We certainly seem to be doomed to live in interesting times.
I honestly can’t believe how much things have changed in the last week. It seems like months since I was dealt the crushing disappointment of a cancelled concert and now I feel a bit foolish being as upset as I was about it. What initially seemed to be a massive panic and overreaction has now morphed into a situation where it seems we weren’t taking it quite seriously enough. Now with everything being so uncertain and hazy I am dealt the inevitable task of figuring out how to be a socially responsible business owner AND keep the business running through perilous times.
I’ve talked it over with Steve and our current plan is to keep the store open at regular hours as long as we are able to before we get shut down like so many other small businesses. If, however, you don’t feel comfortable coming into the store we are relaxing our rules regarding how long we will hold your books until you can pick them up. Please just reach out by phone or Messenger to let me know that you are either ill or just simply going with the quarantine and we can reach some sort of arrangement. Otherwise, I can assure you we are open and that at this point we haven’t had any problems with he supply chain side of the business.
All of that being said, if the governor does closed down non-essential businesses (although how comics can be considered “non-essential” is quite beyond me) then we have plans in place to deal with that eventuality. Monarch Comics will switch over to curbside service, a solution that other comic stores have used successfully in cities where a full quarantine is in effect. Obviously I’ll have to work out the fine details, but if we have to switch to curbside service then you will simply let us know what you want and you may pay over the phone and I will run your comics out to you when you pull up to the store. I’m hoping it doesn’t come to that, but wish in one hand and $#!@ in the other and see which fills up first, as my dear old mother used to say.
As for the other elephant in the room, Free Comic Book Day, nothing has been officially announced from Diamond as of yet, but I think it is pretty safe to say that it is at the best going to be postponed and at the worse cancelled entirely this year. Diamond attempted to float a bizarre idea for Free Comic Book May, but they were laughed out of the room by comic retailers everywhere and were forced to go back to the drawing board. The big problem with rescheduling the big day is exactly when we are supposed to reschedule it. I mean, at this point, nobody can even wrap their heads around the extent of the emergency NOW much less two or three or six months from now. Unfortunately, the FCBD titles have been ordered, printed, and are currently on their way to us now and that cannot be stuffed back in the box. Because of the time sensitive nature of some of the FCBD titles I do believe that we will be able to hand them out to regular customers as of May 2nd, but even that situation is fluid at this point. I will keep you updated as I get information in from Diamond.
On the quasi-good news front, those brave and hardy souls from Fantasticon have rescheduled the Toledo show for August 22nd-23rd at the Seagate Center. Obviously this date is subject to change depending on the state of the country by then, but all previously held tickets will be honored. So make sure you hold on to your tickets and let’s hope things clear up by August.
I literally just received word from Diamond as I am writing this that Free Comic Book Day 2020 HAS been officially postponed for a later date, hopefully sometime over the summer. While I know there is a bigger picture involving sickness and tragedy, I can’t help but feel extreme disappointment at the postponement. This, as many of you know, is Steve’s final Free Comic Book Day before his retirement in December and I was hoping to make it a good one. But still I totally understand the need to, you know, NOT have 800 people crammed into the store during a pandemic situation. As I mentioned above, we should be able to start handing out some of the books as of May 2nd and we will make them available to regular customers, particularly if they are spotlighting upcoming storylines.
I hope everyone has a great weekend and that there are no fatalities because of having to live close quarters with your family. Again, I will be here all weekend if you need a break from isolation. Unfortunately, there is rarely more than 10 people in the store at a time…lol.
Well, here we are at the beginning of yet another day of successfully dodging the Corona virus here at Monarch Comics. So far, so good, as they say and “they” certainly have a lot to say about it! I know I should be concerned about the spread of the dreaded virus, especially considering my Dad is part of the population vulnerable to such things, but all I can obsess over is whether or not the music festival in Atlanta is going to be cancelled or not. I had already pretty much given up all hope of seeing Taylor Swift live this year because of her limited appearance schedule, so when Hillman arranged for us to attend the big festival she’s appearing at I was thrilled nearly beyond comprehension. Now I’m trying to tap down expectations and I find myself obsess-compulsively checking websites every half hour to see if my dreams have been turned to dust or not. At this point Hill and I have already decided to go to Atlanta even if the festival falls through since the hotel rooms are already boked and I have it on good authority that there is plenty to do in Atlanta. Still, it will just break this poor comic retailer’s heart if the event gets cancelled. I do want to assure everyone that Steve and I are hand washing maniacs and we will keep Monarch Comics as virus free as possible.
So, now that I’ve gotten past the whole “Virus Panic Thing” let’s move on to what I really want to talk about…Batman! Yes, Folks, Batman is the big D.C. character for the first and second quarter and it looks like all the dials are going to “10” with the advent of the Joker War storyline starting in Batman #95 in May! After the last couple of year’s worth of Tom King’s Bat-related psychodrama it looks like current Batman writer Tynion is teaming up with the rest of the Batman family of titles to deliver and good old fashion Batman/Joker fight! We here at Monarch Comics are doing are best to make sure we have plenty of copies for new readers ready for the new grudge match to jump on board and join the fun.
Batman #91 and Nightwing #70 can be considered prologues to the new story and are getting released next week. I do have an order bump kicking in with Batman #91 due to the recent instant sell-outs and such, but since I’m still not sure whether I’ve hit my ordering ceiling or not I’m going to restrict sales of the new issue to one copy per customer. So when you are filling out the Subscription Form this week please only choose a regular or variant cover as I will only process one copy. I will keep this policy in place until I am satisfied that I’ve covered everyone who wants a copy. Hopefully, this issue will be a good gauge of how many copies I can actually move and it will be the last issue I have to worry about any ordering restrictions.
Nightwing #70 is only coming in with my normal Nightwing sale numbers, so this title will also be subject to my “One per Customer” rules. I know I have enough copies to cover everyone who normally buys Nightwing, but there will be no extras and the issue has, of course, sold out two weeks ago so there is no chance of ordering additional copies for coverage. There has been a Nightwing #70 2nd printing solicited and I will have copies of that available on April 1st for anyone who may miss it and wants to check out the Joker story within its pages.
