Hey, Folks!
Another week…another fresh comic book shipment! I don’t think it is a surprise to anyone how much the business has grown since the Spring shutdown. It’s been something of a surprise to me how many new faces as well as returning ones that Steve and I have greeted in the last couple of months. It was honestly the last thing I expected. I was actually terribly worried that things were going to take months to recover if they ever did at all. Comic book collecting is such a weekly ritual that I incorrectly figured that once folks were cut off for a couple of months that we would lose customers simply to attrition. That hasn’t happened and don’t think I’m not thankful for the support Toledo’s comic book community has given to us.
There is, however, difficulties in this industry when welcoming an influx of new or returning customers. It’s a situation that can be tricky to manage under normal circumstances much less in the current bizarre situation. Between the shutdown of the industry, Diamond’s increasingly wobbly stance as premier distributor, D.C.’s decision to switch to a new distributor, and the UPS being overwhelmed by a tsunami of packages things have been interesting, to put it lightly. I know that some of the service you’ve come to know and depend on here at Monarch Comics has been a bit compromised and I want to let you know that I am most definitely aware of the problem and I am working to rectify it in so far as it is within my ability to do so. I think I’ve finally gotten a handle on how reorders work from UCS and the new status quo regarding Diamond’s increasingly unpredictable reorder system. I’ve also managed to gather enough inventory data that should take care of the recent problem of simply not having enough copies of popular titles for off the rack sales. Also, UPS service has been much improved in the last couple of weeks with fewer instances of broken or missing boxes as well as a more timely delivery schedule.
There are still problems, of course, not the least of which is the slow phasing out of D.C. product from Diamond warehouses as well as the slow ramp up of USC’s inventory of D.C. back stock. Because of this situation, there are instances of D.C. Comics trade paperbacks and hard covers that are typical “stock” items that are currently not available. This is particularly frustrating as one of the objectives I’ve spent so many years working on is our curated selection of graphic novels. There are items that Diamond has effectively sold out and that UCS has not begun carrying yet. I’m working on a database of such titles so that I can catch them when they finally pop up at the new distributor.
Diamond’s reorder system is also suffering somewhat as there are many key trade paperbacks and hard covers that are currently going to backorder. These aren’t rinky dink books, but rather long standing stock items that are simply not available right now. You see, backorders from Diamond are separated into two categories: “secured” and “not secured”. Secured backorders are items that Diamond has ordered new stock from publishers and are waiting to receive. Unsecured backorders are orders that Diamond will take, but offer no guarantee as to whether there is more stock available from the publisher in question. There are many books that are currently going to secured backorder and have yet to appear despite being placed weeks or months ago. This includes items like the first couple of Dawn of X trades and the Umbrella Academy trade paperbacks. There is no real explanation forthcoming from Diamond or the publishers and, believe you me, I have asked the questions. I can only assume that printing facilities are still working hard to catch up and that it is an issue that is going to clear up soon. In any case, if you don’t see something you are looking for then always take a moment and ask me. If I can’t get the book then I can at least let you know whether it is truly available, is on standby, or is currently out of print.
Another difficulty for the store this year is my imminent takeover as sole proprietor of the store. For those of you not in the know, Steve is retiring at the end of December and I am taking over the store on January 1st. The Deal for my taking possession as well as all of the necessary legal paperwork have long been taken care of at this point, but there are still a lot of behind the scenes issues that have to be worked out, mostly by me, and I certainly didn’t expect to have to do it in the middle of a global pandemic and a bizarre U.S. election cycle. Throw in the amount of work it takes me to care for my dad and we have a saucy little cocktail of stress and anxiety that needs way more gin to make it palatable. There are so many issues that have to be worked out and in an increasingly short period of time that I’m surprised that I haven’t started losing my hair. So, if, as a result, I have been short or inattentive in the last month then please accept my abject apologies. Honestly, it has less to do with my beloved customers and much more to do with trying to find my way when this whole enterprise is on my shoulders.
I have been going back and forth on whether or not I want and/or need to hire additional help for the store once Steve has entered into his Retirement Compound. This has become a major consideration for me. Originally I had planned to simply keep doing the job I’ve been doing for 30 years. I mean, it’s no great secret that I have been handling the majority of chores in the store for years, especially since so much of the business aspects have switched to a computer model. Also, once I am the sole owner there will be a considerable boost to my personal income and I thought that if I could run things completely solo for 6 or 12 months I could make a huge dent in my own personal finances. Unfortunately, that may not be the case. When Steve was “out of the office” back in August to get Covid testing, I got a brief taste of exactly what it will be like when I am the only person coming in to open the store and keep the comics flowing. It was a bittersweet taste indeed. Even though I am currently planning on closing the store on Mondays, mostly because I need at least one day to take care of my dad’s needs, I have started to have serious doubts that I can do it completely on my own. Being the only employee may also be a stretch considering that one of the first things I want to get started on is giving the store a much needed makeover.
