Marvel's 70th Birthday

From the Diamond Daily retailer newsletter, 6/16/09

Marvel Comics is planning a 70th Anniversary Party on Tuesday August 11 at 9:00 pm, celebrating 70 marvel-ous years at the House of Ideas with the early release of The Marvels Project #1 (JUN090440D, $3.99) & Marvel Comics #1: 70th Anniversary Edition (JUN090454D, $4.99) and their respective variants, exclusive offerings, and more.

Participating retailers may:
• Place The Marvels Project #1, Marvel Comics #1 70th Anniversary Special, and their variants on sale in their stores at the special party date and time of Tuesday, August 11 at 9:00 pm.
• Order as many copies of The Marvels Project #1 70th Anniversary Party Variant (JUN090442D, $3.99), The Marvels Project #1 Blank Cover Variant (APR098193D, $3.99) and Marvel Comics #1 70th Anniversary Edition Party Variant (JUN090455D, $4.99) as desired by their FOC date of July 14. (Non-participants will be permitted to order up to five copies of these variants per store.)
• Participate in a Marvel 70th Anniversary Collection Sale...
• Order the Marvel 70th Anniversary Poster (NOV082320D) for $1 each from July 17 to July 24.
• Receive promotional materials including postcards, downloadable designs for cake toppers, a customizable press release, shelf talkers, and more.
• Have their store’s name and address listed as a participant in the 70th Anniversary Party in a Marvel.com story.


There are, of course, abundant variants to be purchased for both stores participating in the birthday party and store that are not. I think this would be a great event without the variants and wish Marvel didn't always run to them as a promotional tool. There are so many other good things going on for this event that I don't think it's necessary. But Marvel is known for variants, so I'm not remotely surprised they've incorporated several into this promotion. And people do buy those variants, so as long as there are buyers I'm sure Marvel will continue to make them.

In addition there are some discount offers for stores that meet minimum order requirements. I always like these. While Marvel does not offer returnability on comics (DC occasionally does) it's nice that they do offer discounts on orders if retailers meet order requirements. It's a good incentive to order a few more copies.

To participate Marvel has set some order minimums on the Anniversary comics. To my surprise and excitement the buy-in to participate is quite reasonable for even a small retail store. Occasionally the requirements for these types of things is high - making it only make sense for the largest of comic book retailers. But here Marvel (and/or Diamond) has done a good job of making this something that most retailers can afford to participate in if they'd like to do so. I have heard that years ago the big publishers used to do things like this--enable retailers to market their brand with fun items and such. While this is not quite to the scale of what retailers have told me they had in the past, it's great to see Marvel working with it's retail partners, providing them with tools that will make it fun and easy to host an event in their stores that can bring in crowds, foster good will, and just be something fun and different.

This event should be a great time, and at Neptune we're always looking for reasons to have parties in the store, so we will definitely be participating in this. Mark your calendar for August 11th and plan to attend. I'm sure there will be cake, prizes, and other cool stuff! Details to come as the date gets closer.

VOTE FOR NEPTUNE

THE WISN A-LIST IS AVAILABLE AGAIN. HEAD ON OVER & VOTE FOR US!!

normal posts resume below this post.

Neptune's Moving Out

We have finally signed on all of the dotted lines and can make the official announcement that we're moving the comic book store to a new location.


Starting October 15 Neptune's new home will be 2120 E. Moreland Blvd. (see the schematic for the exact spot we'll be found in marked in lavender) It's almost twice the size of the location we have now on Sunset. This strip mall is also much larger with large anchors and other good smaller stores. Some tennants include: Blockbuster Video, Kohl's Department Store, Radio Shack, Bartz' Party Supplies and the Chocolate Factory. It is also not far from the freeway, making the store much more accessable to our many customers who commute to the store from outlying cities like Milwaukee, and we're closer to Brookfield.


This mall is actually one of the places we were considering when we were going to open the store. But they did not have availablility that fit with our time frame. The Sunset location where we are now was acutally our last choice, but the only one willing to take a gamble on a new store and having availability and price and size that all worked for us as new retailers. Our lease at Sunset was coming to an end and we felt that if we could, now would be the time to move to a location closer to the freeway and other major shopping stops. Really it has worked out wonderfly. The price and location and timing all worked out and now we can finally move to the location that we wanted when we first opened.