Speaking of multiple printings, Batman #89 and Year of the Villain Hell Arisen #3 are both going back to print. I’m not quite sure why D.C. didn’t just print more copies of the 2nd printings considering how small the window was for shops to order them, but they didn’t, so I might as well not sit here complaining about it. We still have a few copies left of Batman #89 2nd printing available and we will have limited copies of YOTV Hell Arisen #3 available next week. Please check with Steve or I if you are interested in a copy of either book. The third printings will both be available March 16th!
D.C. did finally unveil all of their covers for the upcoming Catwoman 80th Anniversary Super Spectacular #1 last week and I must admit to being very impressed with the artist’s efforts this time around. I have the covers posted on our Facebook page and they should all be here as well, except for the Jim Lee cover which was released later and I have replicated for your perusal below. Remember we are still taking preorders for a complete set of all 10 covers for the discounter price of $80 so let me know if you’d like a complete set. Heck…let me know if there’s a specific cover you are interested in picking up and I will add your name to my spread sheet. All orders for sets or specific covers will be guaranteed if received by the FOC date of March 16th.
As for the Joker 80th Anniversary Super Spectacular #1, well, we have most of the covers available to us now and I will be taking preorders for sets or specific covers for this title through the FOC date of March 30th. As with Catwoman above, Joker comes with ten different covers by 10 all star artists and we will be selling the sets for $80. We will, of course, also be taking special orders for any specific cover(s) you are may be interested in. I will post the missing covers as they become available, hopefully before FOC!
JOKER 80TH ANNIV 100 PAGE SUPER SPECT #1 REGULAR CVR BY CAPULLO
JOKER 80TH ANNIV 100 PAGE SUPER SPECT #1 1940S ARTHUR ADAMS
JOKER 80TH ANNIV 100 PAGE SUPER SPECT #1 1950S DAVID FINCH VAR
JOKER 80TH ANNIV 100 PAGE SUPER SPECT #1 1960S F MATTINA VAR
JOKER 80TH ANNIV 100 PAGE SUPER SPECT #1 1980S SEINKIEWICZ VAR
JOKER 80TH ANNIV 100 PAGE SUPER SPECT #1 1990S G DELLOTTO VAR
JOKER 80TH ANNIV 100 PAGE SUPER SPECT #1 2000S LEE BERMEJO VAR
JOKER 80TH ANNIV 100 PAGE SUPER SPECT #1 2010S JOCK VAR
JOKER 80TH ANNIV 100 PAGE SUPER SPECT #1 BLANK VAR
Here is the official D.C. Comics list of Joker War main story and tie-in issues. Hopefully I’ll have a cool graphic to share next week:
MAIN STORY: Batman #95-#100
TIE-INS: Batgirl #47-50
Catwoman #25-26
Detective Comics #1022-1027
Harley Quinn #75
Nightwing #70-75
Red Hood Outlaw #48
If you are interested in following the whole story then please let me know, especially if you are interested in picking up copies of titles you normally don’t buy. I’m going to do my best to cover everybody!
BATGIRL #47
DETECTIVE COMICS #1022
DETECTIVE COMICS #1022 VAR ED
DETECTIVE COMICS #1023
DETECTIVE COMICS #1023 VAR ED
NIGHTWING #71
NIGHTWING #71 VAR ED
And for a final bit of big Batman news, I’m happy to report the Geoff John’s long talked about Three Jokers story line is finally on the schedule. This is, of course, the follow up to the stunning revelation a couple of years ago that there has apparently been three different Jokers running around the DCU. There’s been a lot of speculation and commentary about it and I’m pleased that creative team of Johns and artist Jason Fabok are prepared to do a whole lot of explaining. Three Jokers #1 will be published under the Black Label banner and will come out in the same format as Batman Last Knight on Earth and is due out June 17th!
3 JOKERS #1
3 JOKERS #2
3 JOKERS #3
That’s it for me today, Folks! Have a great weekend and I’ll talk to you again next week!
Well, the latest edition of “Snowmageddon-Toledo-Style” has finally come and gone and we can pick up the pieces and move on with our snow covered existences. While I am happy that my customers who plow snow for a living got some work yesterday (I just love that PHAT snow plow comic money!), I found it extremely irritating that the storm that was supposed to be passed by the time I got off work was actually just picking up speed at exact moment I had to go over to my Dad’s place to clean up the mess. Honestly, it was Wednesday night and it had been a loooong day and all I wanted was to go home and slob out in front of the TV and maybe do a little laundry and instead I was stumbling through a winter wonderland trying to shovel huge snowdrifts and clear off Dad’s car while the snow just kept coming down. The job did get done, but I am so sore this morning that its going to take a real effort to get through all of the end of the month comic retailing stuff that needs to be attended to today. As a humorous post script to this gripping narrative, Hillman showed up literally five minutes after I finished Dad’s drive to help out…lol. Thanks, Hill, you really are the best, but we need to work on your timing…😊
Regular Cover by Greg Capullo
Regular Cover by Joelle Jones
1940’s Variant by Adam Hughes
1950’s Variant by Travis Charest
1960’s Variant by J Scott Campbell
1970’s Variant by Frank Cho
1980’s Variant by Stanley “Artgerm” Lau
1990’s Variant by Gabriel Dell’Otto
2010’s Variant by Jeehyung Lee
Speaking of end of the month retailer duties, today is the day that I will be entering initial orders for the February Previews. Of course, as I’m sure you are all aware of by now, initial orders are not quite the same thing as final orders so there is still some time to put it any special requests. The four biggest titles on initial orders today are the Joker 80th Anniversary 100-Page Spectacular #1, Catwoman 80th Anniversary 100-Page Spectacular, and Batman #92 and 93. The Joker and Catwoman titles are part of D.C.’s big $9.99 specials with ten variant covers each, most of which represent different decades of the character’s development by w wide arrange of artists. We have a Good News/Bad News thing going on with the Joker/Catwoman covers. Unfortunately, D.C. Comics has only provided the regular cover for the Joker title, although I do have a list of the artist’s slated to do the covers. The good news is that D.C. just released all of the Catwoman covers save the 2000’s Jim Lee variant this morning so at least I have that to put in front of you. Adding to my conundrum is the information that current quasi-fan favorite/speculator darling Punchline will have her origin story in the Joker title only makes my order predictions even foggier. I will have a small amount of each cover available for the rack, but if there is a specific cover(s) you are interested in then please let me know. Monarch Comics is also continuing our special sale deal on folks who order a complete set of covers. The price for a full set of either Joker or Catwoman is $80 (plus tax).
