Hey, Folks!
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!
Have a great weekend…😊
Eddie