Month: July 2023

Hey, Folks!

 

My goodness, apparently I missed a big storm yesterday! I mean, yes, it did rain out in the country where I am currently hiding out. I was in the middle of final construction of the sub form when I looked out my new windows and saw that the wind had whipped up a bit and I stood up and saw the pond was being pummeled by rain, but honestly didn’t think much of it. It really is kinda hard for me to hear what is going on outside when all of the fans and air conditioners and audio books playing and the windows all being closed. Hill got home from work and we both went out to feed the horsies their daily apples and we made the hike to the road to check the mailbox when it started to lightly rain. No biggie at all.

 

Imagine my surprise when I got up and out the door this morning and there were branches down everywhere and one of the pastures had filled up with water! There were a ton more downed branches and stuff all of the way into work this morning and then I started seeing on the news that a lot of actual trees went down and that plenty of people in the area lost power as well. On top of that it STILL 300 degrees outside. Well, I’ve got the air cranked up at the store so feel free to swing by and enjoy the cool a bit if you need to. I just happen to have tons of comics as well.

 

Can I just take a moment and be quietly thankful that the UPS strike was adverted yesterday? I hadn’t really commented on it much because the thought of it actually happening sent me into an anxiety overload. I mean, the last time UPS went on strike back in ’97 was a nightmare and I had no desire to relive it. Thanks to everyone who had anything to do with fixing the situation and I honestly hope everyone got what they wanted. Monarch Comics would not be able to function without UPS and we appreciate everything they do to make our lives a little easier.

 

I did read the X-Men Hellfire Gala 2023 Special this week. Um…WHOA. It kicks off the next chapter of the Krakoa epic and it is not called “Fall of X” for nothing. It has been a minute since I read a whole comic book with my jaw hanging open and this year’s Gala bowled me over. It is no exaggeration to say that everything changes at this point. I don’t want to spoil anything else, except I did want to mention that because it had a $8.99 cover price and I have heard many times about how this new comic will change everything I will admit that I ordered somewhat conservatively on the title. We sold out pretty quickly yesterday and I do have more copies coming that will hopefully be here before the end of the week. I have a feeling those won’t be enough either so understand that I will be keeping this book in stock as long as I can because anyone who is a regular Marvel reader is going to love this new start!

 

Also, small SPOILER ALERT here. Ms Marvel/Kamala Khan makes her return in this one shot. I don’t think it is much of a spoiler as it happens as soon as the issue starts and she is on one of the covers. I won’t go into the specifics, but Ms Marvel is back in time for the new movie and the “Classified” comic that Marvel has been putting in their catalogs for the last two months? That’s the new Ms Marvel miniseries entitles “Ms Marvel New Mutant”. I’ll leave you to figure out how that connects to the Gala…lol.

 

I am still working hard at getting through the Jersey collection. The last box I sorted through was Superman titles (Adventures/Action/Superman/Superman Man of Steel) from the late 80’s-early 90’s. It started off with John Byrne reboot and goes through the death and return of Superman and a few issues beyond. It was not the sexiest box I’ve dealt with, but that’s kind of the way it goes. I just grab a box off the pile and start putting it in order and then divvying it up between back stock, back issue boxes, and dollar boxes, grade, bag, and price, and finally file them where they go. It is a process and it takes the time it takes. I have put the new back issue boxes on the counter Tuesday afternoon so if you come in the store this weekend you might want to flip through them to see what’s heading out onto the floor in a week or so!

 

That’s it for me. I should really get my FOC stuff done so that I can get into the next Jersey box. I think it is filled with New Titans, Omega Men, and Suicide Squads. Stay tuned True Believers!

 

Eddie

Hey, Folks!

 

Sorry for not having an EDitorial last week, but I was clobbered with customers last Thursday afternoon and I thought it was more important to just get the Subscription Form posted as soon as possible. I mean, it wasn’t even like I particularly behind with my Thursday chores, but I didn’t want to slip even a little so I just went gaily forward and got everything done but the EDitorial by the end of the day…lol.

