Category: Uncategorized

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

Hey, Folks!

 

It’s ALREADY Memorial Day weekend!?! This year has been such a whirlwind of changes and incidents for me that it feels like time is just whizzing by while I stand in the maelstrom. I’m actually relieved that Brian decided to take some time off this week as it means that I can get back in the store and get some serious work done. We have a couple of collections that we are dealing with right now (and by “we”, I mean, “Brian”), but we also have a ton of new back issue material that we had bought in the months leading up to FCBD that still needs to be sorted, bagged, priced, and filed in the back issue boxes. It is mostly just “run filler” material, but it has been put off long enough and I would really like to have some more space in the back room. So that is my big project this weekend.

 

Also, today is the deadline for Diamond May initial orders. Normally I would be super panicked that the job isn’t further along than it is, but I’m not too concerned because there is no Lunar FOC this week because of the upcoming holiday so I have a couple of hours to spare today. It’s MOSTLY done, you understand, but I was totally exhausted and aching by yesterday by the time I finished my second chiropractor’s appointment and the sub form/shipping list and I couldn’t sit still long enough to finish my spread sheet work. It’ll get done just fine!

 

Because of the sheer amount of comics that Hill and I humped back from New Jersey we will briefly be adding a second table full of new Dollar Boxes soon. “Soon” as in “Maybe By The End Of The Weekend Soon”. We will see how long it takes me to get to the storage unit for the extra display table so I have somewhere to actually set the new dollar boxes. Make sure you check them out…I assure you they will be juicy!

 

There is a very small shipment next week because of the Memorial Day holiday as well as it being a fifth week month. That is good because I think we ALL need a break after a pretty crushing load of comics over the last couple of weeks. Brian and I did get stocked on supplies in case you’d like to take this time to get your bags and boards and we still have plenty of relatively new dollar box material from FCBD. Oh, and while I’m thinking about it…the remaining FCBD titles will be going back into storage next week so if you would like to pick any of the freebies up make sure you swing by the store sometime this weekend.

 

Okily dokily…that’s it for me. Time to get everything posted and get back to work. Please remember that I am closing the store on Monday, May 29^th, for Memorial Day. I considered staying open to see what would happen, but the last holiday I did that I only saw 2 customers all day. Also, because everything else is closed (like the banks) it make sit impossible tog et some of my usual Monday stuff done. So I hope that everyone has a safe and fun holiday weekend and if I don’t see you this weekend, we look forward to welcoming you back next week!

 

Eddie

Hey, Folks!

 

My goodness has it been a weird week for me. The trip that Hill and I took to New Jersey to pick up a comic collection went incredibly smoothly. I mean, I was more than a little impressed that we made a 1,000 mile round trip in 48 hours with no delays or problems getting nearly twice as many comics than I was expecting. I thought the drive from here to New Jersey would have been a bit more exciting…I was picturing scenes from Smokey and the Bandit with Hill and I fleeing from and out-running Smokeys on the highway, but, sadly, it was nothing but miles and miles AND MILES of pleasant hills and forests. OMG…I was SO bored. But New Jersey itself was quite lovely and it was really good to see the friend that offered his comics up to me. I hadn’t seen Michael in years and he was a gracious host who took us to a great Indian restaurant as well as an amazing breakfast place AND a wonderful French patisserie. We also got to see the amazing spectacle at night of the Manhattan/Staten Island skyline.

 

Brian and I are just starting to get into the more than 60 long boxes of material we picked up over the weekend. It is a 50 year mix of D.C., Marvel, and small press comics and while it looks like a lot of what I would call “run filler” (low price comics that fill in runs of long series) or “dollar box” material. I randomly pulled out a couple of interesting keys, including Giant Size X-Men #1 and New Teen Titans #1 & 2, so there is some good stuff in there…somewhere…lol. Anyway, keep your eyes peeled on our Facebook page for any news regarding new key back issues as well as when we put out new dollar boxes!

