Month: July 2021

Hey, Folks!

 

REALLY quick note this week…like, blink and you missed it quick.

 

This is because my Diamond shipment was a day late and just happens to be the biggest shipment I’ve received since taking over the store. I am still struggling to catch up with everything after my whole schedule was thrown into disarray. Thank goodness that Brian was able to come in today and watch the counter while I sit in the backroom and try to get everything back on track.

 

Of course, it isn’t just the late shipment that is making things wacky. I also had a morning meeting and plans were finalized and contracts were signed to ensure that this year Monarch Comics will be featuring a mobile photo booth to work with the cosplayers so that everyone gets a picture with their favorite super hero! This is one of my new additions to the event along with coupons for a free small ice cream cone from Shivers. Exciting, right?

 

I have also made my first appointment for an eye exam. Yes, tomorrow your faithful comic book retailer will be taking his first step into joining the ol’ “Four Eyes” team. Hopefully I will get everything caught up so that I can get out of the store and over to Spring Meadows on time for the appointment.

 

Oh! And, of course, it is the end of the month and Previews initial orders are also due. I’m kinda sorta okay with this one as I worked on it a little bit last night and spent most of the day Tuesday poking it with a stick during the time that I am normally unpacking books and getting them ready. Once I get done posting all of this material then I will get right on it to finish the damn thing. It’s a little sad as this is the last time I will be ordering Marvel product from Diamond. Truly the end of an era.

 

Anyway, I will be in the store this weekend from 3-7 on Saturday and 12-5:30 on Sunday otherwise you will be dealing with my second-in-command. I hope everyone has a great weekend and hopefully the book shipment will be trouble free next week!

 

Eddie

Hey, Folks!

 

Yesterday was the first Wednesday with the new layout of the store and it looks like you folks like it! I was inwardly thrilled at the overwhelmingly positive reception to the new look for Monarch Comics. The layout is still settling a bit and I have some plans to work on changing my racking for some of the trade/hard cover collections and I am still not happy about some of the other placements, but those are minor details and I am now preparing for the ramp up for FCBD 2021. Of course, there is still the matter of hanging more art up on the walls as well. But overall I am very please with the new look. It feels like ten years of dreaming have finally been realized!

 

I’ve been getting a lot of questions about how I am handling this year’s FCBD event. It will essentially be the same as previous FCBD events here with a few changes due to the pandemic and the fact that it will be in the dog days of summer this year. Any regulars to the event know that I usually have cookies and pizza set out for our guests. I didn’t think THAT was a particularly good optic this year so instead I have made an arrangement with Shivers across the street and I will be treating FCBD guests (wile supplies last) to free small cone this year instead of the normal goodies. Also, because I am expecting it to be crazy hot outside the door to the shop will remain closed and the aur conditioner will be running. I will have someone managing the front door and I will be limiting the amount of people in the store to 60 at a time. Masks will not be required and I will do my best to try and keep the line moving although I certainly don’t want to discourage anyone from taking there time to shop during the event. I do believe I have worked out a good traffic flow for the event and there should be plenty of room for checking out the store. The Monarch Avengers, our personal team of cosplayers, will be back as well and will be out in the parking lot for pictures. I am in the process of retaining a photo booth for the event which I think will only add to the fun. Those of you who can’t attend the event or don’t yet feel comfortable with crowds yet will have the opportunity to request FCBD titles on the sub form for the week of FCBD, but due to the rules we won’t be able to actually give you the titles until August 14^th. I’m starting to feel pretty excited about the big day and I hope you will all enjoy attending it as much as I enjoy setting it up!

 

Now that my store renovations are essentially done I will now have to work on catching up on all of the store paperwork that I am terminally behind on. I’m also working on setting up an office space for myself in the back room so that I can put my head down and get stuff done while Brian runs the counter. Since I am currently planning a long weekend vacation for September I have to really ramp up Brian’s training so that he can take a greater role in keeping the store moving forward. Please feel free to pelt him with increasingly more complex questions so that he can practice using the various distributor and store mechanisms in place…lol. Believe me, he will thank you for it someday…:P

 

Okily dokily…ready to get to work. I will be here until 3pm tomorrow and Brian needs the weekend off so I will be here all day Saturday and Sunday this week! Please stop by and check out the new look!

