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