In France, comic book storytelling has been dubbed "the ninth art".

But in Sanford, Florida, they are less sure.

SMASH Comics Games Toys are being forced to cancel their planned activities for Free Comic Book Day next Saturday. The store ran a similar outdoor event back in November, without issue, but the St Johns River Festival of the Arts has the rights to the area that Smash Comics were planning to use that day, amongst others.





However, rather than integrate a festival of the ninth art into the festival of the arts, the city organizers do not feel that the comic book crowd would mix well with their art crowd.

The event would have seen the rather famous comics artist George Perez attend, as well as Space Ghost's George Lowe.

It turns out that the arts at the St Johns River Festival of the Arts are restricted to the first eight.