Batman #92 regular cover by Yasmine Putri
Batman #92 variant cover by Stanley “Artgerm” Lau
Batman #93 regular cover by Tony Daniel
I’m not sure what to make of Batman #92 and 93, at least in terms of what demand is going to be. I mean, the story and art has been top notch since the new team of James Tynion and Tony Daniel took over and I expect the high quality will continue with artist Guillem March joining on these issues. D.C. Comics made the issue of demand a little more difficult to gauge yesterday when they told us that the previously announced card stock variant cover by Francesco Mattina will now be replaced by a card stock variant cover featuring Punchline by star artist Stanley “Artgerm” Lau. In addition, issue #93 will have the big finale to Tunion’s “Their Dark Design” story line and will also be the prologue to the big “Joker War” story arc that officially begins in Batman #94 (and will also include several tie-in issues, but that’s a problem for the March Previews…)
I’ve got some numbers in mind for both issues and a hazy idea of what I’ll need in terms of folks who always buy Batman, but I’m almost completely in the dark on what I’m going to need on hand to satisfy folks who are going to be curious about this new story line or the cool covers. So, if you don’t regularly read Batman or do read Batman, but have a specific cover choice in mind, then by all means please let me know. Anyone who requests specific a specific cover (or mulitples) who gets me their order by the FOC (4/1/20 for #92 and 4/15/20 for #93) will have their copies guaranteed. After the FOC, the best I can do is guarantee that if you regularly buy Batman through our subscription service then I will have a record of it and you will get at least one copy of the titles to read.
The drama of the missing box from UPS ended up being resolved fairly quickly yesterday. I mean, it was a pain in the neck (or other, less identifiable body parts) to deal with behind the scenes, but I have to admit that I pulled it off with considerable aplomb. It’s nice to see that the system I’ve gradually developed over the last thirty years is sturdy enough to withstand the weight of a crushing shipping error. Please let me know immediately if you missed a title you requested this week and I will do my best to take care of you. I think I got everyone covered properly, but I have been known to make the occasional error ( shocking, I know!)
Flash #750 regular cover by Howard Porter
Next week we have the arrival of another big D.C. anniversary issue, this time Flash #750. Flash is one of those mid-tier comics that has a surprisingly robust fanbase, but whose numbers don’t change much from issue to issue. So when I sat down to do orders for the title with its 10 variant covers and very little solicitation information, well, I decided to backpedal and go a bit light on this offering. In any event, I will have a small number of each cover available for order this week, but the last time I checked all covers were still available for reorder which could change at any time. As a result, if there is a specific cover you are looking for Flash #750 then please let me know by placing a request VIA the subscription form. We will be offering a full set of ten covers for $63 (20% off the retail price) for anyone interested.
One final quick mention…we will be limiting orders for Batman #90, due out next week, to copy per customer to make sure that everyone gets a copy who wants one. This restriction does NOT apply to those of you who ordered multiple covers before the FOC or who regularly buy both Batman covers. So please only choose one cover or the other when filling out the subscription form this week. If you choose more than one cover then I will fill your order with either one or the other based on which cover I have more copies of in stock. Thanks for understanding on the limitations and know that this means more Batman for more people!
That’s it for me this week, Folks! I’m already running a bit behind schedule this week in regards to getting the subscription form posted, so I suppose I better wrap this up and get it going. Thanks again for all of your understanding with the UPS snafu this week and I hope everyone has a great weekend!
Did you ever have one of those days when you just wanted to call off sick and stay home and bake all day? No? Well, I’m having one of those days today and it is somewhat frustrating. I spent the morning having my usual breakfast at Doc Watson’s and I spent the time perusing the Paul Hollywood bread baking book I bought recently. As I read the instructions, it kept heightening my desire to get my hands into a big blob of dough. I started chatting with my bartender about baking over my morning coffee and as we discussed past baking attempts and triumphs my desire to spend the day over a hot oven just continued to grow. By the time I finished my fourth cup of Joe I had already charted a new baking course for myself that included the creation of a caramel/chocolate mousse tart as well as experiments involving Choux pastry and, of course, baking bread. I wrestled with my conscience in the van, but ultimately I decided I couldn’t forego a day in the office as there is so much to do to keep this comic business running smoothly so I made the trip into work. Unfortunately, by the time I get off of work tonight and get home it will be far too late to attempt any real baking unless I plan on being up half the night cursing weak pastry dough and burnt attempts at caramel. I wish I had a kitchen at the shop…lol.
I got through Wednesday pretty easily this week despite the colossal headaches involved with the distribution of Batman #89. For those of you not in the know, Batman #89, released this week, contains an extremely brief and unnamed cameo of a new member of the Batman Rogues gallery…Punchline! Punchline is apparently going to be Joker’s “replacement” for a quasi-reformed Harley Quinn and there are many people banking on these early cameos exploding with demand. I won’t speak on that except to say that I am rather proud that I do believe I managed to get Batman #89 into the hands of all of my regular Batman readers and I’m going to count it as Mission Accomplished.
Putting aside matters of the secondary market, speculators, and eBay, I’d like to say that the current Batman creative team of James Tynion and Tony Daniel are certainly knocking it out of the park. The current storyline, built off of some the elements left behind from Tom King’s so-so Batman run, is fast-paced, exciting, and is promising to introduce a couple of new Batman villains (including the aforementioned Punchline) as well using the current Rogues Gallery in new and interesting ways. I’d still like to see more Robin in the book, but it is fun to have Catwoman currently playing top partner for Batman as it harkens back to Doug Moench’s 80’s Batman run, a favorite of mine.
Getting back to the debut of Punchline, there is a lot of interest in next week’s Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen #3. This is because it has been being billed online as Punchline’s first full appearance. Well, according to Dan DiDio, YOTV #3 is actually another cameo appearance as opposed to a full appearance. Obviously I haven’t read the issue myself yet, but after DC dropped the ball with Batman #89 I’m somewhat confident that this assessment is true. The lack of availability of Batman #89 to curious onlookers and the jacking up of prices on the secondary market has left a bit of egg on DC’s face and I doubt they want to compound their miscalculation with another book next week.