So far our customers have been very supportive of the move, which makes this tough decision easier. We know that it is hard to move a store and get shoppers to go to a new place to visit, but we really feel that in the long run this move will greatly benefit the store, making it bigger and better for both new and long-time customers.

Backpacks & Other Star Wars Stuff

Let me first start out this post by letting you all know we're having a Backpack Blitz sale at Neptune! On Friday August 29th all day you can bring in your backpack and get 20% off everything you can jam in there (except new comics). PLUS you can get 50% off of all back issue comic books. So plan a stop at Neptune Comics as part of your back to school shopping and save big. If you come in with a particularly interesting backpack, like the one above, Craig might even take your picture.

The above backpack is one of many Star Wars products that might make you scratch your head. That movie has generated MASSIVE amounts of merchandise. Since there are many people who will buy ANYTHING Star Wars it doesn't matter how silly the merchandise is, the maker will sell at least some of them. And who can blame them? If I could find a magical pot of gold that was full every time I went to it, no matter how often and how much I emptied it or filled it with crap, I'd hang onto that little pot of gold. To celebrate that, I'm posting images of a variety of unusual Star Wars themed items. Enjoy!

Thanks to jimsmash for a number of them!





Lamps, in case you can't tell...
Cookie Jar
Flash Drive

Busy Weekend!

Not much rest this weekend! As you should all know, Saturday was Free Comic Book Day. We left the house around 7:30 am on Saturday and had to pick up the cake, get some breakfast and coffee, and head to the store where we had to rearrange all of the furniture in order to make room for the free comics and loads of people. Around 10 am the 501st gang started to arrive to change into their Star Wars attire and we began to cut the cake. A line became noticeable outside the store at 10:30 am, and they started getting restless by 10:50.

At 11 am the doors opened and eager shoppers poured in to get comics, both free and not free, and enjoy the cake and see the Star Wars characters. Unfortunately the weather was bleak - it rained on and off for most of the day, finally getting sunny around 7:30 pm (we closed at 5 pm). So the 501st folks had to stand under the awning by the store instead of being able to wander around, and those looking at the items we put outside were cold and even a bit wet when the rain really came down. The store was completely packed from 11 am - 12:45 pm and then you could finally walk from one end to the other in less than five minutes. That's not to say it was empty, it just was not as full. At about 4:45 we thought we'd had our last store visitor leave, but right before we closed at 5 another bunch came in for last minute purchases.

Free Comic Book Day is usually our busiest and best day of the year, and this year was no different. After counting the cash and totaling up the day's sales, we were happy to announce that this was our best Free Comic Book Day yet, in spite of the bad weather. Then we had dinner with some friends and finally went home to relax.

Early to bed meant early to rise on Sunday for the Oconocon. We got breakfast, went to the storage unit, and then drove out to Oconomowoc for the convention. Set up was fairly quick for us, since we didn't sell anything at the convention. Then we got to talk to all kinds of great comic book people. People like Jim Krueger of Justice and Project Superpowers - who should be coming in for an in-store signing this August. Craig got two new sketches for his sketch book - we'll have to upload those this week sometime. After the con wee had a quick dinner with Sean McKeever, Mike Norton, and Chris Burnham.

Then we had to head out to the Majestic Theater to see Iron Man. We enjoyed Iron Man quite a bit. Fun, action packed, clever movie that should be the standard for other superhero films. No Hulk cameo though - that was either cut or just a rumor, unless someone else was able to spot it, but I didn't see it at all. You have to stay through the long credits to the end of the film, of course, to see a little teaser about the future of Iron Man. By the time we got home it was 10 pm.

Now the weekend is over already and we haven't even done laundry or done the grocery shopping for the week. But it was a fun, comic book filled weekend.

Check out the weekend in photos on Flickr, here.

