Hey, Folks!
I can tell you already that it’s going to be a weird November for the comic book industry. Why “weird”? Because as many of you have already noticed the comic publishers have thrown their shipping schedules out the window. Franky, I wouldn’t even be mentioning this particular development but I have been hearing comments about it all week so I think it is necessary to at least give what explanation I can for why the release schedules are getting so twisted. From what I’ve been lead to understand because of the paper shortage, worker shortage, and shipping problems, printers have been forced to rearrange and reschedule publisher’s print orders. Apparently, it is just that simple. That’s why we are seeing things like Image splitting up the release date for their variety of variant covers (as well as their announcement regarding no more multiple printings and generally smaller print runs) and Marvel releasing a glut of books one week and precious few the next. Like I said, the comic industry is getting weird.
Next week is no exception. According to my shaky calculations there are only 8 Marvel periodical titles shipping in. My calculations are a little shaky because originally there were around twice as many copies originally scheduled to ship. Because of the way PRH invoices us for shipments I won’t have “official” confirmation of what to expect until Friday afternoon. Obviously the creates a small problem as I ideally need tog et next week’s shipping list/subscription form ready to go by Thursday afternoon. This difficulty is partially alleviated by the fact that Diamond is still carrying Marvel product as a sub-distributor and so I still have access to official lists, but I really won’t know for sure what items are coming from PRH until they finally send out their invoices. The fact that Diamond, Lunar, and PRH all have different website formats just adds a level of trickiness to the whole affair.
Anyway, I just wanted to let everyone know that I am doing my best to get ahead of all of this wackiness and make sure that you don’t miss any of this comic goodness that is coming out right now. I’ve been experimenting with different ways behind the scenes to keep better track of things coming and going and I am sure that the process will get smoother with time as well as by efforts from our beloved distributors to streamline things. Hopefully, the current printing crisis getting resolved will also make things easier. I’d also like to request a little patience as Brian and I work through these industry changes in the coming months. There will probably be mistakes along the way, for instance an item may appear on the sub form that isn’t actually coming out yet, but I assure you that I am doing my best to take care of those problems before they even manifest.
Monarch Comics has got a couple of events coming up this weekend. On Saturday, author and comic book historian Jim Beard will be doing a book signing in the store to promote his books on the classic Batman TV show. He’ll be here in the store between 12pm-4pm and will have copies of his books available for purchase. Monarch will also be participating in the Bikes and Boos trunk or treat event in the parking lot here at the Colonial Village Shopping Center. There will be plenty of candy available for the kids as well as a display of free comics outside the store. This event will be going on between 2pm-5pm.
Well, that’s it for me this week! I hope everyone has a safe and fun Halloween weekend and I look forward to seeing you in the store soon…😊
Eddie