 

I’m kind of burying the lead here, but I was involved in a car accident on Monday morning. Yes, it’s true…Hill and I did a mad 1000 mile round trip dash over the weekend with absolutely NO problems only to come back to Toledo and get involved in a hit and run. I was at a stop light on Airport Highway Monday morning and right after the light changed I started to move forward. I checked my rearview mirror as I prepared to change lanes and I noticed this car driving up behind me. I thought, “Huh…that car seems to going really…” SMASH! She careened into me at 50MPH, shoved my vehicle over, ran up the side of my car, nearly took off the passenger side mirror, and then went rocketing down the road leaving me stunned and sitting in the middle of the road. Somehow I managed to hit the brakes and turn off the engine, although I don’t remember doing it at all. I did see a sheriff’s car going in the opposite direction flip on his lights and go chasing after her. My phone was plugged into my car and had ended up somewhere on the floor. Luckily it was right side up and I was able to call out to Siri to phone 911 for me. They sent and ambulance and then I called Hillman and basically just waited. I learned later that she drove down the road, beached her vehicle at a gas station just in time for it to burst into flames. All very exciting stuff, I suppose, but I missed the those events and merely heard about It through others. At the end of the day I am dealing with a lot of aches and pains and I can’t wait to see how long it takes for me to feel 100% again.

 

That’s it for me this week. I literally can’t handle any more “fun”. Hopefully I will have all of this insurance and lawyer stuff straightened out by the end of the week, but I apologize in advance if you come into the store and I am rundown or in a bad mood…😊

 

At least now you’ll know why…

 

Have a great weekend!

 

Eddie

Hey, Folks!

 

I’d like to start this week’s EDitorial by thanking everyone who helped to make FCBD 2023 such a roaring success! I must admit that I have been disappointed by the attendance level for the event since we emerged from the 2020 Apocalypse and, less significantly, since I took over ownership of the store from Steve. 2021 & 2022 attendance were barley half of what Steve and I had achieved together during FCBD 2019, but this year the attendance went back through the roof and I couldn’t have been more thrilled! So thanks to Teresa and Card Advertising, the Monarch Avengers, Shivers Ice Cream, Kurt Nielson Photography, my employee Brian McMillin, my former sassy employee and door guard, Jake Teelander, and my beloved husband, Hillman Crawford for all of their hard work. I know you all know it already, but I would not have been able to get 6 people to show up without you!

 

I’ve been getting a lot of calls lately about people looking to sell their comics and believe me, we are interested, but I need to explain a bit about our current situation. Brian and I currently have a rather large collection that we are contending with as well as at least two smaller collections that are currently in waiting. Hillman and I are on the cusp of an exciting road trip to New Jersey of all places to pick another large collection of around 40 long boxes. Because of this I need to let everyone know that there is a line and it may be a couple of weeks until we have the time to sort through your collection. I mean, please remember that there are only two of us here and Brian is waaaaay better at doing it then I am, although I will be digging into the work now that FCBD is past and I have a little more time. As a result, if you are interested in putting your stuff in front of us then there is one of two ways we can go about it. If you have fewer than 50 comics then we can arrange a date and time for you to come in and we can take a quick look at your wares and let you know if we are interested or not at that time. If you have more than 50 comics then you may either drop your comics off where they will go into the queue and we can give you a call when we finish going through them or you could simply hold on to them and arrange to bring them back in when we are through the queue. Either way works for us and always remember that there are several other stores in the area to check with as well.

 

I’m not quite sure what I am going to do with all of these new back issues…lol. I mean, with a little rearranging I could possibly fit a few more boxes into the back issue area, but soon we are looking at a point of over saturation. Brian has already begun to weed out material from the current back issue boxes to go into he dollar boxes to start making room for possibly better selling back issue stock, but that is only going to get us so far. The 40 boxes we are procuring from the Jersey shore I suspect are going to be mostly dollar books, but who knows? I might be looking at expanding the amount of retail space we have set aside for the Dollar Boxes soon. In any case, keep your eyes focused on the Facebook page where Brian and I will be listing all of the new key back issues we put out for sale in the next month or two and we will also begin letting you know if large runs of back issue “filler” become available as well. Keep you eyes on the box or two (or three) that occasionally pops up on the showcase counters and generally represents new acquisitions that we haven’t quite gotten around to filing out on the back issue boxes. This summer is going to be a “Summer of Back Issues” for Monarch and I can’t wait to see how it goes!

 

I’m sorry I didn’t have the time to broadcast this week’s episode of Afternoon Delight! Brian and I had mostly gotten everything out back together after Saturday, but we were wholly surprised and delighted by the amount of foot traffic we got through the store on Tuesday and the customers that I hadn’t seen for a minute that I got to have engage in conversations. I’m also dealing with a schedule change in my life that is taking me a little longer to adjust to. Everything should be back on schedule next week!