More Comic Reviews

I've been doing a bit more comic book reading lately. Not only on the bus, but also during lunch. Between that and my Captain America business card holder and Lisa Simpson bust-up on my desk, I'm getting the reputation amongst my bank co-workers as the pop-culture gal. There are worse things they could refer to me by, so I'm totally OK with it.

Remember, I am a bit behind on the reading, so these books may be a few weeks old by now.

The End League #2
Dark Horse Comics. Written by rick Remender, pencils by Mat Broome, lettered by Rus Wooton. $2.99.
This seems like it's taken a while to come out. Maybe I'm wrong. Still, it's a book worth the wait. Really great art, although occasionally Broome seems to get lazy on backgrounds - leaving them blank or barely filled in. The story is good to - very solid and interesting. Strong use of different and clear hero archetypes that fight to save not only the few remaining humans left, but also to save themselves. I love that one of the strongest of the heroes, the "god killer" Divinity, is a woman. Not only is she super tough, but she also cries and fights to keep her love, Brian, from death. A

Green Arrow and Black Canary #7
DC Comics. Written by Judd Winick, penciled by Mike Norton, letters by Jared K. Fletcher. $2.99
Turns out that the alien invasion wasn't quite so alien after all. But their discovery starts a new investigation where we find a new bad guy. Fun issue! I especially enjoyed the unique method of torture Canary & Arrow threaten the fake aliens with to get them to spill their guts. This comic is fun & well written with art that works for it. Good stuff. A

Titans #1
DC Comics. Written by Judd Winick, penciled by Ian Churchill, lettered by Comicraft, $3.50.
I did not read the "Part One" of this story arc, and had mistakenly thought that this was a non-continuity story, which appears not to be the case. Still, I thought it was a good read. It seems like it will be a good story - strong start, I will definitely keep reading to see what comes next. Very good art as well. I do think the cover price was a bit too high - let's try to keep these prices at $3, ok publishers. B+ (because of price)

George R.R. Martin's Wild Cards #1
Dabble Brothers Publishing. Written by Daniel Abraham, art by Eric Battle, lettered by Bill Tortolini. $2.99.
I am not familiar with George R.R. Martin's version of this tale. It is a premise that's been done - humans come into contact with foreign chemical, foreign chemical kills some humans, mutates others, granting a few with unusual abilities. Still, I thought it was well written and the art was OK - a little bit lacking in finer details, but still good. My biggest concern with this and the other Dabble Brothers comics we should start to see - lateness. They had problems before their Marvel partnership and during the Marvel partnership, so I am not optimistic that they can keep things on-time after the Marvel partnership. I won't give this one a bad grade because of what might happen in the future though - I'll wait until it happens, or doesn't. B

Avenger's Fairy Tales #2 (of 4)
Marvel comics. Written by C.B. Cebulski, Pencisl by Nuno Plati, lettered by Artmonkeys. $2.99
These fairy tale inspired stories of Marvel characters are fun. I think it is pretty creative to take the Marvel characters and fit them into fables of old. Vision as a Pinocchio character was very good. The art is, as it has been in these "tales" stories, done in a more manga/animation style. I am not always a fan of that style, but it seems to fit with these stories. They are each a one-and-done story too, which makes them great for young and old, collectors and folks new to comics. Entertaining. A

Project Superpowers #1
Dynamite Entertainment. Plotted by Alex Ross, Script by Jim Krueger, art by Carlos Paul, lettering by Simon Bowland. $3.50
The art is very pretty, which I'd expect from anyone working with Alex Ross. Bright colors and lots of detail in every panel. Interesting characters in these stories - The Green Lama is a monk who can teleport via vines- that's pretty unusual. I did not read the 0 issue, so I kinda thought I was lost because I did not seem to know what the premise was. But I did figure it out, or at least I think I did. I will be interested in seeing where it goes. A

Well, I think that's it for tonight. I'm getting pretty tired and I think I've given away too many A's for one day.