 

Eddie

Hey, Folks!

 

The count down has begun to the final parts of Monarch Comics 2021 renovation plans! It’s been quite a learning experience for me and I can’t tell you how happy I am to finally seeing the completion! Of course, it isn’t quite everything I was planning for…what with having to put in new lights instead of getting my scintillating new floors, but I’m pretty pleased about it anyway. I did finally get all of the racks painted this week. In fact, I just completed the New Release rack on Monday and I am patiently waiting for it to dry and cure so that I can move it back into place and repopulate it with the new releases. (FYI…the new releases for this week are currently standing right inside the front door of the store and should be there until Friday afternoon.) The floor is carefully marked for new rack/counter placement and my new heavy furniture moving dollies are put together and ready to go, and I do believe I have a big enough work force recruited to actually physically move everything. While I am filled with excitement over the new look I also have gut churning levels of anxiety as well. Hopefully this will all work out as planned.

 

SO, in order to make this work in a smooth fashion, Monarch Comics will be closed on Sunday, July 18^th. This is the day that the store will be literally torn apart in order to facilitate the movement of all of the racks and counters. I also want to warn everyone that on Saturday the work of dismantling various displays and such will begin and so there may be many items not a display. Naturally, Brian and I will do everything we can to help you find what you are looking for, but I just wanted to warn everybody that things may be a bit of a mess if you stop by this weekend. Also, just to reiterate for everyone who volunteered to help move things around on Sunday that we will be starting the project around noon. Hopefully moving everything around won’t take longer than 2-3 hours. Thank you so much in advance for your help!

 

Of course, with only a month to go, promotion of this year’s Free Comic Book Day event is beginning to ramp up. I’m going to try to find the time this week (HA!) to post the offerings for FCBD on the Facebook page again. I also want to officially announce that because of pandemic concerns we will NOT be doing our regular bit with cookies and pizza this year. I just don’t see very good optics in leaving a bunch of food sitting out at this time. Instead, I have arranged a partnership with Shivers, the ice cream place across the street from Monarch, and we will be handing out coupons for a free small ice cream cone instead! The Monarch Avengers will be joining us again for cosplay fun and I am in the process of arranging a photo booth for everyone’s use during the event. This along with a COMPLETE offering of all of the free comic books being published this year, a first for Monarch. Mark August 14^th on the calendar, Folks, and I hope that I can give you the best FCBD ever!

 

On a comic book side note, you may notice that this week’s sub form/shipping list does NOT include Justice League #65 CVR B. I did order a small amount for those of you who prefer the “B” covers, but for some reason it isn’t shipping in until the following week while cover A is available for sale next week. If you prefer the “B” cover then let me know and I will hold one for you for the following week.

 

Well, I’ve got a mountain of work to plow through today so I better get started. Honestly, I was going to call Brian to see if he could work today, but there’s honestly nothing for him to do until Friday. The things that need doing can only be done by me so I thought it would be better to give him the day off as I am going to be tapping him for service the rest of the week. I really need to buckle down and sit at this stupid desk all day and get things cleared so that my schedule will be completely open for the weekend. Here’s hoping the move is a relatively easy and painless process! Thanks to everyone who has offered kind words, encouragement, and their help during this whole project. I look forward to providing a new and improved level of service as well as a new look!

 

Have a great weekend!

 

Eddie

Hey, Folks!

 

It’s been a heck of a busy week so I’m going to plow through this message as quickly as possible to get the Shipping List and Subscription Form in front of y’all!

 

First off, I want to remind everyone that next week I will be receiving my copies of Nice House on the Lake #1 2^nd printings from D.C. Comics. This is, of course, the new horror series by writer James Tynion IV and artist Alvaro Martinez Bueno and it is one of my favorite new series to come out this year! In fact, I loved the first issue (and the second!) so much that I ordered up on the second print and will be offering copies for half off at $2 each just to get folks to give it a try! I’ve been wanting to try a promotion like this for a while and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to give it a whirl. So, while supplies last, order a cope of Nice House on the Left #1 2^nd printing…it’s on the sub form this week.