Unfortunately, Monarch Comics will only have enough copies of YOTV #3 to cover regulars who bought the second issue and will not be available on the subscription form or the new release rack. I simply don’t have enough copies coming in. There will be a second printing available on 3/11 (the same date that Batman #89 2nd printings go on sale) and I will have a limited amount of the second printings. Please let me know if are interested in second printings of either title and I will do my level best to see to it that you are covered.
Dan DiDio, in a Facebook post to retailers, did mention that Punchline’s first full appearance will be in Batman #93 which also heralds the prologue to the new Joker War storyline in the title. Batman #93 is due out 4/15 with an FOC of 3/23, so I have plenty of time to put in final orders. If you are interested in single or multiple copies of either the regular cover or the card stock variant (by Francesco Mattina) then now is the time to let me know. If you normally buy Batman then you are covered, but if you are looking to jump on board for the new character/storyline then let me know so that I can have an idea of how many extra copies I am going to need. I already have an idea of how many extras I’m going to order, but any solid data is worth it to help with my (admittedly) dodgy calculations.
February is quickly coming to an end and so is Monarch Comics’ Annual Post-Holiday Sale! You still have until Saturday, February 29th, to enjoy big savings on our back issue boxes and wall display books! All back issue boxes will remain 50% off the price marked and wall display books will be 25% off until the 29th. The Dollar Boxes will also be 3 for a dollar until the end of the month. Help us reduce our inventory and bolster your own collection before time runs out!
That’s all for me this week, my friends. I’m going to turn my attention to finishing up the subscription list, posting everything, and then finish the job of shopping for a new laptop for the store. My current laptop took a big dump on Tuesday and it’s running to a final breakdown. Big thanks to Cyn and Tim Mackley for their technical expertise over the last two days and the loan of a USB keyboard to keep the ship of state running smoothly. BEST CUSTOMERS EVER!
Well, THAT “snowstorm” was a fart in the bathtub! I mean, I wasn’t expecting Snowmageddon or anything, but I was certainly expecting more than this trickle of snow and ice. I’m not complaining, per se, but I had to get up and hour early in order to have the time to clean up both my sidewalks and drive as well as my Dad’s and it would have felt more satisfying when I completed the tasks if there had been a bit more snow on the ground to clean up. I briefly considered not even bothering with my Dad’s house, but I had already told him I’d be there and his car did need cleaning off for a doctor’s appointment this morning and I was up already anyway. I have a feeling that this may be it for the year, but Mother Nature does have a way of throwing us snowy curveballs.
It was a pretty big comic shipment this week, but I am pleased to say that I think I got my orders just about perfect. By “perfect” I mean that there were no glaring omissions or too many of one title or too few of another. I didn’t have a moment of panic as copies of this book or that book went flying out the door with no relation to previous sales on the title. It was a nice full rack when we opened yesterday and it remains healthy looking despite near perfect sales yesterday. It’s nice when a plan (and an order) comes together so well.
That being said, next week looks like there may be a title that is going to make my head spin. Batman #89, set come out next Wednesday, is apparently already sold out from DC and Diamond with a second printing already on the way. I got wind of this yesterday, but since it was Wednesday I didn’t really have a chance to figure out why. I’ve poked around a bit and figured out that Batman #89 is the first appearance of a new character….Punchline, Joker’s new girlfriend. She is being hailed as a replacement for Harley Quinn. Naturally DC didn’t give retailers any kind of head’s up regarding the new character debut, so my Batman numbers are essentially set at what’s been selling for the last couple of issues. So in the interests of fairness as well as making sure that those of you who regularly buy Batman get a copy of the new issue I am going to limit sales to one copy per person. Those of you who preordered more than one copy (for example, one regular and one variant cover) with your monthly order forms will still have your order honored. I honestly hate having to do this, but I can’t very well let one person buy 3 or 5 or 10 copies of a title while leaving no copies for the regulars. If you do end up missing the first printings I will also have copies of the 2nd printing available in limited quantities on 3/4/20.
Wolverine #1 is another big book debuting next week. As per my current policy regarding Marvel Comics and their incessant number of variant covers, I will only be carrying the main cover on the rack for this title. I have just been perusing Diamond’s website, however, and I see that they still have quantities available for two of the variant covers…the Skottie Young variant and the Chip Kidd Die Cut variant. Please let me know if you would prefer one of these variants versus the main cover and I will be happy to order them in for you.
I also wanted to mention the upcoming Joker and Catwoman 80th Anniversary 100 Page Super Spectacular #1’s, both of which are scheduled to drop in April. Both titles will retail for $9.99 and there will be ten different variant covers for each, much like the recent Wonder Woman and Flash special issues. They will be divvied up as “decades” variants as well as a regular and blank cover with a variety of fan favorite artists. Unfortunately, as is often the case, DC does not have any of the cover images available save for the main covers and I realize that it makes it difficult to commit to something you haven’t seen, but I wanted to let you know that we will be offering complete sets of each title for $80.00. I will have limited amounts of each cover available for the rack, but I can guarantee sets or just specific covers if the orders are placed with me before the FOC. FOC date for Catwoman is 3/16 and the FOC for the Joker is 3/20. Cover artists slated for Catwoman are Joelle Jones (Regular Cover), Adam Hughes (1940’s Variant), Travis Charest (1950’s Variant), J Scott Campbell (1960’s Variant), Frank Cho (1970’s Variant), Stanley “Artgerm” Lau (1980’s Variant), Gabrielle Dell’Otto (1990’s Variant), Jim Lee (2000’s Variant), and Jeehyung Lee (2010’2 Variant). Covers artists slated for the Joker include Greg Capullo (Regular Cover), Arthur Adams (1940’s Variant), David Finch (1950’s Variant), Francesco Mattina (1960’s Variant), Jim Lee (1970’s Variant), Bill Sienkiewicz (1980’s Variant), Gabrielle Dell’Otto (1990’s Variant), Lee Bermejo (2000’s Variant), and Jock (2010’s Variant). I will post the variants as soon as DC makes them available.
That’s it for me today, Folks! I managed to get the subscription form and shipping list done yesterday afternoon so all that is left is to post this message and I can get ready for meeting later this afternoon with the fine folks from Card Advertising. Yes, it’s that time a year again when Steve and I have to start planning out the Annual Free Comic Book Day fun and games!