The Free Comic Book Day gold sponsored comics arrived today, so I'm looking forward to starting to check those out. Hopefully no dildos in the panels this year! I'll be looking. I can't believe it's only a few weeks away now (May 3). It's always our biggest event of the year, and I am really looking forward to it. We will have some of our local 501st and Rebel Legion folks on hand again, and they are great at bringing in people - and ringing up big sales on all things Star Wars at the register. We will also collect food for the Waukesha food pantry, so don't forget that it's not just about getting free stuff, but also about helping those less fortunate - give to receive. And that's the weekend of the Iron Man movie too - which is also VERY exciting. It's a great time to be a pop-culture gal!

Our TV Ad

We ran this for the last couple of months. I think it's pretty dang cute and we've seen a big increase in sales of the Minimates.



What do you think?

To see our other ads check out our YouTube page.

Where Did Lisa Go?

Craig has been hearing that question, or something similar, quite a bit over the last 30 days. I was hesitant to blog about it, not wanting anyone to freak out and stop shopping at the store. But Craig's been doing a great job, along with the help of Kelly Ann, at running our great comic book store without my daily presence. So I decided it's time to let people know where Lisa went.

Because of increasing expenses - especially car payments and the increasing costs of health insurance (as business owners we were paying for this completely out of our own pocket) I decided that our lives would be a LOT less stressful if one of us got a full time job outside of the store. My mom has worked for US Bank for over 17 years now and has always enjoyed her job, and often told me I should try to get a job there too. At the end of 2007 I decided to apply at a couple of branches, and in early February I began working as a banker at US Bank, in the big building on the lakefront in downtown Milwaukee (pictured). My job takes some pressure off of the store, so that we can save up some money to either move or expand our store. It also takes pressure off of us because with my income from the bank and Craig's from the store we now make a healthier income - so now I can pay all of our bills and not become so stressed out that I can't sleep and argue with Craig. Some people were worried when they found out that I'd left the store - but no one should be. Craig and Kelly Ann are very capable people. While I do miss everyone horribly I know that it is the best thing, not just for Craig and I, but also for the long term health of the store. Just ask Craig - I'm happier than I've been in a while.

I will be at the store from time to time. I was just at the store for a few hours on Wednesday night, and usually work at least one day during the weekends. And, if you want to say "hi" feel free to visit me at the bank. As a banker I can help with checking and savings accounts plus US Bank has really great loan rates now, so if you're buying a car or doing some spring remodeling or just need some extra spending cash give me a call or stop by and I'd be glad to help you out. If you don't want to go downtown I can do some stuff over the phone too (414-765-4629) and then when it's time to sign paperwork I've got an "excuse" to come out to Waukesha.

Thanks again to everyone who visits Neptune Comics! I think of all of you often and look forward to seeing you again (even if it's not until Free Comic Book Day when I'll see some of you). Craig and I always talk about what happenes at the store every day and who came in, so I don't feel too out of touch yet.

This Week's Featured Comic Book

We're trying something new this year at Neptune Comics. Something to help people try something new, something they might not have purchased otherwise. We're going to feature a comic book that we'd like people to consider purchasing. To sweeten the deal, we'll offer it for 20% off of cover price that week that it's featured. Sounds pretty neat, hey!

Well, here is the first of what we hope will be many featured comics that people buy from Neptune Comics and enjoy.

Featured Comic of the Week!

Featured Comic of the week! Buy this comic this week get 20% off the cover price. Image Comics, suitable for Teens & up CEMETERY BLUES #1 "The Haunting of Hernesburg" Bumbling monster hunters Ridley and Falstaff are hot on the trail of their nemesis, the mysterious sorcerer Orlok. The trail leads them to the town of Hernesburg, where the heroes are asked to dispose of a lurking evil in the woods, only because the town's own hunter has turned up dead! From the artist of The Surreal Adventures of Edgar Allan Poo comes an off-kilter story sure to make you chuckle with delight! CEMETERY BLUES is ™ and © Ryan Rubio and Thomas Boatwright, 2007. All Rights Reserved. GIVE IT A TRY THIS WEEK! click on photos to enlarge & preview the comic

Happy Birthday to Neptune!

Today is the official 4th birthday of Neptune Comics. Our first day of business was January 7, 2004. It was a Wednesday - new comics day. We sold just under $50 in merchandise.