 

I’m about ready to finish up the final stage of the Year One Renovations in preparation for August’s Free Comic Book Day! As a result, Monarch Comics will be closed on Sunday, July 18^th, in order to move all of the counters and racks around the store. On Monday, July 19^th, we will also be closed (as per usual) in order to facilitate the electricians coming in to do their thing and for Brian and I to get everything back on the shelves with an eye towards opening on the 20^th for business as usual. We’ll see how my plan ends up playing out and whether or not we can get the whole thing done in two days. If anyone wants to help with the heavy lifting on Sunday we will be getting the show started around noon and essentially working until it is done. Boyfriend Extraordinaire Hillman measured out everything and laid tape down in the store to mark everything off and I invested in a new heavy duty furniture moving dolly so we should be ready to get things sorted quickly. I can’t wait for my long standing dream of a new look for Monarch o finally reach the end of its first stage!

 

I had my first major problem with Lunar Distributors this week and I’m still waiting to see how they resolve it. I was shorted quite a few copies of different D.C. Comics this week and since is the first time I’ve experienced a major problem with hem I’m not sure how quickly (or even if) I’ll see the replacements. In any case, the only complete shortage I’m dealing with is Crime Syndicate #5 Cover A. There are a few other smaller quantity shortages that I will discuss with you individually if they affect your order, but the Crime Syndicate was the major one. It usually takes two weeks (at least) to see replacement copies show up from Lunar, but I have e-mailed them to see if the process could be expedited. I have not heard back from them yet, but my fingers are crossed…

 

That is it for me this week and let me must take a moment a thank all of my beloved customers for delivering to us the best sales on a Wednesday then we have seen since I took over the store! You folks truly are the best!

 

Have a great weekend!

 

Eddie

Hey, Folks!

 

I am happy to announce that the final renovations to my YEAR ONE project are coming to a close! I’ve succeeded so far in in getting the walls painted and the lights replaced and the racks are nearly all painted. The final piece of the puzzle will be the moving around of all of the racks in order to accommodate the new counter configuration which will end in an island-style rearrangement in the middle of the floor. Of course, I had also planned on replacing the floors, but the surprise expense of replacing all of the light fixtures took precedence. I have scheduled Leibe Electric to come in on Monday, July 19^th in order to install the new “power pole” which will bring electricity and internet to the new counter configuration. As a result, I am planning on being closed on Sunday, July 18^th in order to move all the counters and racks around the store and into their new places. So, if anyone is interested in participating in a Sunday of back-breaking labor then please let me know. I think I can get it done with a half a dozen or so strong people and we will be getting started around noon. I think I have it worked out so that Monarch will be and running as normal on the 20^th.

 

I have an amusing UPS story from this week. While it is true that I am closed on Mondays, I am often still here for at least a few hours in order to pay bills and catch up on paperwork I always fall behind on during the weekend. One of the things I always do on Mondays in write out the check for my Diamond Distributors COD shipment. The easiest way to do this is to go to Diamond’s “Shipment Tracking” section on their website as they always have the total for the COD charge next to the box that it is attached to. (For the uninitiated, when you are on COD terms with Diamond the COD charges are always on just one of the boxes in your weekly shipment, no matter how many boxes are covered by the payment.) So I made a note of the total and then decided to make sure that all of my boxes were actually in Toledo and ready to be delivered on the usual delivery day of Tuesday. Imagine my surprise to see that 2 out of the 9 boxes I was due this week were noted as being delivered to the store to some guy name “Jacob” about 45 minutes before I even got to the store!

 

Now understand that I strive NEVER to have anything scheduled for delivery on a Monday because I never know how long I will actually be at the store because I’m, you know, closed. This week was a little different as the silver age resealable comic bags that have been on backorder for months became available last Thursday and I needed them to ASAP so I had Southern Hobby go ahead and send them to me immediately…figuring UPS would just bring them back on Tuesday if I wasn’t there to accept them on Monday. There was a UPS note on the door noting the unsuccessful delivery and, of course, it said they would bring the box back tomorrow. So imagine my surprise that UPS was saying that two other boxes were delivered. The mystery deepens as I have no employees named “Jacob” (I’m not counting dear Jake as he always goes by “Jake”, not “Jacob”, and he lives over an hour away.) Another problem is that one of the boxes supposedly delivered to the Phantom Jake was the actual COD box which they shouldn’t have been able to deliver without receiving a check.

