I hadn’t been this excited in quite some time, at least since I’d first seen the “Watchmenâ€Â trailer.

It was Free Comic Book Day.

You see, I only morphed into a comic book geek rather late in life; up until a few years ago, I was completely immune to superheroes.

All it took was a series called “Snake Womanâ€Â back in 2006, and from then on I was never quite the same. I was hooked.

Heroes replaced Skin Décor as my new candy store, to which I began dragging friends, dates, even my mother. (I tend to tackle newfound interests like a cat would a mouse, and usually can’t wait to share my joy.)

So as I galloped toward Heroes on Saturday, May 2, my heart was in my throat. Darth Vader and three Clones were greeting people at the door, light sabers in hand!

But I felt so deflated when I flipped open the free comic I had chosen, only to discover a bunch of ads.

Yes, it was basically just a load of advertising for a new comic company called Radical. I wanted to kick myself for not choosing a different comic, then wondered if the others were all just ads as well.

Needless to say, I was in a very foul mood by the time I arrived at work later that morning, venting my frustration to anyone who would listen.

And it was then that a couple of fellow comic fans cut to the chase.

“Free Comic Day is nothing but a bunch of hype,â€Â one told me. “It’s just a way to get people in the door. I don’t even bother anymore.â€Â

My anger drained away, and I was left feeling extraordinarily sad, the kind of sad I̢۪d felt at age eight after finding a price tag on a gift that was supposed to be from Santa.

Was the cynicism yet to come, or could I sustain my optimism and find the silver lining?

I got my answer later that day as I flipped through my “comicâ€Â on my lunch break, admiring the cool artwork, wondering if Radical would last long enough to come out with something worth reading.

I thought back to my early skepticism of the now-defunct Virgin Comics, then remembered how many of their series ended up becoming my favorites.

And I smiled. My glass was still half full. I realize that being jaded is cool now, and that cynicism killed off sentimentality long ago, but I̢۪ve already been there and done that.

Negativity is just too exhausting to keep up for very long, and it kills the imagination.