Month: December 2020

Hey, Folks!

 

Welcome to the final EDitorial in my capacity as “Head Cook and Bottle Washer” of Monarch Comics. As of midnight tonight there will be a promotion of sorts to the hallowed title of “Owner”. It’s a journey begun so many years ago that I find it hard to believe that it’s actually coming to pass. Little did I realize on that fateful June month back in 1991 that I would eventually become the Lord and Master of all I survey at the store. Back then I was just looking for another comic book job to make rent and buy beer and had no real concept that I would end up spending the majority of my life teaming up with Steve in order to build this business up to the dizzying heights it now occupies. It feels like I’ve been playing an extremely long board game and the payoff to years of hard work, many mistakes, and the forging of true friendships is finally coming to a head. As one chapter ends, so does another one begin and I can’t tell you how happy that all of you will be continuing the journey with me.

 

Steve Shufritz and I have known and worked together for decades. What started out as a very traditional “employee/employer” relationship has grown and evolved over the years into a true partnership. Despite all of the trials and travails along the way, the disagreements and the health scares, and all of the victories, great and small, Steve and I never stopped working to make Monarch Comics the best comic shop that we could. I am very happy to know that thanks to Steve’s determination and business acumen he is now going to be able to retire from his life’s work in comfort and that he can do so knowing that the store will continue and thrive for years to come. I’ve spent so long planning and thinking about what comes next that now I feel the gentle tug of nostalgia and a little sadness knowing that this will more or less be the last day of our daily working relationship. I will miss Steve terribly in the months and years to come, but I will always value him as the best Boss I’ve ever known and a true friend.

 

Now before this little missive becomes any more memorial-like, let me also assure everyone that the service you’ve come to know and expect from Monarch Comics will continue. There will be changes both big and small coming over the next few months (and years!), but the one thing that will never change is my love and appreciation of all of the kind souls that I get to see every week to discuss, to argue, and to cajole over this hobby of ours. I do so hope that you will continue this journey with me until I exit the stage as well and I hope that I will be able to do it with half the grace that Steve has!

 

Just a reminder that Monarch will be closing today at 5pm and we will be closed tomorrow for the New Years holiday. I will be open regular hours for the rest of the week and Saturday will be the start of our annual Post-Holiday Sale. I also wanted to remind everyone that as of Monday, January 4^th, Monarch Comics will be closed on Mondays until further notice. I need a day off to take care of my Dad as well as attend to store business that would be difficult while the store is open. I expect that this may eventually change once I finally get around to hiring someone to help out at the store.

 

Once again, thanks to everyone who makes working this frakakta job so rewarding, week in and week out. Steve and I want to wish everyone a safe and extremely joyous New Years! Lord knows we can all use a break!

 

Eddie

Hey, Folks!

 

Well, we made it…Christmas 2020 is nearly here!

 

I must admit that I haven’t too much invested in the holiday this year. Between social distancing and my imminent takeover of the store I haven’t had the extra emotional bandwidth to really deal with the holidays on a personal level. Those of you who know me well know that I haven’t really had much use for them under the best of circumstances. That being said, I have some plans in mind for next year’s holidays at the store that I think will surprise and delight you. It will be time for Monarch Comics to kick it up a notch!

 

Actually, it turned out to be a pretty lucky decision not to go all in with the holidays. Monday morning I got up to find that my much beloved iPhone 8 had taken its last breath and died on me. I had been expecting it for a while as the poor old phone had stopped holding a charge very well and the charging port hasn’t been working properly in months. After I spent a panicked 20 minutes trying to get it to work I sighed and popped over the to Apple website and shopped for my iPhone 11! Thankfully, I had the $700 to purchase it and I had it up and running by late afternoon with little to no problems. Please don’t be shy if you come into the store and would like to spend a couple of minutes marveling over my new phone…lol.

 

Next week’s new comic shipment is a predictably small one as is the usual case for the last shipment of the year. You may notice that there are no D.C. titles on the subscription form this week and this is because I screwed up last week and accidentally put this week’s and next week’s D.C. titles on the sub form for 12/23. As a result, if you completed a sub form last week then you’ve already ordered up your D.C. titles for next week and they have already been pulled and are on hold for you. If there is something that you missed or if you didn’t get a chance to put in a form last week then please reach out and message me VIA the store’s Facebook Messenger and we will see what we can do to get you the titles you want. I suppose I should also mention that, due to the holidays, and special orders made through the sub form will most likely take an extra day or two to get here. If you have any questions about it then please contact me and I will see what I can do to help.