Thanks to this terrific winter wonderland we all woke up with this morning I am running inexcusably behind schedule this week! I mean, I got up extra early this morning so that I could dig myself out and then head over to my Dad’s place and clear his walks and driveway as well as head over to the pharmacy for him and have my regular Doc Watson’s breakfast and it still all just got away from me. Add to that the fact that it took me FOREVER to finish the subscription form this week because of the weak internet I deal with here at work and, well, let’s just say that it is has been a rather frantic Thursday. My only hope is that everyone else is either running behind for similar reasons or were lucky enough not to have to go to school/work this morning and might be sleeping in or lazing around without looking for the subscription list.
At least I didn’t hurt my back again shoveling. That’s one thing going for me and I do believe it will please Hillman to no end that his boyfriend is fully functional this weekend rather than hobbling around like an 80 year old.
I must beg your forgiveness this week as I fumbled the ball a bit with a couple of titles that I apparently under ordered in the extreme this week. X-Men Fantastic Four #1 and Star Wars Darth Vader #1 are currently sold out here at the store and unavailable from Diamond. It is still relatively early in the week though and they may pop back into stock and I will definitely be monitoring the situation all weekend. There have been second printings for both titles offered for advance orders today and those are due out 3/11. I will be carrying quantities of the second printings if more first printings don’t magically show up in the system after Diamond deals with all of their damages/shortages. If you missed either issue then please let me know and I will put you down for one once I get them back in stock. Sorry about that, my friends, I’ll try to be a little better at orders next time.
We also got in the Mandalorian and Child standups this week and, before you ask, yes, they are cute as a button! The Mandalorian standup retails for $39.99 and the Child (A.K.A. “Yoda Baby”) is available in one of two ways, $12 for one of the individual standups or $39.99 for a set of all four. Quantities are limited, so pick up your Mandalorian and Child Standups today!
That’s it for me this week. I honestly have nothing else left to blather on about save that next week is a pretty big ship week. Here’s hoping I actually ordered enough comics to go around! Enjoy your weekend!
It’s a pretty uneventful week and so I’ll make it short. The most important news is that Friday marks the last day for the first stage of our annual post-holiday sale. That means that our extensive collection of hard covers and trade paperbacks will be on sale for 25% off the price marked through tomorrow, so if there was a little something-something you’ve had your eye on you have but one more day to pull the trigger to take advantage of big savings!
Not to fear…our 50% off the back issue boxes sale will be continuing throughout the month of February. This includes 25% off our wall and showcase display titles and the dollar boxes will continue to be 3 for a dollar as well. With savings like this it doesn’t matter if we keep having these smaller ship weeks!
I also wanted to mention that I know the new release rack has looked a little barren this month. I mean, aesthetically speaking I would certainly prefer to have every single customer walk in and be greeted by a new release rack fairly bursting with comic book goodness, but I’m in the middle of a very delicate experiment involving inventory control. As I’m sure you can imagine, inventory control is the heart and soul of this business and I have been working hard with the tools I have at hand to perfect my life’s work of getting perfect new comics numbers. If a comic book retailer does not have an iron grip on his inventory they may become victim to “The Death of a Thousand Paper Cuts”. Put simply, having one unsold copy of a comic is no big deal, but if you multiply that one copy by a thousand you start to have problems. I will admit that I have been a little too zealous in some of my cuts witnessed by some of my quick sell-outs lately, but thanks to the subscription form and a better engagement with my customers I’m getting a handle on these little snafus. As much as it is great to sell out of a title, especially one that I ordered more or less blind, I also really hate that feeling of suddenly realizing Wednesday morning that I am going to be selling out of something way quicker than anticipated.
So please, ALWAYS remember…if you don’t see it on the rack ask for it at the counter. Oftentimes it is as simple as finding a copy behind the counter and usually I can reorder what you are looking for with no problem. If you don’t say anything then I will have no idea that I under ordered. If I am not in the store then please mention it to Steve as well. Steve has no ability to immediately find out availability of sold out items, but he is very good at passing messages on to me and I will sort through any requests as soon as I am back in the office! Additionally, never underestimate the power of Facebook Messenger. While It may take me a few hours to get back to you depending on the day and time of your question, I WILL get back to you as soon as I can. My job, nay, my whole purpose in life, is to make sure all of your comic book needs are sufficiently supplied!
One more thing to mention…a couple of weeks ago I took a chance and preordered some Mandalorian merchandise. Originally I wasn’t even going to try to carry anything Mandalorian related because I was (and still am) convinced that the Big Box and online retailers were going to see the stuff long before we would. I didn’t want to order hundreds of dollars of merchandise only to find out later that everyone bought it weeks or months ago from someone who got it from the manufacturer quicker. However, when I saw these particular items I decided to throw caution to the winds and order a couple of each. Plus, I wanted to see the look on Steve’s face when these items sold out within two hours after he groused about ordering them at all. So, as of Wednesday morning, we will have a small amount of…the Star Wars Mandalorian and Child Life Sized Standups! WOO HOO! They will be sold separately and retail for $39.95 each.
That’s it for me this week. I’ve got plenty of fussy paperwork to catch up on and so I think I’ll put on my headphones and enter Taylor Swift Nirvana while I do it. Have a great weekend!
It’s been an interesting time at Monarch Comics this week as I got the supreme pleasure of fixing a UPS delivery shortage. I’ll admit to a bit of smug self-satisfaction as I successfully contacted the correct people in the correct order and said the right things in order to fix the problem. 30+ years of comic book retailing will give you that kind of blazing insight.
It all started on Tuesday afternoon. Technically Tuesdays are one of my days off, but for the last year or so I’ve been coming in late in the day to help with the new shipment. It just seemed easier to give up a couple of hours of a day off versus dealing with my portion of the weekly unpacking early on Wednesday morning. I come in around 4:30-5pm, putz around with the sub orders, help Steve out with he special orders, record the Facebook Live show, and then pull all of my subscription peeps. Simple, right? I’ve actually got it down to a science and I can usually get out of the store before 8pm. It’s simple alright…as long as nothing goes wrong.
