Month: June 2023

Hey, Folks!

 

Another week, another fast approaching holiday! Since I stupidly scheduled two back to back weekends out of town I am once again scrambling to get things done before Hill and I take off for the wilds of rural Indiana! Yes, once again we are going to the annual 4^th of July party at Hillman’s cousin’s place. So I will be out town all weekend and will be returning to the store on Monday. Hopefully, my car will finally be repaired as well and I can let my life get back to some sort of normalcy!

 

I would also like to let everyone know that we will be open on Monday, July 3^rd, but the store will be technically closed on Tuesday, July 4^th, for the observance of Independence Day. “Wait one second, Ed, you said, ‘technically’!?!” Yes, well, I am giving Brian the holiday off especially after the great job he has done over the last two weeks covering shifts for me, nut I will be in the store for at least part of the day to get everything ready for Wednesday morning. Therefore if you REALLY need to get some comics on Tuesday you can certainly stop by and if you catch me in the store then I will gladly let you in to shop, but I do want to caution you that I won’t be on the store longer than an hour or two, so keep that in mind…😊

 

I actually have no FOC this week because of the upcoming holiday, so you may want to keep an eye on the Facebook page as I am going to try to get ready and post some more of the Jersey collection today, providing I have the time.

 

Have a great holiday weekend and please be safe while handling all of the those explosives! See ya next week, Folks!

 

Eddie

Hey, Folks!

I’ve got a short note to you this week mostly because the end of the month ONCE AGAIN snuck up on me and I am running around like a skrull with its head cut off trying to catch up and get everything done! After I get this shipping list/sub form running then I’ve gotta get weekly FOC done (I’ve got about half of the process done, but I’ve still got a couple of hours of work to get done), and then I have to finish monthly Diamond orders. You all know how much I love doing those every month. And why is there this sudden rush to get it completed? Well, you see…

STOP!!!

BREAKING NEWSFLASH!

I was in the midst of helping a customer (Hi, Ty!) when I noticed there was an inordinate amount of fire and police swarming the area. I poked my head, but didn’t see anything, so I shrugged and went back behind the counter. The another gentleman poked his head in the store and asked if I knew the building behind me was on fire. I rushed back behind the my building and, sure enough, the strip mall behind us that has, among other things, the BMV and Sebastianos was streaming out smoke and open flames. There is currently a battalion of fire trucks hosing down the front of the building. I’m no expert, but it looks like the whole complex is toast, if you’ll excuse the pun. I also didn’t notice any ambulances so I hope that means no one was hurt.

So, anyway, I need to get all of this stuff done quicker because Hill and I are going out of town this weekend and I can’t take the work with me. We are heading down to Columbus to attend our first ever Origins! For those of you not in the know, Origins is a Game Convention that I have never attended and have been very much forward to attending for a couple of years. The Apocalypse, of course, out a crimp in my plans, but on a whim I decided to sign up and head down this year. So while I am carousing with fellow board gamers Brian will once again be heading the Ship of Industry all weekend. I’m leaving him with tons of work to keep him occupied so be kind to him this weekend. I will see everyone when I get back on Monday and then next EDitorial I can explain why I am taking next Weekend off as well…lol.

 

I’m going to go take one more quick look at the fire and then I will bolt my butt down and get this work done! I hope everyone has a good weekend and I will talk to you again next week!

 

Eddie

Hey, Folks!

 

I honestly don’t have much to say this week except for letting you know that Brian and I are steaming ahead on the Jersey collection. Brian has had to pause his sorting of the books in order to cull the back issue boxes of overstock and “dead” stock to make room for the sudden influx of new back issue material. This basically involves him going through all of the back issue boxes and pulling stuff that we have multiple copies of or items that have been sitting and languishing in the back issue boxes for a while now. Then he has to strip them of their bags and decide whether they go into the backstock boxes in the back room or whether they simply get dumped in the Dollar Boxes. Spoiler Alert…they are mostly going into the Dollar Boxes. Of course, this means you, Beloved Customers, will have another stream of new dollar comics to peruse during your visit to the store. Also, I am going to continue the practice of leaving new back issue stock displayed in the short boxes on the counter for at least a week before they get filed in the back issue boxes. I know that many of you appreciate the gesture and I will continue to do it as long as I have the room. Please make sure you stayed tuned in to our Facebook page where I will continue to display new back issues/key issues that I believe you will be particularly interested in!