 

I’d like to remind everyone that we will close at 5pm today and will be closed on Christmas, but the rest of our weekend hours will be the same. We are now officially entering Steve’s last week “in office” and he will be here on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday as well as today. I’ll have more to say about this particular “End of an Era” next week, but please know that Steve is humbled and delighted by all of the warm wishes that have come his way this month. If you haven’t seen him in a while then please feel free to drop by the store to give him a hail and hearty farewell!

 

Also I’d like to take another opportunity to remind everyone of the our huge annual post-holiday sale that will begun on Saturday, January 2^nd! All hard covers/trade paperbacks will be 25% off, the back issue boxes will be 50% off, the wall display and showcase books will be 25% off, and the dollar boxes will all be 3 for a $1! This sale will be going on through the end of February, so make your plans now to stop by and scoop up all the good deals!

 

Steve and I would like to take this moment to wish all of our customers a safe and very happy holiday! You Folks are truly THE BEST group of fans we could ever wish for…😊

 

Ed Katschke

Hey, Folks!

 

Huh…it’s a little snowy out there this morning…lol. Every year after the first quasi-big snow I have the same experience. I get up, get outside, curse and whine when I see I have to, you know, actually scrape or clear the windows on the van, and then I always have one moment of abject terror when I am just driving along as usual and start sliding when I should be braking. THAT always wakes me up, way more than coffee ever has! Is it considered lazy that I don’t go outside and clear the store’s sidewalks of snowy gunk because I think that in an hour or two it will all melt on its own?

 

I love you folks…I really do. Everyone keeps coming in and giving me the thumbs up over the upcoming Store Takeover and letting me know that I’ll do just fine. I suspect that is true, but it’s nice to hear it as I struggle daily with waves of anxiety lapping at the shore of my usual calm demeanor. Every time I assure myself that everything is more or less ready my subconscious bubbles up and spits out another issue that I have to deal with before that is true. Today I got into the store extra early because even though I sent Diamond Distributors all of their requested paperwork (and more!) I have yet to hear back if the store’s account has been transferred over to my name yet. I also haven’t been expressly informed as to whether our payment terms are changing to C.O.D. or not. I tried calling our credit analyst at Diamond only to get a phone message that she went on vacation 11/27 with no indication on said message when she would be “back in the office”. Considering that I e-mailed the information packet after the 27^th I have no idea whether she has actually even seen it or not. I left a voice message for her and tried to keep the frightened tremble out of my voice. Hopefully I will hear back soon.

 

I am also waiting for Steve to get in the store today so that we can call up Guardian Alarm and get the alarm account transferred to my name. That should be no biggie, especially since the bill for the alarm service covering January though March is already here at the store. I’d call myself, but I suspect that Steve will be the one they need to talk to at this point. Hopefully that will be a no brainer.

 

Additionally I still haven’t familiarized myself with the QuickBooks program I downloaded and installed a month ago. I opened it eagerly, but when I saw what looked to be an entirely overcomplicated screen I screamed once and shut it down while dissolving into tears. I need to put my Big Boy Pants on and figure out how to work it. I have received my new Square register and I need to set it up and turn it on and get it ready for use on the 2^nd. Another quasi-scary thing although I have been assured that it will be pretty easy to use. I think I may need to have Hillman around to hold my hand when I start THAT procedure.

 

So, that’s pretty much everything still on my plate at this point. I am already making plans on what to do on January 1^st. We are always closed on New Year’s Day, so I’m currently planning on coming in early in the day and working towards rearranging things a bit for my first day of ownership. One of the first big jobs I have to complete is cleaning out the backroom of the store and it will involve a certain amount of archeology…lol. If anyone is interested in purchasing the (very) old Monarch Comics sign from our old location then please, by all means, let me know. It’s been sitting in the backroom FOR YEARS and I need to get it out.

 

Well, suppose I should get started on getting this Shipping List/Subscription Form up and running. I hope that everyone has a great weekend and I look forward to seeing you before the holiday next week. Just for a refresher…here’s our holiday hours for this year:

 

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24^TH, CHRISTMAS EVE: 11AM-5PM

FRIDAY, DECEMEBR 25^TH, CHRISTMAS: CLOSED

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31^ST, NEW YEAR’S EVE (AND STEVE’S LAST DAY): 11AM-5PM

FRIDAY, JANUARY 1^ST, NEW YEAR’S DAY (AND ED’S FIRST DAY): CLOSED

 

Just a quick reminder…Monarch Comics Annual Post-Holiday Sale begins on the 2^nd! All hard covers/trade paperbacks 25% off cover (or price marked), all back issue boxes 50% off price marked, all wall books/showcase books 25% off price marked, and the dollar boxes will be 3 for a $1. This will run throughout the months of January and February and will include any special orders made for trades.