Well, something went wrong on Tuesday. Our UPS driver dropped off the bulk of our shipment a little later than usual and announce to Steve that he couldn’t find one of our boxes. He said he would be back with it once he found it so Steve didn’t kick up much of a fuss. When I arrived around 5 or so he still hadn’t returned. I went online and checked out the status of the missing box and there was some kind of note attached to the shipment tracking that didn’t make any sense outside of the fact that it looked like we wouldn’t be getting the missing box until the next day. I should mention now that it was a huge box with well over 2 dozen titles contained within and it would be a huge headache if I didn’t have those books on the rack before Wednesday morning. Not only would we be missing essential titles, but I would have had to do sub pulls twice in order to make sure everything was done properly. I blanched at the thought of it.
So I proceeded to start the process to get it straightened out. The first step was to call Diamond Comics Distributors to see what they could tell me about the missing box. Now we just recently lost our customer service rep so all I could do was call the general number and see who picked up. I was hoping for an experienced employee who could, you know, actually help me, but it was a crap shoot. Luck, r something similar, was with me and the gentleman who took my call quickly looked up the missing box and he was just as mystified as I was by the weird note on the shipment tracking page. “This doesn’t make any sense,’ he said, “let me call UPS and get back to you.” He was true to his word and got back to me immediately and assured me that UPS would be contacting me within the hour and they would help me straighten it out.
I was cautiously hopeful at this point and prayed to the comic retailing gods that the UPS person calling would be as efficient and helpful as the Diamond rep. Once again, my desperate prayers were answered by a very polite and competent UPS rep who found my package and offered me the choice between waiting until tomorrow to have the shipment delivered OR I could swing by the Maumee customer service station between 8pm and 9pm to pick up the box. I dreaded the thought of waiting for the box in the morning for all the reasons enumerated above, so I immediately told her I would pick up the box at 8pm. Luckily, Hillman was going to be stopping by after he got off work for his weekly X-title fix (Excalibur and Marauders this week…two of our favorites!) so he could give me a ride to UPS to pick up the box. My back is still a mess after throwing it a couple of weeks ago and I needed a big strong he man to haul it out to the car.
Bottom line? I got the missing box, finished the unpack, sorted through special orders, and got the subscriptions pulled by 11pm or so. It was a long night, especially for a “day off”, but it was so worth it when I hit the ground running on Wednesday morning and was ready for the ravening hordes hungry for new comics! I was pleasantly surprised when the solution came together relatively easily and I could get the job done with minimum muss and fuss!
Steve and I will be working on January initial orders this afternoon which will include our orders for Free Comic Book Day titles. Can you believe we have to work this far in advance for FCBD stuff!?! Anyway, for the last several years, Diamond and its attendant publishers have offered some FCBD merchandise exclusives that are only available on the big day, Funko in particular has had some fun FCBD exclusives for the last couple of years. I try to carry these items when possible, but this year there are items that I have absolutely NO idea whether there will be any interest in them or not. I figured I’d better mention them now and solicit any preorders for them before they hit their FOC dates. Never let it be said that I don’t enjoy giving my customers options!
FCBD 2020 MARVEL GALLERY EMMA FROST PVC FIGURE
The first exclusive FCBD merchandise item is the FCBD 2020 Marvel Gallery Emma Frost PVC figure. The X-Men’s sexy femme fatale is an approximately 12-inch diorama featuring detailed sculpting and paint applications, and comes packaged in a full-color window box. It is by Caesar and sculpted by Alejandro Pereira. The Emma Frost PVC figure retails for $49.99 and the FOC date is 1/31/20.
FCBD 2020 MONDO SPIDERVERSE MILES MORALES PX ENAMEL PIN
The second item is the FCBD 2020 Mondo Spider-Verse Miles Morales PX Enamel Pin! Designed by Matt Taylor and released through Mondo Tees, this 1.2″ hard enamel pin has a butterfly clutch pin arrives on an Into the Spider-Verse backing card. It retails for $10.00 and the FOC date is 1/31/20!
FCBD 2020 FUNKO PX MARVEL MYSTERY BOX
The final FCBD merchandise exclusive is the one from Funko and it is real head scratcher…at least for me. They are the FCBD 2020 Funko PX Marvel Mystery Boxes and even thought I’ve read the item description three times I still can’t quite figure out how to sell these things to you…lol. I figure the easiest thing to do is just pass Diamond’s solicitation info onto you and see what you think…
“Funko steps up their game for FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2020 with their first-ever PREVIEWS EXCLUSIVE Mystery Box! Inside you’ll find a brand-new Marvel Comics POP! PX bobble-head figure, an exclusive PX Marvel Funko Variant Comic Book (title TBA), and a PX Funko POP! Character Tee – all PX items and available in Comic Shops on Free Comic Book Day 2020! The POP! PX figure comes in standard Funko window box packaging for easy display, while the Marvel comic book features cover art in the Funko style, depicting the Mystery Box’s featured POP! character in three randomly distributed designs: Main Variant Cover (65%), No Logo Variant (25%), Gold Logo Cover (10%)! There are three Mystery boxes to choose from (A, B, C), each with its own exclusive T-Shirt design of the featured POP! character. The character and contents of the box are a MYSTERY for now, but you’ll only have to wait until Free Comic Book Day to discover what’s inside the box!”
That’s it! That’s all the info I have on these “mystery boxes” and, frankly, I don’t know enough about POP collectibles to know exactly who is going to be looking for these things on FCBD. On top of that, you have to order the mystery boxes by short size which really ups my anxiety level for ordering any at all. And don’t even get me started trying to explain this promotion to Steve…he can barely understand the appeal of regular Funko products. So, I’m leaving it up to you, gentle sentients. If you are interested in purchasing one of the mystery boxes then please let me know and I will order in your box. All three boxes retail for $34.99 and the FOC is 1/31/20. When ordering, please include the t-shirt size of your choice. Sizes range from Small to Double Extra Large.
Wonder Woman #750 shipped in this week and is selling at a good clip. In addition to being legacy numbered at #750 this issue of Wonder Woman starts a new chapter in DCU continuity with a back up story by Scott Snyder which shows us Princess Diana’s new place in the DC Universe. As you probably know by now it also comes with ten different covers and has a cover price of $9.99. We started off yesterday offering a complete set of 10 covers for the sale price of $80, but I’m afraid we no longer have all of the different covers still in stock. I just checked with Diamond and only about half of the covers are still available for reorder, so if there is a specific cover you are looking for and it isn’t on the rack then please check with me to see if I can order one in for you.