 

I started to draft an e-mail to Diamond inquiring as to what the ding dong was going on, but halfway through it I realized I didn’t have time to fart around with polite e-mails. Monday was my Dad’s birthday and I was planning on taking him out to lunch as well as to run his weekly errands and since he is a diabetic he needs to eat at certain times. Diamond is sometimes difficult to get someone on the phone, but I decided to give it a whirl and see if this couldn’t be dealt with fairly quickly. Luck, or something similar, was on my side and my call was not only immediately answered, but I actually got someone on the phone who could help me. I explained the whole story, including the pat pending Ed Katschke digressions and mildly humorous side comments and the gentleman on the other line immediately understood the situation and agreed with me that something funny was going on. He went on to reassure me that he would call UPS and try to get to the bottom of the situation and then give me a call back.

 

Well, he called me back rather quickly and informed me that he had spoken to the supervisor of the driver working my route that day and the she would contact the driver and find out what was going on. I didn’t know at the time, but apparently if a UPS driver delivers a COD package without actually getting the payment that they personally were on the hook for the payment. Considering this COD was over $2000 I imagine the supervisor was very concerned about who the box was delivered to. The Diamond rep assured me that she would contact me personally to let me know what she found out.

 

She found out really quickly and I received a call back from her around 15-20 minutes later. Apparently the driver on my route was a new employee. This new employee was scanning my three boxes (remember the one from Southern Hobby?) into his device as “not delivered” when he punched the wrong keys in and accidentally keyed both of the Diamond boxes as “delivered”. Then he couldn’t figure out how to change it to “not delivered’ and, in fact, somehow got the device stuck on the delivery screen. As a result, he simply left them designated as “delivered” and put his own name in as the person who accepted delivery. His name, naturally enough, was Jacob. Mystery solved! The UPS representative then asked if I would be at the store for a bit and told me that the driver was still in the area and would drop off all three packages within the hour.

 

I’ll admit I was completely relieved to hear these words. I’m also glad I noticed the problem pretty much immediately and was able to accept the packages on Monday. If those boxes had gone back into the UPS system and then gone missing after that then I all manner of chaos could have been unleashed. The driver did how up and I was a little irritated at first, but then I saw how confused and stressed he was by the events of the day and I endeavored to make his delivery as easy as possible. I didn’t even raise my voice. I was kind of proud of myself…lol. In any case, crisis averted and I got my books and passed off my COD check. The moral of the story? Well, if there is a morale I’d say “Be kind to your delivery driver as the hell they are putting you through is probably only a fraction of the hell that they are going through…”

 

I haven’t been talking about comics on here too much lately, mostly because I usually save that sort of thing for when I have people right in front of me, but I did want to mention a great comic I read recently. James Tynion IV’s new D.C. Comics horror series, Nice House on the Lake, is a terrific first issue! Honestly, I was a little bored with the book until I got to the 2/3^rd mark and the big surprise was unleashed upon my blown mind. I literally wanted to sell this book to EVERYONE after that! Unfortunately, I sold out of the book relatively quickly and Lunar, of course, had no more copies available for reorder. I resigned myself to waiting for the trade to come out so I could vigorously hand sell it. Then D.C. Comics announced a second printing of the first issue (Due out 7/14!) and I hit upon a marketing idea that I’ve been wanting to try ever since I took over the store. I ordered a crap load of the second printings of #1 and successfully boosted my order for the second issue considerably. When the second printing of #1 arrives I will be selling the $3.99 cover price book for $2 so that I can get as many of you as possible to give the title a try! If this promotion goes over as well as I suspect it will then I will try it on other titles in the next few months. SO watch out for Nice House on the Lake #1 2^nd Printing that is due out on 7/14!

 

That is it for this week, my friends. It’s already after 2pm and I still have to post all of this stuff for your edification and entertainment so I think I will get moving. I also have a huge Diamond reored to unpack and another book shelf to prep for its first coat of black paint so I will bid you adieu. Oh! Before I forget, Monarch Comics will be closed on Sunday, July 4^th, for the observance of Independence Day. Additionally I will be out of the office after 3pm on Friday and will be off all of Saturday. If you have any questions or problems then I will get back to you ASAP when I get back to work.

 

Have a safe and happy holiday!

 

Eddie