 

I hope that everyone has a great weekend and wish Hill and I luck as we start our journey Saturday morning!

 

Eddie

Hey, Folks!

 

Well, here we are on the cusp on yet another exciting Free Comic Book Day! All preparations are nearly done and even if I wanted to change something I just couldn’t…lol. Brian and I are very muchly looking forward to welcoming everyone into the store on Saturday.

 

This year’s FCBD will not be noticeably different from last year’s event. Once again, we will be carrying ALL of this year’s FCBD selections, including a few other freebies that I am throwing into the selection. The Monarch Avengers are looking forward to reprising their various roles for pictures. The talents of Kurt Nielson’s Photo Studio will once again be here in force with their awesome mobile photo booth which will allow you to get pics with the members of the Monarch Avengers and have the picture immediately texted or e-mailed to you complete with a custom frame. We will also be handing out coupons for free ice cream from our FCBD partners Shivers across the street. It’s kind of a big deal and I simply can’t wait for the day to arrive!

 

As per usual, everything is set to get started around 11AM. This will mostly depend on how quickly the cosplayers get here and are ready to go. The line usually starts forming up around 10-ish and I like to get things started ASAP. Once again I will be limiting patrons to 5 comics per person and that is mostly to make sure I have enough comics to go around. As the day progresses and the crowds die down I tend to relax those limits once I am sure that I have enough free comics to go around. Additionally, any comics left over after Saturday will stay on the counter for at least a week and will be available for anyone who stops by the store.

 

We will also have the brand new Dollar Boxes set up out on the sidewalk for your perusal. Brian and I have been working very hard for the last two weeks carefully building and preparing around a dozen new dollar boxes and I have a feeling those of you who enjoy going through dollar boxes are going to love them! Just an FYI, but if you are entering the store either to pay for dollar comics selections ro if you simply want to shop without worrying about the free books, please let the doorman (Jake) know and he will let you in without bothering about the line for the free comics.

 

Those of you who have been enjoying Monarch’s recent acquisition of more back issue material can take heart in knowing that Hill and I are going on a trip to the wilds of New Jersey next weekend to pickup a HUGE lot of nee back issues. How big is “HUGE”? Around 40 long boxes of comics which is around 1,200 comics, most of which will consist of DC comics from the 70’s to the 00’s. It’s gonna take Brian and I a few weeks to sort through them, but keep your eyes peeled for another big box of new back issues on the counter as well as a bunch of new dollar boxes!

 

Okily dokily, I’m done for the day. It’s been pretty busy in the store today and I am hopelessly behind on FOC as well as a few other things. Crap…looks like I will be taking work home again tonight and NOT unboxing and playing my new board game with Hillman. Oh, well, I guess ownership has its liabilities as well as pleasures…:P

 

Hope to see everyone on Saturday!

 

Eddie

 

 

Hey, Folks!

 

I was planning on writing a long and endearing EDitiorial this week including passionate reviews of Renfield and Evil Dead, a long winded discussion of FCBD, my great love for my customers, and various other things, but, frankly, I am now hopelessly behind on my Thursday work and since Hill & I are going to go see the Spirited Away stage play showing at Fallen Timbers Cinemark tonight I will NOT have time to catch up after work. So, please have a great weekend and remember that FCBD WILL be taking place on Saturday, May 6^th, and I am very muchly looking forward to seeing everyone there!

 

Have a great weekend!

 

Eddie

Hey, Folks!

 

Free Comic Book Day is a little over two weeks away and the crunch is coming on to finish preparations for it. I mean, I’m sure that you’ve all noticed the advertising push, but the Monarch Avengers (our very special cosplayer group) are ready to go and I have also successfully retained the services of Kurt Nielson Photography for the hand held photo booth. The ice cream promotion with Shivers is also locked in. It is true that I haven’t sorted through the FCBD titles yet, but I should be able to do that fairly quickly. Oh! And those of you who are fans of the Monarch Comics dollar boxes are going to be thrilled by the totally awesome boxes I have constructed for the event. They will be right outside the door on the sidewalk this year again for easy access! So much excitement coming our way!