FLASH #750 by HOWARD PORTER
FLASH #750 1940S NICOLA SCOTT VAR ED
FLASH #750 1950S GARY FRANK VAR ED
FLASH #750 1960S NICK DERINGTON VAR ED
FLASH #750 1970S GARCIA LOPEZ VAR ED
FLASH #750 1980S DELL OTTO VAR ED
FLASH #750 1990S MATTINA VAR ED
FLASH #750 2000S JIM LEE VAR ED
FLASH #750 2010S FRANCIS MANAPUL VAR ED
All of that brings me neatly to DC’s next big milestone, Flash #750! Featuring 10 different covers (a “regular” cover, a blank cover, and decades variants from the 40’s-10’s), Flash #750 features the beginning of “The Flash Age”, the story DC has been building toward since issue #50! In addition this special anniversary issue will also feature tales from across the generations of super-speedsters by an all-star line up of creators! Flash #750 will retail for $7.99 and is due out March 4th.
Monarch Comics will be offering a special sale price of $63.99 for all ten covers. This offer will be while supplies last. I have to admit that I will have considerably fewer copies initially ordered for this title versus the previous special DC anniversary issues, so please let me know ASAP if you would like to purchase a complete set or even a specific cover. Subscription customers who don’t specify a particular cover will receive whatever we have in stock after complete sets are compiled. The FOC for the issue is 2/3/20!
That’s it for me this week, Folks! It’s already after noon and I still have to get all of this mess posted online as well as getting my January initial orders entered. Thankfully, my first draft of initial orders is complete and the only things of substance that needs to be sorted out is our orders for this year’s FCBD titles. If you have any questions about any of the items above then please message me on Messenger or give me a call. I’ll be here for the rest of the week!
I’m just sitting here at work putting the finishing touches on this week’s subscription form and watching the end of the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover from the CW! Yes, the excitement is mounting as our intrepid heroes have managed to, well, I just realized I probably shouldn’t say anything on the off chance that someone hasn’t seen the big finale or is waiting for the Netflix release. Ugh…I have things I want to say about it…questions to ask…fiddly fanboy things to bitch about! Oh, well…I guess I’ll have to just spend the next week having the same conversation 143 times with you, my adoring customer base. I suppose I should also warn everyone that Monarch Comics is NOT a spoiler-free zone. Where also can everyone freely discuss what’s new in fandom with like-minded individuals?
I also finally finished that Mandolin show over on Disney+ this week. I hate admitting it, but it was a terrific narrative. It was well written, acted, produced, and filmed…truly a tremendous feat. I have been a Star Wars naysayer for year…nay, decades…and I have to belly up to the bar and dig into some humble pie. This was truly an exceptional television show. I know a lot of you are now waiting with bated breath for the second season, which I am reliably informed will be out in the Fall, but I have to admit that like another recent comic book show triumph <cough>Watchmen<cough> I would perfectly happy if the Mandolorian was just the one season. It was such a satisfying experience from soup to nuts that I’m not sure how much more could be added with more of the story. That being said, I WILL be tuning in for season two…:P
Wonder Woman #750 is coming out next week and according to what I’ve read it is going to be the harbinger of yet another new era for DC comics. Well, in conjunction with Doomsday Clock, I suppose. I am curious to see how it all plays out. I know a lot of you are somewhat exasperated by yet another retcon of the DCU, but I think that it usually makes for an interesting revitalization of the monthly comics. Okay, okay…New 52 was kind of a dud, but it did give us some great Batman stories and inevitably led to Rebirth which was pretty good. I didn’t regularly read DC Comics until the debut of the original Crisis on Infinite Earths so I suppose I have a soft spot for these continuity do overs. Wonder Woman’s switch to “Legacy” numbering is apparently the way forward for DC as Flash is doing the same thing (with the same number) next month. I wonder who gets the interesting task of adding up all of those Legacy numbers anyway?
In any case, Wonder Woman #750 is following the lead of Action Comics #1000 and Detective Comics #1000 with a series of 10 covers, most of which celebrate a particular decade in Wonder Woman’s development. Monarch Comics will be offering complete sets of Wonder Woman #750’s 10 different covers for a special price of $80 while supplies last. You can take advantage of this special price by either ordering a set on the subscription form or by stopping by the store next week. I have no idea how much of these gems DC Comics has over printed for the event, but I do know that I only have enough preorders on the book to accommodate a handful of sets, so order yours today!
I would be remiss in my duties if I didn’t mention that our annual post-holiday sale is still in full force. As tired as you must be of hearing me repeat it, all of our hard covers and trade paperbacks are 25% off price marked and includes already marked down sale items as well as any special orders. The back issue boxes are 50% of price marked and our wall display books are 25% off price marked. Additionally, the Dollar Boxes have all been magically transformed into 3 for a dollar boxes. The hard covers/trade paperback sale will continue through the end of January and the everything else will be on sale through the end of February!
I can see we are due for a little snow event starting tomorrow night which actually kind of sucks because Hillman’s birthday is on Friday and I will be out of the store on Saturday celebrating it with him. “Who’s Hillman?” you may be asking? Oh, he’s just this great guy I’ve been kinda sorta seeing for the last ten months who is going to get a good birthday party if it kills me. Or him. Or anyone or anything that gets in the way of making it happen. Unfortunately, I haven’t yet achieved the ability to throttle the life out of a potential winter storm so I guess we’ll just have to deal with it. In any case, as I said, I won’t be in the office this Saturday as Steve has graciously agreed to cover my shift. I will be back on Sunday, however, so if you have nay questions, concerns, or special orders then please feel free to send me a note on Messenger and I will get to it as soon as I get back to work. Wish me luck as I will begin the baking and construction of Hillman’s Black Forest Birthday Cake tonight!
Have a great weekend, Folks, and please be safe once the wintry antics start!