 

Take care and watch those slippery roads!

 

Eddie

Hey, Folks!

 

Huh. It certainly is foggy out there this morning! I felt like I woke up into a Stephen King novel. Seriously, it was of course still dark out when my alarm went off and I went about my morning schedule predictably enough by feeding the Pooh Bear, letting him outside to go pee, brewing a pot of coffee, firing up the news on the computer. Then, while I was sipping on my second cup of “strip your guts” coffee, I looked out the window in the grey dawn and all I saw was a fluffy wall of white outside the back window. I got up and went over to the window to see if I could pierce the unrelenting murkiness and half expected a giant tentacle to wetly slap against the window. I eventually made my way out the door and then proceeded rather carefully on the route to the store. I made it one piece, but thank goodness I take the same route every day…I’m not sure I could find my way here otherwise.

 

December continues to be a rather frustrating month for D.C. titles. I’m speaking, of course, of the current Justice League crossover story, Endless Winter. As I may have mentioned last week, I severely underestimated the enthusiasm for this storyline and, if I’m being completely honest, I didn’t really expect it to be as good as it actually turned out to be. I ended up ordering all of the different parts to the story based on sales of the previous issues as is my usual habit, but clearly I should have bumped everything up a notch or two in order to cover the possibility that it was a bigger hit than expected. Let me stress that this one is completely on me. To my credit, I did assume that D.C., as well as outgoing distributor UCS, would end up overprinting a bit to cover this eventuality, but I was incorrect and, as a result, the store is going to be hard pressed to cover all of the requests for these issues. I even checked upcoming D.C. distributor Lunar and they are apparently sold out as well. So, I’m sorry if you end up missing a chapter (or two) of Endless Winter. I hate to even suggest it, but if you need to catch up on a part you missed then you can download the issue from Comixology. Again, so sorry for the mistake!

 

Robert Kirkman is at it again and in the best possible way. I’ll admit that I’m a big fan of Kirkman, not only for his generally excellent comics, but also by the way he continues to help out the comic retail industry in new and interesting ways. He overshipped us Walking Dead issues when he knew we were going to be caught underordered due to some plot twist, after the Spring shutdown he sent us free copies of an all-new Walking Dead story for us to sell to help get back on our feet, he slips in little variant foil covers for us to make a little extra cheddar, and now he’s at it again with a surprise new drop of a comic at this point only known as Solid Blood #17. I noticed it yesterday when I took a look at the invoice for next week’s books in order to get the shipping list together. It’s listed as a “free/promotional comic” item on the invoice and we have a total of 15 copies coming in the door. When I had a spare moment, I poked around the internet and found precious little information about it. I wasn’t even sure if that was even the actual title of the book or if it was another blind tease. The other comic retailers were speculating wildly about the possible contents, but no one had any clear idea of what this was about. Eventually it came out that this apparently a comic book from an alternate universe that was talked about between frequent collaborator Ryan Ottley and Kirkman. I’m still not absolutely sure if that’s the truth or another weird tease, but I am very interested to see what gets pulled out of the box on Tuesday.

 

In any case, after a bit of deliberation, I’ve finally decided on what to do about the conundrum of how to make them available to our customers. I decided fairly early on not to put it on the subscription form, mostly because I had no official cover image and, as I mentioned above, I can’t be sure if that’s even the actual title of the project. With only 15 copies coming in we are obviously going to have more demand than we will copies. It also opens the door to any number of speculator inquiries. I even checked on e-Bay and Midtown Comics to see what other people are asking for it. The answer heartened me and finalized my decision. There is only one copy currently of eBay, marked up for charity sales, and Midtown is only charging cover price (of course, I’m sure they have many, MANY more copies than I do, but that’s only fair as I’m sure they have a much larger customer base.) So here’s what we are going to do. I’m going to put the copies we have out on the new release rack Wednesday morning, limit them “one per customer”, and sell them on a first come, first serve basis. I figure this is fairest thing I can do at this point. I’m also expecting that more copies will eventually be available for reorder although at this point there is no way for me to confirm that in Diamond’s system. So if you are interested in checking out a copy of Solid Blood #17 it will be out on the new release rack on Wednesday morning!

 

The slow takeover of the shop is proceeding apace. I ordered and received my new Square cash register this week. I haven’t unpacked it completely yet, but I am looking forward to plugging it in and playing with it a bit to see how it works. Hopefully there will be no surprises and I will have an easy opening on January the 2^nd. If, however, you come in on the 2^nd and see me crying behind the counter while helplessly pushing buttons you’ll know that something is amiss.

