Mike Dunne doesn't remember the precise moment more than 10 years ago when he decided to give out comic books at Halloween.
But the 71-year-old does remember all the fun moments he's had since.
"I can't begin to tell you how great it is to see the excitement on a kid's face" when he or she walks away clutching a comic book, said Dunne, a retired television anchor and Hamilton County government communications manager.
Dunne and his wife, Amy Katcher, also an experienced news professional and government agency manager, will give out hundreds of comic books, storybooks and coloring books Tuesday from their home in the Stonewall Farms neighborhood in Hixson. Oh, and a little candy, too.
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The couple started about a decade ago with a little card table filled with comics, along with a traditional bucket of candy. The spread has grown to three tables, each 6 feet long and brimming with children's reading materials, Dunne said.
Dunne, who doesn't have children of his own, collects comics throughout the year to give away at Halloween, he said in an interview, and his residence has become known to area families as the "comic books house." Word has spread to other neighborhoods.
"One guy said, 'We've been trying to find you all night long,'" Dunne said of a visitor last year.
Sometimes he'll see parents texting the address to friends while their kids sort through stacks of comics such as "The Avengers," "Antman," "Thor," "Captain Marvel" and "Iron Fist," among others.
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Dunne is careful to edit the comic titles for young readers, he said. Most of today's mainstream comics are peppered with harsh language and mature themes, he said, and are not appropriate, in his view, for young children.
Dunne read comic books as a kid, he said. In Boston, where he came of age, he remembers a shoe store owner that handed out free comic books.
"I remember I got 'Rawhide Kid' and 'Justice League (of America) No. 6,'" he said. "If I had those two comics today, I could sell them and have a pretty good down payment on a used car."
Whenever he travels, Dunne visits comic book stores looking for classic, less-expensive titles, he said. He has easily spent several hundred dollars a year on comics and coloring books. He also stocks traditional storybooks for kids who aren't into superheros.
Dunne hopes the books encourage children to read, he said. Hamilton County's Read 20 childhood literacy program was one of the inspirations for his Halloween giveaway, he said. One of his favorite memories is a testimonial from a work friend who said their child became a stronger reader after exposure to Dunne's Halloween comics. The child is now in college, Dunne said.
Dunne was heartbroken in October 202o when he decided to shelve the comic book giveaway due to the pandemic, he said. He remembers looking glumly out the window of his house as kids passed by.
"Amy said I looked like a kid with the measles," he recalled.
Sometimes, children have trouble making a choice of books. Dunne tries to engage them in a conversation about their interests so he can make recommendations, he said.
One thing, though, is non-negotiable. Dunne asks children to decide between candy and comics, he said. They can have either, but not both.
"Life is about choices," he explains to the kids, which is a good lesson for any day of the year.
Life Stories is published on Mondays. Contact Mark Kennedy at mkennedy@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6645.