Well, the holidays are finally over and everything is going back to normal or as normal as things get in the comic business. After the tsunami of titles that surged up during the last couple of weeks of the year we have been given a slight respite from our favorite publishers as January is a five shipping week month and your usual favorites are spread out a bit. This, of course, gives you the opportunity to stock up on comic supplies of which we have just gotten a solid restock of after letting things sell down for the end of the year and to take advantage of the Post-Holiday Sale where all of your favorite hard covers and trade paperbacks are 25% off the price marked and our back issue boxes are all 50% off! Additionally, our Dollar Boxes are, for the month, now magically transformed into 3 FOR A DOLLAR boxes! Take advantage of these great savings now and help us reduce the amount of stuff we have to count for the end of the year inventory…lol.
You might recall that last week I was crying in my beer over throwing my back out again for the umpteenth million time. It’s even more embarrassing to know that it happened merely by getting up out of my chair although I was considering inventing some fiction involving lifting a truck off of an injured child to make it sound more dramatic. I’m still in pain although it has been downgraded from “complete agony” to “frustrating ache”. You’ll be pleased to know that I have stopped drugging myself insensate at night and progressed to merely using pillows to prop myself up. And while I wasn’t able to throw comic boxes around with my usual vigor I did have a go at lugging my laundry around last night. Here’s hoping it heals up by next week.
I finally pulled the trigger on opted into the new Disney Plus streaming channel. I swore that I would not make the move until I cancelled one of my previous streaming services and I’m afraid the DC Universe app bit the dust this month. Don’t get me wrong…I thoroughly enjoyed the DC app, particularly the wide selection of back issues that were available digitally, but their television content just wasn’t as tempting as the Disney Plus service.
And what a wide range of programming they offer! Many of you have heard me comment about it at the store and I will say it again…I could care less about Star Wars, Marvel, Pixar, or Simpsons…what I was really excited about was tucking in and watching al of the 70’s live action Disney films that my parents used to take me to see at the Jesse James Drive-In when I was a kid. I started out with a personal favorite, “The Cat From Outer Space”, and despite having an issue trying to turn off the close captioning it remains one of my favorite and most fondly remembered kid’s films. I’m also convinced that Spielberg ripped off the plot from “Cat” for “E.T.”, but that is a discussion for another day.
I also sat through the original “Pete’s Dragon” and what an eye-opener that was! I had absolutely no memory of this children’s classic being so, well, creepy. I mean, we’ve got a family of deranged and filthy hillbillies who sing charming songs about buying children from orphanages, turning them into slaves, and then torturing them to death. No wonder this kid has a dragon as an “imaginary” friend! I’m just surprised that the dragon didn’t roast these awful people alive and eat them for dinner. Adding a crazed evil sorcerer who’s dangerously obsessed with dissecting the dragon for spare parts and his demented assistant who has no trouble kidnapping kids to use as dragon bait and you’ve got a Disney film that is ripe to have its trailer recut as a horror movie! Thank goodness Helen Reddy is there to lighten things up a bit as a hot spinster who does a song and dance number for the drunks at the local bar including her lovable sot of a father played by Mickey Rooney. And I haven’t even mentioned the OTHER local spinster who is a curiously strict school marm who I suspect wears a leather bodice under her plain school marm dress.
I also bit the bullet and started watching “The Mandolin Player”…sorry, “The Mandalorian”, that everyone has been raving about lately. I have a complicated relationship with the Star Wars franchise and as I will tell anyone who will listen I’m not that big of a fan. That being said, I have sat through the all of the Star Wars film released since “The Force Awakens” and I must admit that I have found some measure of enjoyment out all of them. “Solo” is still my favorite Star Wars film, but a funny thing happened while tuning into the first four episodes of “The Mandalorian”.
I’ve been watching them two episodes at a time which just about perfectly fills the average amount of time I spend watching the Boob Tube at night. The first two episodes rather surprised me as the television series is gorgeous looking and one of the best look TV productions I’ve ever seen. And, yes, “Baby Yoda” IS aggressively cute and clearly has the mutant ability to turn hard-bitten bounty hunters into pools of adoring goo. But a funny thing happened about halfway through the third episode, I realized that I was genuinely invested in the fates of The Mandalorian and his erstwhile child…invested and thrilled at the spectacle of their daring escape from an army of crazed killers. After decades of hatred for the franchise followed by a couple of years of indifference I suddenly realized that this industrious little show was quite possibly the best Star Wars narrative I’ve ever seen! I mean, if the movies were as sharply written and acted as this little screen gem I might have ended up loving the material as much as, oh, I don’t know…Jim Beard or somebody! By the time I got to the end of the fourth episode, I was hooked! This really is a terrific little show and I’m looking forward to finishing the first season. I want to know more about these “Mandalorians” and what exactly the significance is of the “Yoda Baby” and what the evil Nazis…I mean “former Empire agents” want with it. Hats off for everyone involved in this small triumph of a television show.
That being said, “Watchmen” is still the better show so if you haven’t started watching it yet I suggest you get on your hobby horse and get going!
Cover by Joelle Jones
1940S Variant Edition by Joshua Middleton
1950S Variant Edition by Jenny Frison
1960S Variant Edition by J. Scott Campbell
1970S Variant Edition by Olivier Coipel
1980S Variant Edition by George Perez
1990S Variant Edition by Brian Bolland
2000S Variant Edition by Adam Hughes
2010S Variant Edition by Jim Lee and Scott Williams
I haven’t really commented about it too much because I am really reaching the upper limit of my tolerance for variant covers, but Wonder Woman #750 is shipping in two weeks and all of the cover images are finally revealed to the public. (To be fair, I stopped checking for updates two weeks after I put in the initial orders, so they may have been available earlier. I just figured if DC couldn’t be bothered to make the images public sooner then I couldn’t be bothered in trying to sell their books blindly.) Once again, there will be ten different covers with one marking every decade of Diana’s existence as well as a “regular” cover and a blank cover. I went far lighter on these books as opposed to Action Comics and Detective Comics #1000, but I think I will have enough to go around for my beloved customer base. I’ve discussed it with Steve and we will also be offering a deal on anyone who is interested in a complete set of all ten covers. At cover price, the ten covers would be $99.90 and we are offering the set for $80, a 20% savings! This discount will apply if you preorder a set, order it on the subscription form, or simply pick one of each off the rack. Reserve your copies today!
That’s it for me this week, my friends! I hope everyone has a great weekend and that no one gets swept away by the three feet of rain predicted over the next couple of days. Remember…at least we don’t have to shovel it!