Click here to see pictures from the set-up and early days of Neptune Comics. It will make you laugh if you've seen how different it looks now.

The local newspaper did a write-up on us about a month later.

I'd by lying if I said it was easy! There have been ups and downs, sometimes all in one day. We've seen great customers come and go. We've seen other comic and game stores in the area come and go. Overall it's usually fun. Sometimes frustrating. Always a learning experience. We've done lots of things right, but plenty wrong, and we're not done yet.

If you're in the area, consider yourself invited to our 4th Anniversary Party - it will be Saturday the 12th from open - close (11 am - 5 pm). We're doing a back issue blow-out with a buy 4 or more and get 40% off on all in-stock novels, manga, and graphic novels. We will also have plenty of back issues that will be 4 for $1, and others that will be 50% off. And all in-stock board games will be 1/4th off (25%). There will be plenty of great stuff to get at a great deal! And there's not entry fee. After everyone gets tons of stuff and saves tons of money, we'll have some space cleared out so we can start filling it with new products as the year progresses. We will also have free cake and other prizes and give-aways. This is our "thank you" to everyone who has kept us open for four years and I hope people find the time to stop in before the Packers vs Seahawks playoff game starts later in the afternoon.

Best of Milwaukee 2007

We were once again a finalist in the Shepherd Express' Best Of Milwaukee this year for comic book store. But once again, the winning spot was not ours to have. Congratulations to Lost World of Wonders! They run a huge store and manage to do it pretty well.

We were a runner up - once again we're #2. Of course, we are not in Milwaukee but are in a suburb of Milwaukee, so that's part of it. And we are not the biggest store in the area or the oldest store in the area. At least we come in close to first! In this year's vote last year's winner didn't even make the top three - which was pretty wild. The other comic store in the top 3 (Turning Page) has been in danger of closing for the last couple of years because the owner has been in the hospital on-and-off. But he's lucky enough to have loyal customers who want to help him keep the store open, so they'll work there for free to make sure that someone is there to bring in and sell the comics. (I wonder if Craig and I had problems if our customers would volunteer to help out?)

Thanks to everyone who voted for us!! You keep shopping here and we'll keep working to be the best!

Waukesha Christmas Parade 2007

xmasparade 07 whole group
Originally uploaded by llopacinski

Last night we were in the Waukesha Christmas Parade and sponsored a float that featured the Droid Builders Legion, the Rebel Legion and the 501st Legion Midwest Garrison, plus we had a few others in costume that are not part of these groups but still wanted to show off their awesome costumes. Complete Towing of Waukesha provided the truck and got the music to work properly.

We were towards the end of the parade, #93, so while the parade started at 4 pm we didn't move until well after 5 pm. It was dark by the time we stepped onto Main Street, which was cool for the float and light sabers, but not that great for taking pictures. Check my Flickr page to see the batch.

It went off fairly smooth. People loved the Star Wars folks - Chewbacca (who was Craig) and Darth Vader were fan favorites. We gave out tons of free comic books and Star Wars Pocketmodel samples and still ran out way before the parade route had ended. A couple of costumes acted up while we marched, and the group got fairly spread out as we walked along the route, but everyone seemed to have had a good time.

If we do it again next year I think I'll bring a big thermos filled with hot cocoa to help keep people warm. And we will know that we need at least twice as many comics to give away.

Thanks to EVERYONE who marched with us in the parade, and to Complete Towing for helping us out. Thanks to those that stood along the route in the cold waving and smiling as we all walked by.

Participants, (list courtesy of Sara Caldwell of the 501st)

501^st:

Dan Patterson 787 - TK

Phil Zeman 2720 - Clonetrooper

Trent Thornton 585 – Commander Deviss

John Quirk 5122 - TK

Frank Wileman 9156 - TK

Leslie Andrich 1463 – Sith Shade Verago

Beth Johnson 5852 – Snowbunny Padme

Sara Caldwell 3881 – Admiral Daala

Kevin (?) - TK

Chris (?) - Vader

Rebel Legion:

Beret Balestrieri Kohn – Hoth Leia

Deidra Culp – Episode III Padme

Alan (lukewan) and daughter – Obi-Wan Kenobi and Jedi Padawan

Family and Friends:

Jody, Megan, and Matthew Patterson - banners

Carrie - banners

Bob Kohn - banners

R2 Builders:

Craig Smith

Comics for Trick or Treaters!

