office elastic) + the honorary title of “Protector of the Supply Closet.”

🦸‍♀️ Tagline for the day:
“Comic Book Day: Because every office has heroes. And at least three chaotic neutrals.”

🎬 Movie Pick: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

Why it’s perfect:
This film is a love letter to comic books. From the stylized animation mimicking comic panels and halftone dots, to its multi-verse story that embraces comic book lore, it literally looks, feels, and reads like a comic. It’s about identity, legacy, and the magic of comics—and it stars Miles Morales, a newer but deeply impactful Spider-Man from the pages of Marvel.

📺 TV Episode Pick: Batman: The Animated Series – “Beware the Gray Ghost” (Season 1, Episode 18)

Why it fits:
This episode beautifully blends comic book nostalgia with meta-storytelling. Bruce Wayne reflects on his childhood hero, the Gray Ghost—a fictional vigilante from an old TV show—played by Adam West (TV’s original Batman). It’s a tribute to the history of comic book heroes and the people who bring them to life, making it a deeply fitting and emotional choice for Comic Book Day.

🛑 TL;DR? Here’s Your Quick Hit List:

  • 💥 Celebrate creativity and storytelling.

  • 🛒 Hit up your comic shop.

  • 🎨 Make some art.

  • 🍕 Eat like a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.

  • 🦸‍♂️ Embrace your inner hero—or villain. No judgment.

#HashtagPower

#ComicBookDay
#NerdOutLoud
#QuirkyReads
#CelebrateQuirky
#GraphicNovelGoals
#SuperheroSnacks
#PanelByPanel
#ClosetCosplay
#CapesAndCookies
#BamZapPow

Celebrate Quirky https://CelebrateQuirky.com
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✍️ September 24 – National Punctuation Day: Let’s Eat, Grandma! Or… Let’s Eat Grandma? 🍴🔤