 

I will be out of the office on Sunday this week. This will be my last unscheduled day off for the rest of my tenure as Steve’s employee and I’m going to spend it making Christmas cookies with a friend of mine and her young niece. I’m kind of looking forward to having an entire day set aside for baking and I think I will finally have enough time set aside to decorate the cookies properly. Because of the current covid crisis I won’t have a big plate a cookies set out this year for my beloved customers. Instead, I’m going to try to come up with some gift bags of cookies to hand out this year instead of the usual. Usually I have a selection of fun cookie options, but because of lack of time to properly prepare this year I do believe that I will have sugar cookies and gingerbread cookies. Let’s see how much baking I can knock off in one day!

 

I hope that everyone has a great weekend! I also hope that no one gets snatched up by barely seen tentacled monsters in the mid-morning gloom!

 

Eddie

Hey, Folks!

 

Let me start by thanking everyone who made our annual Black Friday sale the big hit I was hoping it would be this year. In fact, thanks to everyone who has helped make this Monarch Comics’ biggest year ever! It was a nice send off for Steve who, as I’m sure you all know, is retiring on December 31^st. I was planning to have a big retirement party for him this month, but obviously things are not going to work out that way. I was thinking of having a wild and wooly, yet tasteful, bacchanal, but I do believe we will all have to settle for me and Hill taking Steve and Nanci out to dinner somewhere nice instead. Frankly, after years of talking about it, I am extremely interested in watching Steve eat a $60 steak. Maybe I’ll record it so everyone can watch on in amazement and wonder.

 

As I careen towards the beginning of my tenor as High Lord and Master of All I Survey, the final pieces are starting to come together. I’m finishing up the paperwork with Diamond Distributors this week as well as signing my first 5 year lease on the building. I’d say it was “exciting stuff”, but frankly it is more of a bore and rather anti-climactic. I’m also ordering in the new register and credit card machines in preparation for my triumphant January 2^nd opening. I’m nervous, but focused, and looking forward to starting 2021 and putting the mess of 2020 behind me.

 

I’ve also been working on an ambitious schedule of remodeling the store once I take over the joint. The old girl has needed a facelift for years and I’m excited by the prospect of new floors and paint. If I have to spend the rest of my life in this place then I want a new view…lol. I’ve been consulting with someone who has a background in construction and she has worked up a nice floor plan of the store for me to play around with while I decide exactly where everything is going. Unfortunately, due to the big post-holiday sale, these changes won’t be starting until March at the earliest. This is because I will need to make space on the sales floor to move things around and as a result the back issue boxes will be taking up refuge in the back room during the remodel. I wish that I could just close down for two weeks and just get it all done, but that isn’t very feasible due to the weekly nature of The Biz. So my first step will be an invisible one….clearing out the backroom of all of the junk that has accumulated over the last 30 years and making room to store stuff for construction. That might be the most exciting prospect yet…lol.

 

Speaking of the Post-Holiday Sale, it will indeed be taking place between January 2^nd and February 28^th. The only difference this year is that the Hard Covers/Trade Paperbacks will be on sale for 25% cover price (or price marked) for the whole two month period as opposed to in the past when they’ve only been on sale the month of January. It’s an experiment that I’ve wanted to try in the past and now is my chance to see how it will work out. The back issue boxes will still be 50% off and the books displayed on the wall or showcase will be 25% off for the duration of the sale as per normal.

 

I’m noticing what may be a small issue this month with D.C. Comics releases. As you know, we are closing out our business relationship with UCS Distributors and switching over to Lunar Distributor for our D.C. titles. THAT particular kink is all worked out, but now another problem seems to be rearing its ugly head. I’ve noticed this week that UCS does not have much in the way of D.C. overstock available for reorder. This is after they have done an exemplary job of having some extra copies available. Also, they’re stock of backlist D.C. hard covers and trade paperbacks is shrinking as well…and anything Diamond has leftover from their stock is disappearing as well. This is making it rather difficult to secure reorders on both types of stock. Of course, this is possibly the worse time in the world for this to be happening, but there’s little I can do to work around it. I’m going to try and stay on top of the situation and make sure I have enough copies to go around, but there may be titles I fall short on. I’m going to expand my search for these items and start ordering from Lunar if I have to, but so far it doesn’t look like their stock situation is much better.

 

Well, that’s it for me this week. I’ve got a full load of work to get done today and tomorrow and these papers ain’t gonna shuffle themselves! Have a great week and I’ll talks at ya next Thursday!

 

Eddie