At Neptune Comics, 141 E. Sunset Dr. Waukesha, we're selling bundles of 20 mini-comics for $2 to anyone who wants them to hand out to trick or treaters this Halloween. They are appropriate for all-ages and can be given out to all kids with or instead of candy. It's a fun alternative! Just stop in and ask for the Halloween comics - while supplies last! See photo below.

Another note - we ARE going to have trick-or-treat packs available for both children and adults who come to the store in costume on October 31st from 5 - 7 pm. One per person, of course. We will also have a free prize drawing for some other great stuff!! So come on in and trick-or-treat at Neptune Comics on Wednesday!

Thanks To You, We're #2!

Neptune Comics had stiff competition in the WISN A-List vote for best shopping destination for comic books. We asked you 2 vote, and when it came down 2 the end, we did not win, but we did take 2nd place, which isn't 2 bad considering that the winner has 4 store locations 2 our one. We're thanking all of you that took the time 2 vote for Neptune Comics by inviting you 2 our # 2 sale.

You're Invited 2 The # 2 Celebration Sale Nep2ne Comics DATE: 2 days: October 13 & 14 TIME: open 2 close. See web site for hours. LOCATION: Come 2 Neptune Comics, 141 E. Sunset Dr. DETAILS: When you buy 2 or more of almost anything in the store save 22%. buy 2 or more action figures, save 22%! buy 2 or more t-shirts, save 22% buy 2 or more graphic novels, save 22%! buy 2 or more back issue comics, save 22%! (excludes new comics and the new MTG Lorwyn set) Also, save 22% on any one statue (excludes special-orders). Bring a friend, they'll save 2! cannot be combined with any other coupons, bonus points, or promotional prices

"The Dude's" Visit

Steve "The Dude" Rude did his in-store signing last night. Overall, it went pretty well. There was never a long line, but there was instead a steady flow of people all night. The first hour was the busiest for the signing, and then is slowed down, but it seemed like there were always at least a few people by the table we set up for him. He did a few sketches, signed a bunch of comics and graphic novels, and talked art with lots of people.

He said that one of our customers was definitely a strong artist, especially for her age, and that he thought that she'd get into any art school she wanted to. So remember us when you make it big in comics, Mary!!

Steve Rude is well spoken, and very passionate about art. He took the time to answer a variety of questions on art and inspiration and everyone seemed very pleased with the time they got to spend with him.

Steve expressed a strong inspiration from and love for Jack Kirby and Kirby's art. He felt that Kirby was great at bringing real world stories into comics but keeping it light enough that no one felt that he was forcing politics or events onto them. He met Kirby when he was still alive, and said it was one of the greatest moments in his life. When asked what comics he's reading, Steve said one of the motivations for him to continue on with his Nexus series is that most comics today just aren't any fun.

Before he left, Steve even picked up the Jack Kirby New Gods Omnibus we had in stock, and did a sketch of Mister Miracle for us.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to stop out and meet Steve Rude! Remember, if you want us to keep bringing comic book talent into the store you have to take the time to come in and visit them when they are here. We usually loose money on these events, but do them anyway so that our customers and store guests get the opportunity to meet one-on-one with comic book creators without having to drive out to and pay the entry fees of a convention. Steve's wife told us that some of Steve's recent signing appearances were poorly marketed and therefore poorly attended, but Steve did say he was pleased with the turn out here.

The local paper, The Waukesha Freeman, did a story on Steve and his visit. Unfortunately they did it TODAY - the day AFTER Steve's appearance, which doesn't make much sense. But, it's better than nothing.

Only at Neptune TODAY!

MEET STEVE RUDE

TODAY!

BUY ANY STEVE RUDE GRAPHIC NOVEL

GET NEXUS #99 FREE!