 

I’ve also been meaning to discuss the recent and not so recent changes to our distributor’s business models. As of today, Lunar Distribution will be handling D.C. Comics, Ahoy, Asylum, AWA Studios, Black Mask Studios, Clover Press, newcomer DSTLRY, Mad Cave, Oni Press, Papercutz, Scout Comics, Silver Sprocket, Source Point Press, Sumerian, Vault Comics, and now, Image Comics. Penguin Random House will be distributing Marvel Comics, Dark Horse Comics, and IDW Comics. Diamond Distributors will be handling everyone else including Boom! Studios, Dynamite Entertainment, Zenescope, Titan Comics, Ablaze, and any other small press publishers. There have been a few hiccups behind the scenes here at Monarch as I work to address the changes in the marketplace, but it looks like I’m getting a pretty good handle it. Please forgive us if any more mistakes occur in the next couple of months, but I am doing y best to stay on top of the situation.

 

I’ve spoken to many of you lately about how I have been attempting to achieve a better life/work balance this year, but after taking Friday & Saturday off for a couple of weeks in a row, I realize that I have to step up my work in the store, especially considering the amount of new stock we have to deal with so don’t be surprised if you start seeing me hanging around like a bad smell this summer…lol. In fact, I do believe I will be in and out of the store this Friday and Saturday so I hope to see many of you then!

 

Have a great week!

 

Eddie

Hey, Folks!

 

I hope everyone’s June got off to a good start! I’ll admit that I am finding it very difficult to stay in the store today because this week is TAYLOR SWIFT WEEK! Yes, the day is quickly bearing down on us all…that magical day when I FINALLY get to see Ms Swift in concert. And not ONLY in concert, but a 3 ½ hour career retrospective! Frankly, I don’t know how I’m gonna stay on my feet for that long…lol.

 

There is nothing much to report or promote from the store this week. Brian and I are currently hip deep in the Jersey Collection. If you’ve been following along on the Facebook page then you’ve seen some of the fun books we’ve recently uncovered, including a huge run of Silver Age/Bronze Age Wonder Womans as well as a handful of Marvel Star Wars keys from the 70’s. I guarantee you that there will be far more goodies popping up as we continue to plow through the boxes. Stay tuned, True Believers!

 

Okily dokily…gonna start my weekly FOC duties and try to get all of my paperwork caught up before end of business today. I will be out of the office on Friday and Saturday this week, but I will return in time for my Sunday chores. Have a great weekend and take care not stay outside too long with all of this wildfire soot in the air!

 

Eddie

Hey, Folks!

 

I am a hot mess today. After having a great Wednesday morning shift here at the store I went to my appointment with my chiropractor. In case you hadn’t heard I was involved in an auto accident and I an now going through a treatment program to hopefully fix my back. I had never gone to a chiropractor before and it has been an interesting experience. Well, yesterday I felt great after an hour and a half of treatment, but by the time night fell I was in agony…lol. I didn’t really sleep well last night (again) and I have been feeling a little wobbly all morning. I mean, I forgot to put a hat on when I left the house this morning! Do you know how long it has been since I have been seen “Head Naked” in public!?! It has taken me twice as long to get ready to go live with the Sub Form! UGH…I really would like nothing more than to go home and try to take a nap to try to catch up on some sleep, but I think I will try that gambit tomorrow after my next appointment with the good doctor.

 

So Brian and I have really started to dig into the Jersey Collection. I had to go pay the monthly storage fee the other day so I poked my head into the storage unit and started digging through some of the boxes. I just grabbed some stuff that caught my eye including a huge 60’s/70’s/80’s “Pre-Crisis” run of Wonder Woman issues that I have been enjoying sorting through bagging and pricing. There were a few other choice bits as well. All of these items will be appearing on the Facebook page over the next few days and there are still another 50 or so long boxes in the storage area. Brian and I are going through them as quickly as possible, but most the boxes have very little to no order in them and it is quite a slog getting through them. The all new Dollar Boxes Brian has constructed will be specially displayed in the front of the store for the next month or two so make sure you make an effort to check them out!

 

Time for me to get to work! I have another chiropractor appointment tomorrow morning and I don’t know if I will be in any condition to come into the store afterwards so there’s A LOT for me to get through today! Enjoy the steamy weather and know that Monarch will be running the AC full blast to make your shopping experience a little more comfortable this week.

 

Eddie