Parkville got to enjoy a break from the ordinary Saturday as fictional characters came to life outside Harford Road's Collector's Corner.

Men and women in masks and tights took to the streets to promote Free Comic Book Day, a yearly event in the comics retail industry. It's probably the only time that you'll see the X-Men's Storm chatting with Nightwing from Batman and drew a huge crowd.

In addition to character appearances ranging from Marvel & DC comics right down to a storm trooper from the Star Wars universe, the shop offered more than 50 free comic books, huge sales and free pizza to folks who started lining up for the store's 9 a.m. Saturday opening around 11 p.m. Friday night.

Check out these photos from a surreal day on Parkville's main street, and be sure to upload any that you might have.