I haven’t made any decisions yet as I am waiting to have a meeting with store’s long standing accountant to see the big financial picture. In the meantime, however, I’ve decided to start considering who would most suitable for a position in Monarch’s monarchy. The particulars of salary, scheduling, and any perks of employment are very much undecided, but I do believe that I’m going to need some sort of part-time help starting in mid-January and that is the only thing I’m pretty sure of at this point. I can’t even discuss any time of full-time employment for the time being, but if you are interested in possibly joining my team then feel free to throw your hat into the ring. You can send me an e-mail regarding your interest to monarchcomics@sbcglobal.net with “ATTN: Employment” in the subject line. I won’t ask for a resume or anything, but if you could give me some sort of idea as to why you think you want to work here as well as the days/hours you would potentially be available to work then that would be very helpful. Since I’ve never actually hired anyone before I’m not sure what it is that I’m looking for, but I am excited to find out. Again, this employment opportunity would not begin until mid-January and I will keep that in mind when I read your e-mail.
I have already posted about it a couple of times on our Facebook page, but I want to mention again the upcoming Chadwick Boseman tribute cover for Spawn. Todd McFarlane has crafted his tribute for the late actor for cover B of Spawn #311. The issue is on FOC Monday with a release date of 10/28 so I am currently soliciting orders for the cover so that I have an idea of how much interest there is in picking it up. Initial enthusiasm is high and I will be making a note of everyone who says “aye” on the Facebook page right up until Monday. After FOC is closed for the issue I will add a certain percentage of copies and after that it will be “first come, first served”. Pre-orders may be for as many copies as you would like, but after FOC closes I will be limiting copies to “one per person” until I’m satisfied that I have everyone covered.
I also wanted to take a moment to actually, you know, talk about comics! This week saw the arrival of the current Marvel “X of Swords” storyline in the X-Men titles and it is an amazing ride so far. After months of build up, Hickman and his team of intrepid writers has begun a wild ride for our Merry Mutants and his exercise in world building appears to be right on target. If you haven’t been reading the X-titles since the reboot then give the X of Swords: Creation one shot a try. It does a good job of bringing you up to speed as well as a tantalizing glimpse of things to come. Additionally, if you’ve only been picking a couple of X-titles I can heartily recommend trying the other books in this storyline. Yes, 22 parts is a lot, but Hickman has never been accused of padding things out and the first two parts flowed into each other pretty seamlessly.
Batman: Three Jokers #2 shipped in this week as well. I have been enjoying this story so far although the biggest takeaway at this point is Geoff Johns clear ambition to be Alan Moore…lol. The story is stand alone in that it doesn’t seem to be taking many cues from the monthly Batman titles and I have no idea how all of the continuity is working, but the story is solid enough that I don’t really think it is truly important as to when it is happening in relation to the other Bat-titles or the D.C. universe. Johns examination of the effect the various iterations of the Joker have had on the Bat family over the years is well-covered, especially in regards to Barbara Gordon and Jason Todd. I’m rather impressed by the fact that I haven’t been able to figure out exactly were the whole thing is going and that is definitely meant as a compliment. Too many comics are too easy to figure out the endings of and Johns has managed to string us along effectively. The art of Jason Fabok, despite being tied into the relentless 9-panel grid like a straight jacket, is truly stunning and I can’t imagine a more fitting partner for this story. Well, okay, maybe Brian Bolland, but I don’t think that was ever a possibility.
James Tynion, the current Batman writer among other things, released his new Image comic, Department of Truth came out this week as well. I feel like a schmuck even mentioning it as we are currently sold out of it. Unfortunately, after a quick check on Diamond’s website it is currently going to backorder so I’m not sure if it will be available again or if the best we can hope for is a second printing. In any case, I enjoyed the first issue immensely! It’s kind of like the X-Files, but is actually more of an anti-X-Files comic…lol. I would explain further, but I’m not in the business of spoilers and one word could blow your enjoyment of the first issue. The art by Martin Simmonds is decidedly outre and owes a huge debt to Bill Sienkiewicz. It’s very appropriate to the material, but there’s a couple of pages that I had some trouble following the action. Like I said, it’s currently on backorder, but once Diamond processes their shortages and damages for the week there maybe additional stock flushed into the system that I will attempt to snap up. If not, then I am positive there will be 2nd printing and I will be dutifully carrying it. If you see it on the rack then definitely give it a try!
One final thing and I’m out of here! Next week sees the release of Amazing Spider-Man #49 A.K.A. Legacy #850! To celebrate this milestone, this issue is a 96-page giant with a $9.99 cover price and 13 open order variants including such artists as Bagley, Timm, Ramos, Young, and Campbell! This was an impossible order for me to make accurately, so I elected to stock up mostly on the main cover (by current artist Ryan Ottley) and order a small amount of the other covers. Please keep this in mind as you are ordering your copy on the subscription form this week. All of the open order covers are currently available for reorder, so I will keep the option open for any of the cover to be ordered. If you order a cover, however, that I have already sold out of then it may be Thursday or Friday before I can get your copy in the store. I order quite a few of the main cover so that shouldn’t be a problem, but I wanted to warn you ahead of time. Please feel free to ask if you have any questions about it and I can tell you that al of the ratio variants have been spoken for a this point.
Okily dokly…that’s it for me this week. Believe it or not, I am still playing catch up with the work I left behind when I went to visit the Da Bears and it isn’t going to get done on its own. Again, thanks for putting up with my occasionally moody mood and here’s hoping the upcoming Fall season is a little bit lighter than the Spring and Summer months were this year!
Eddie