ENTER TO WIN A LIMITED EDITION

NEXUS COMIC

Workshed Studio

You probably missed them, well I KNOW you missed them since almost no one came in while they were here -- the guys from Workshed Studio in Milwaukee. They were here on Wednesday and since Diamond screwed up getting our comics to us, people just weren't coming in. Seriously - you should have stopped by. Not only were we giving 10% off coupons out to anyone who came in on Wednesday, you could have met these three cool comic cats.

Al, Randy and Justin were ready to meet and greet, but instead they got to chat with me, and a bit with Craig. The guys have been friends since high school, and have been "Workshed" for about seven years.

They brought us a bunch of copies of their first anthology: Sawdust. It contains a bunch of stories done by a variety of people, including the Workshed guys of course. If you are a fan of horror comics, then check this book out. The first story arc is called "Fade," and has a man who has to fight demons. "Ebon Guard," is the second set of stories, where it's Ninjas vs assorted bad guys including vampires. The final is "Worldwide Solutions," and that one has stories about black ops vs supernatural menaces. Some of the mini-stories within the story are 20 pages, some 4, with varied art styles. Something for everyone in this book, all for only $12. It isn't in Previews, so you can't just get this one anywhere, you have to get it directly from Workshed or from the special stores like Neptune that carry it.

You can visit the Workshed Studio web site to learn more about the guys and their comics.
And be sure to check out their blog too.

I felt pretty bad that the day they picked to come turned out to be the day Diamond screwed up our shipping. Hopefully they can come back again and give everyone another chance to meet them. They really are cool guys and fun to talk geek with! They were even ready to do sketches for anyone interested - so if they DO come back I expect some people to come in and hang with them and get a sketch or something done too. We try to support local creators here - and I want to see our customers do the same!

Thanks to the Workshed guys for coming by and hanging out, and understanding!!!

More Voting, Please

I am going to keep this at the top of the page for a bit, so that people are reminded to Vote For Neptune!! Regular posts will continue below this reminder.

So, I know I already asked for votes for the Wisconsin A-List, and we do still want people to vote for us there.

Now, we need votes for Best of Milwaukee: Comic book store. We were in the top three last year, but didn't win. Maybe this year *fingers crossed*

Vote for Neptune Comics for Wisconsin's A-List

Vote for Neptune Comisc for Best of Milwaukee: Comic book store.

THANKS!!

Hmmmm.... Ideas

I keep coming up with these fun ideas to make our store & web site a "creative center" for people. I don't want to say too much, since other stores like to steal all of our great ideas - and I don't want this out before I decide what/how/if to launch any or all of it. But lets just say I'd love to have a place both in-store and on-line where creative folks could show off their stuff.

The tricky part is always getting people to do these things. They'll say "what a great idea" or something similar, but then getting people to follow up is always the hard part. Awards/rewards - some kind of incentive is probably going to help. But what?

Any ideas from you, fair readers?

HP Potter Pictures

Here are a few. I'm uploading them all to Flickr momentarily.

We also had a photo in today's local newspaper (Waukesha Freeman)!!

Overall the party was quite fun and everyone said they had a great time and that their experience at our party was much more fun and easy than what they'd went through at the major book store events for Harry Potter in years past.

If we'd sold about 5 - 6 more books I'd have considered it a complete success. We did sell a book today, so hopefully we can still sell those additional books in the next few days. Still, this was our first regular (non-comic) event and we managed to pull in both regular customers and several new people, which was very nice. And we sold a substantial number of books, even though I'd have liked to sell just a few more. Still, for a little comic book store in the suburbs to have a party for a main-stream book, I'd say we did pretty dang well. Just about everyone tried the Bertie Botts Every Flavor Jelly Bean contest (second picture from top is someone tasting an unfortunate flavor). We gave away prizes, had some performers do fortune telling and other magical tricks. And at the stroke of midnight all wizards waved their wants and counted down as the books suddenly were released from their magical spell and could be purchased.

Thanks to everyone who came out! I hope you had a great time, and are already enjoying your copy of the book. If you didn't make it out, we do still have a few copies left, so stop in and pick yours up.