 

I should also let everyone know that We once again have a life forming for purchasing comic collections. Brian and I are both working as fast as we can, but we are in the process of evaluating one rather large (and impressive) collection and we have a couple of other smaller collections that we are trying to power through. Also, the week after FCBD, Hill and I are taking a quick road trip to New Jersey in order to pick up a rather large collections comprised of at least 40 long boxes. I’m not entirely sure what we will find in that collection, but I suspect that it will be a lot of D.C. comics between the 70’s-00’s. So if you have a collection of books for us to look at, please don’t be upset if we have to ask you to wait a couple of weeks before bringing them in…it’s nothing personal I just have so much room for stock in the back room and I am trying to get everything cleaned up and organized for the cosplayers to use on FCBD.

 

I wanted to mention once again that due to cost, both actual cost as well as shipping costs, Monarch Comics will no longer be carrying the Diamond Previews catalog. That is not to suggest that they aren’t available to us, but you will have to ask us to order one in if you are interested in them. I believe I have enough ordered now to cover all of the folks who use them to place their monthly special orders, but if you have been inadvertently missed then please let Brian or I know and we will take care of you. The Marvel and D.C. catalogs are still available and will be free as per usual.

 

Okily dokily, that’s it for me this week. I will now spend the rest of the afternoon trying to motor through all of my FOC stuff as well as hopefully getting to spend some more time constructing dynamite dollar boxes. Oh! I also wanted to mention that I will be attending the Spirited Away Live on Stage Fathom Event next Thursday and since it starts at 7pm I will be closing the store around 6:30pm. Again, that is Thursday, 4/27, NOT today.

 

Have a great weekend and enjoy the warm up!

 

Eddie

Hey, Folks!

 

Now THIS weather is more like it! Low 70’s during the day and sunny…mid-50’s at night. Tis is absolutely perfect to me. I know I used to prefer insanely hot and humid days, but that kind of crazy thinking belongs to a significantly younger and thinner man…lol. I can’t tell you how happy it makes me just to be able to prop that front door open and get a chance to experience some of the beautiful Spring weather after that winter crap we just went through. I feel like just sitting here at the counter all day long and just let the warm weather wash over me. Oh, wait a second…I WILL be at the counter all day letting the weather wash over me while doing seemingly endless sub form and FOC work. I think I need to put a baking show on or some Justice League Unlimited episodes to make this day move a little bit faster…lol.

 

Well, Free Comic Book Day is three short weeks away! We already have most of the comics in the back room although I haven’t started sorting through them yet. I’ve also secured the free ice cream and Photo booth operator for the event and all of the Monarch Avengers will be joining Hill and I for dinner this weekend in order to make sure everyone is on the same page. I will admit that at this point, after participating in FCBD for 21 years that it is far more of a chore than a pleasure, but that’s just grouchy old Ed complaining. I know that once the day gets here and everything is locked in place that I will enjoy it like I always do. This year we will be putting fresh $1 boxes out on the sidewalk again and Brian and I are putting together some good ones this year. Remember, Free Comic Book Day is Saturday, May 6^th, from 11am-7pm, although the cosplayers will only be here between 11am-3pm…😊

 

So Hill and I went to go see the Dungeons & Dragons movie the other night. I was willing to wait for streaming, but my dear husbear wanted to see it at the theater and I had no problem with it. I liked the film well enough. It was fun and colorful with script, acting, and directing about the level I expected from it. I could have used some more CGI critters running around in the background to really give it that submersive D&D experience, but that’s kind of a minor quibble. The writers did a good job of balancing humor and drama and the cast, particularly Chris Pine and Richard Grant, did a great job keeping the plot moving along in a bouncy and entertaining way. It gets Ed & Hill’s Seal of Approval for what it is worth. Also, give Natahsa Lyonne’s Poker Face a try on Peacock…I kind of liked it.

 

I also wanted to let everyone know that we do have Current/Modern Resealable Bags back in stock. It is a new brand, CBW rather than Ultra Pro, but I suspect they are pretty much the same quality. They price is staying the same at $10 per bag of 100. I do believe that is the last of basic comic supplies that I have been waiting to get back into stock and I feel like the industry has turned a corner in the post-apocalyptic game of things not being easily available. Of course, I say that now and in two weeks there will be something else we are out of and can’t restock. Let’s just quietly hope that all of the supply chains for comics are back open.

 

Well, that’s it for me this week. Going to put my head down and get this FOC stuff done, hopefully so I don’t have to take anything home with me tonight. I have recently been bonding with Hill’s aunt’s miniature horsies and I am very muchly looking forward to getting home tonight to feed them apples and pet them. I love horsies…who knew?

 

Have a great weekend, Folks!

 

Eddie