Comic Book Day 2024

Yesterday (4 May 2024) was a holy day for nerds worldwide. It was Star Wars day. This was also the day that Campbelltown City Council decided to host Comic Book Day at the HJ Daley Library, a celebration of comic books, gaming, and pop culture. Cool! I'm always up for nerdy stuff. Pinball is the perfect companion to nerdy stuff, partly because so many pinball themes are based on nerdy stuff! So, I contacted the library and asked if they would be interested in hosting a couple of pinball machines for the day for guests to enjoy. The library was hosting all kinds of other cool stuff on the day including comic book giveaways, cosplay competitions, Star Wars trivia, and more. They were really keen on the pinball machine idea, so I committed to bringing a couple of games to spread the magic of pinball. I had two perfect games for this kind of event: Judge Dredd (Bally, 1993) and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Data East, 1991). Both are based on comic book themes, and both would appeal to the kids that would be attending this kind of event. Unfortunately, however, TMNT is not in service yet as it's still undergoing restoration. So I decided instead to bring Super Mario Bros (Gottlieb, 1992). Into the van they went, and off we went to the library for the day. 

The event was good fun. It was nice to see such a big turnout for a local, council-run event. There were a lot of kids there for the day, and the pinball machines were a big hit. There were lines to play both machines all day long, and for many kids it was their first time playing. I spoke to a few adults who were surprised and excited to see pinball machines here to play. A couple of them had not played a pinball machine in decades! One of the highlights of the day was definitely seeing a guy dressed as Mario play Super Mario Bros (unfortunately I only got a photo of him on Judge Dredd!). ​
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Photo courtesy of Campbelltown Council.

Photo courtesy of Campbelltown Council.

The machines fared very well over the course of the day. There was only one issue with Super Mario Bros, where the ball got "lost" in the outhole or in one of the playfield holes and was unable to be kicked it out. A game reset fixed the problem; there was nothing wrong with the relevant coil or switches. I'm not sure what the cause of this issue was as the game got hammered at Pinfest in 2022 and didn't have this issue. I'll have to keep an eye on it.

One thing these games experienced which they had not before was CONSTANT mashing of the flipper buttons by kids. Some kids did nothing but mash the flipper buttons regardless of what the ball was doing or where it was. I don't think they even realised that there was a ball. This contributed to a little bit of "flipper fade" over the course of the day where the flippers were perceptibly a little weaker than normal. However, they were still strong enough to make all of the required shots. The problem was primarily on Judge Dredd as it has four flippers. The heat inside the cabinet when you opened the coin door was very intense, and was accompanied with a faint burning smell although nothing was actually burned. Not much to be done about this, unfortunately, other than teach people not to mash the flippers.

A lot of people struggled with locating the start button and actually starting a game. Plunging a ball was very difficult for most people on Judge Dredd as the launch button is on the side of the cabinet instead of the front. Half of the people figured it out on their own, while the other half had to be helped a little. I'm thinking of getting some magnets with arrows that I can attach to the lockdown bar, pointing to the start button and the launch ball button. This will give some people some guidance when they are trying to figure out how to start the game.

All in all, it was a good day and a great way to promote pinball as a hobby and a sport. I convinced at least one person to attend this year's Pinfest in Newcastle, too! I do regret not having any one of the multiple Star Wars themed machines to bring to this kind of event, as it would have been a great hit with the 501st Legion SCG members who attended the event as well. I'll have to put that one on my to-buy list!

As always, I encourage everyone who has machines to bring them to events like this and spread the joy of pinball to people in your local area. It's through this kind of grassroots action that pinball can get out there and be seen, and continue to grow in popularity. Check out Campbelltown Council's Facebook post with additional photos of the event.