 

I’m not sure where everyone stands on the “Barbie VS Oppenheimer” movie showdown this weekend, but Hill & I are coming down on the Barbie side. I really so want to go see Oppenheimer, preferably on the IMAX screen, but there is not time for that this weekend, so a simpler Barbie showing is what we are going for. That being said, Our friend Amy is thrilled that we are going to see it as opposed to the seemingly endless array of slimy horror films and overblown super hero flicks that we are normally hauling ass to see. I was just saying this morning that I should cosplay as a Barbie Dream House for the Sunday evening showing, but upon further reflection it is hard enough to get my fat butt into those seats without adding a two car garage as well.

 

I’m not sure what the current state is on the possible UPS strike, but it looks like the distributors are trying to get ahead of it. I kept scratching my head and wondering not why, but how, PRH and Lunar had been so successful with getting us a week to a week and a half ahead on our book deliveries, but, of course, now I understand that they are trying tog et as much stuff delivered ahead of time as possible to head off any product delays. Diamond has told us they have some plans to deal with the possible problem, but they are long on promises and short on information. I guess we will see, but I do want to take a moment and warn that even if they manage to get ahead on new stock deliveries chances are that any reordered titles are going to take longer than usual for us to get delivered. Honestly, there is really no way to tell what the situation is going to be until we are hip deep in it, but I did want to let you know that the comic industry will be affected and Brian and I will doing everything in our power to keep things running smoothly. If there ends up being a week or two with late deliveries, please remember that I am working feverishly to get more new back issue stock processed and out for sale and we are currently all stocked up on available comic supplies.

 

Speaking of the Jersey collection, the former owner was visiting from Jersey last week and dropped off a few more boxes of material that I have pretty much finished sorting through. There is a lot of new Dollar Box material out on the tables with a couple of long comic b0xes worth waiting in the wings. The current back issue boxes we’ve had on the counter for the last two weeks will be hopefully going into the back issue boxes today or tomorrow and there will be a few new boxes of back issue material that will take its place. Please remember that these boxes are being replaced regularly and you can always ask Brian or myself what is new stock.

 

Thanks for tuning in, Folks, and I hope everyone has a great weekend! I will be here in the store everyday this week save for Saturday. Hill and I have some wedding redux things to do so I won’t be here, but I will be back on Sunday!

 

Eddie

Hey, Folks!

 

Well, my vacation nonsense is finally over so you can expect to be blessed with my presence more in the store. In fact, Brian wants the weekend off (and who can blame him after his stupid boss took the last two weekends off) so I will be here all day Saturday and Sunday. I’m not sure yet how long I will be here on Friday, but I’ll be spending some time here then as well. Oh, goody…back to a 7-day schedule…

 

As a result of me spending more time in the store, I will hopefully be shooting through sorting the Jersey Collection as well. There is a lot of material that I have been going through that is mostly run filler or dollar box stuff, but the amount of interesting keys that I have run into has also been fascinating. The Teen Titans and the Swamp Thing issues I recently brought in went even quicker than I expected and I will admit that I am often surprised how much books are going for these days that I remember as the quarter box material from my youth. I have been more or less keeping the books I post on Facebook at the $25 or more level, but I may start posting some other titles that are cheaper just because I feel like some of you may be looking for them and that they will disappear into he back issue boxes with none the wiser. Brian and I have been discussing creating some new headers out in the back issue boxes such as “DC Elseworlds” so that some of this material will get a little more of the spotlight. As I think I mentioned a week or two ago, the current system of processing books, then displaying them on the counter for a week or two, and then filing them in back issue boxes will be continued. I have heard your comments and know you appreciate getting a loser look at this material before it goes into the back issue boxes.

 

I hope that everyone has a great weekend and get a chance to enjoy this steamy weather! I will be here at the store if you want to stop by and say “hi”!

 

Eddie