Patch's Getting Graphic column is back for a special edition this week, to preview Saturday's national celebration of Free Comic Book Day from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Fair Lawn’s very own Joker’s Child on River Road, right across from Friendly’s and Dunkin' Donuts. Actually, Free Comic Book Day is more than national. The first Saturday of May each year is “a single day when participating comic book specialty shops across North America and around the world give away [two million] comic books absolutely free to anyone who comes into their shops,” according to the Free Comic Book Day website. This …

This new comics available at Joker’s Child this week feature men of metal—of all shapes and sizes.  First, from Marvel Comics, comes “Invincible Iron Man” #500.1. “Tony Stark takes his first stps into the future! The Armored Avenger soars to never before seen heights and he's not going alone. Learn what it means to be Iron Man in the 21st Century,” said Marvel Comics. Len Katz, co-owner of Joker’s Child on River Road, said Marvel is attempting something new with this comic as by starting the “.1” series. “This new ‘point one’ series Marvel reaching out to new readers with stories that are in …

This week at The Joker's Child, the Fantastic Four become the Fantastic Three, and fans will get to see G.I. Joe, Transformers, the crew of the Starship Enterprise and Ghostbusters fight a common foe. “This is going to be a fun week,” said Len Katz, co-owner of the River Road comic store. “So much is happening.”  It was announced that “Fantastic Four” #587, one of the new comics at Joker's Child this week, would feature the death of one of their own. According to reports, Johnny Storm, the Human Torch, is snuffed out. According to Marvel Comics, “The tragic saga of “Three” [min-series] has …

Fair Lawn's comic store will feature the character who helped reignite Robert Downey Jr.’s movie career this week, as “Invincible Iron Man” celebrates it’s 500th issue—which is one of the new comics available Wednesday at The Joker’s Child. “Iron Man is a great character,” said Len Katz, the River Road store's owner. “For Iron Man to reach 500 issues is amazing.” According to Marvel Comics, “Three generations of Starks face their ultimate foe, seventy-some years in the future while, in the present, Spider-Man joins Iron Man as he tries to fill in the blanks of his missing memory. What if …

Among the new comics featured at The Joker's Child this week is the story of a former American soldier who is killed in an experiment and sent to Hell, where he makes a deal with the Devil. That's part of the Spawn comic, and Joker's Child owner Len Katz is offering its milestone 200th issue at his store. In June of 1992, when Todd McFarlane was fresh off his run on “Spider-Man,” he and a group of other creators formed Image Comics. One of the first titles was Spawn, in which the Devil gives a soldier powers in hopes of leading him to the demons of Hell in a war, but the soldier turns the …

You may be more familiar with the wildly popular film from 2008, but for the last week of this year, Batman: The Dark Knight is coming to Fair Lawn as one of the new comics available on Wednesday at The Joker's Child. "Essentially, Bruce Wayne has decided to franchise Batman," said Len Katz, the River Road store's co-owner. "He has bankrolled other Batmen across the world."  Katz said this has brought out titles like Knight and Squire and the new Batman: The Dark Knight #1, which will be on sale at Joker's Child. "David Fincher is an amazing artist and he will be writing this new series …

'Tis days before Christmas and all through the store, fans are shopping for comics and toys and more.  For the families of fanboys, needing a present this week,Len Katz spotlights issues, for your comic book geek.  This week in "Getting Graphic"—Fair Lawn Patch's exclusive weekly preview of new comics coming out at The Joker's Child—Katz, the store's co-owner, spotlights three popular issues.  First from DC Comics is Batman Incorporated #2, written by Grant Morrison and drawn by Yanick Paquette.  According to DC Comics, "The dynamic new era of Batman continues [as] the Dark Knight and Mr. …

Some old titles are being released to new fans on Wednesday at The Joker's Child.First, comic book great John Byrne, returns with his title Next Men; second, The Mighty Samson returns after a 25-year absence from the scene; and finally, the Black Panther returns to his own title by taking over Daredevil's book.  John Byrne, writer of Next Men, has kept a low profile for the better part of the last decade. In the 1980s, Byrne was given the task of re-writing the origin of Superman with his series Superman: the Man of Steel. Byrne was known in comic book circles as "Mr. Fix-it" because of …

Featured among the new releases at The Joker's Child this Wednesday are a comic book associated with a popular vampire movie from this past summer, and the latest comic featuring the ever-popular Wolverine. "Let Me In" the movie is about a little girl who is really a vampire. Dark Horse Comics is now releasing Let Me In: Crossroads. "The movie was an interesting take on the vampire genre," said Len Katz, co-owner of The Joker's Child. According to Dark Horse Comics, "Being forced to spend eternity as a vampire--trapped in the mind and body of a child, with slaughter the only recourse for …

Featured among the new comic book issues at The Joker's Child this Wednesday are two Marvel Comics heroes and a rare African American superhero, from Dynamite Comics.According to Marvel Comics, Wolverine The Best There Is #1, written by Charlie Huston and drawn by Juan Jose Ryp, is "cover-to-cover blood-soaked action as the most extreme Wolverine monthly ever continues!" In this issue, "Wolverine has never faced an opponent quite like Contagion, who becomes a much bigger problem if he's killed! But first, Logan must get past the aptly named Unkillables. Round one: Madcap. Whatever you do…

The new comic book issues at The Joker's Child this Wednesday will include "story telling as right as can be" and Spider-Man without the burden of "three or four decades of back story," according to owner Len Katz. This is the first installment of our "Comics of the Week" column. On Tuesdays, Patch will bring you an exclusive preview of two of the new comic book issues coming out each Wednesday at Fair Lawn's comic store—starting this week with The Walking Dead #79 and Ultimate Spider-Man #150.The Walking Dead is the "Road Warrior" meets "Night of the Living Dead," and has become a wildly …