Weekend contrasts

Sunday at the Comic Zone is my favorite day of the week.

The store is more laid back. I usually listen to "my" music - jazz, or folk, or sometimes classical - as I work on entering Wednesday's order into our inventory system.

Today was no exception.

And yet, as I write this, I am remembering yesterday, when the store was bustling! One of the reasons for all of the activity yesterday is because we sponsored the Dungeons & Dragons RPG yesterday. I really enjoy the days when we have D&D in the store. I can feel the creative energies flowing as the stories unfold.

I guess I can safely say that I enjoy both the quiet days as well as the busy days. Let's face it. I just love this store!

Un-Wednesday

Andy has been so busy today!

We didn't get new comics today due to Memorial Day, so we will get them in tomorrow.

However, one of our regular customers called and Andy talked on the phone with him for close to an hour. Now he's talking with a customer in the store - and has been for over an hour! Wow! They are having a great conversation about comic book history. I can tell he loves his job. It's heartwarming. :)

Avery just got back from mailing out our first eBay order. Here's hoping it's the first of many. :)

Star Wars Day

Today was Star Wars Day at Comic Zone.

We had a nice display of various Star Wars items, and Avery and I dressed in costume. We didn't have the crowd that I had hoped for, but we had folks in the store most of the day, so it was fun nonetheless.

Here are some pictures:

This is Avery and I: The Emperor vs a Jedi


Here's another one of the two of us.


This is Andy with two Ultra Sabers


This one is Avery in his Jedi costume


This is me in my Emperor robe Heheh, they kept telling me that I had to look mean, but every time I tried, I'd crack up laughing. Guess I am not a very good bad guy....


Here's another attempt at being mean. LOLOL!

Star Wars Day Press Release

PRESS RELEASE

Scottsdale, AZ. May 23, 2009. Comic Zone of Scottsdale, AZ will be celebrating STAR WARS DAY on May 25, 2009.

Monday, May 25, 2009 is the 32nd anniversary of the release of the first Star Wars movie, and so to celebrate that momentous occasion, Comic Zone will be featuring all things Star Wars. In addition to displaying our Star Wars comic books, we will have Star Wars memorabilia and paraphernalia for sale. We will be showing Star Wars animation clips throughout the day on our big-screen TV. Anyone who dresses up in a Star Wars costume will receive 15% off whatever they buy.

Come on by and may the force be with you!

Comic Zone is the best and only comic book store in Scottsdale, Arizona, conveniently located at 5909 N. Granite Reef Road, Scottsdale, AZ 85250, just off the 101. Take McDonald Drive to the third traffic light (Granite Reef Road). Comic Zone is on the west side of the Basha’s parking lot, facing Granite Reef Road just two doors down from Casella’s Deli.

The store features ever-changing and ongoing sales, regular video game tournaments, Magic the Gathering tournaments, and Dungeons and Dragons role playing games. Come on by. You will like what you find.

Website: http://www.comiczoneaz.com.
Phone: 480-483-2685

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Scottsdale C of C

This morning, I dragged myself out of bed at 6 am so that I could attend the Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce's event - Networking with Purpose.

About 75 of us Scottsdale business owners gathered at Corts Furniture Rental and we sat six to a seating arrangement, each of us having 2 minutes to share a bit about our company. Then we switched and did the same thing, and then we switched again!

It was great. We all got to talk to about 24 unique people, and then there was time to talk further at the end.

I made some great connections, and hopefully some new friends of Comic Zone.

I invited them all to our 6th month anniversary party on June 6th. :)

Current and Upcoming Events

Today was (Re-) OPENING DAY for Basha's Supermarket! The store is beautiful! In honor of having Basha's back, we gave out coupons for the Basha's Bash - allowing holders 10% off $20 or more. These coupons are good until the end of this month. We have already had a few folks take advantage of that!

***

This Saturday, May 23rd, we are hosting TWO video games:

At 3:00 pm, Super Mario Brothers 3
At 6:00 pm, Call of Duty 4 (360)

Come on by for the fun!
We now have sodas and snacks available for sale.

***

On Monday, May 25th, Memorial Day, is also STAR WARS DAY!

We will have displays of Star Wars merchandise, as well as a few people dressing up, and we will be looping Star Wars movies and cartoons in our gaming area all day. We may even have some rare fan films.

***

We are just beginning plans for our 6 month anniversary party on June 6th. Stay tuned for more details.

***

In the meantime, we will be selling all back issues for 50% off starting June 1st until the anniversary party, in celebration of achieving the impossible, and being open for 6 months as a brand new business in this economy. Go us!

Building our Presence

Avery just mentioned to me that we have had three calls in the past two days from people who want to sell us comic books.

We are not really buying comic books from others at this point, unless they are deeply discounted, although in certain situations, we may be able to work out a consignment deal.

But, as he pointed out, the fact that people are calling us means we are becoming more known!

I love that!!!

Dead Gear's CD Release Party

We just had the CD Release Party for Dead Gear. Here is a picture of JenX playing:



And here is D! Zunk:



What a blast! They make good music. :)

We will be having the CDs for sale in our store.

They paved paradise...

Today when I got to Comic Zone, I couldn't turn into the drive leading to the parking lot because they are TARRING our parking lot!














This is actually a good thing. I don't think that parking lot has been tarred in over 10 years. It was full of cracks, the parking lines were completely eradicated, and it verged on being a hazard. So, I am very happy that we will have a beautiful, new tarred parking area.

However.... Wednesdays are usually our busiest day, and people are going to really want to come in to get to us today.

On a good note, though, the new Basha's parking lot now has covered parking! So, as long as folks don't mind walking a bit, they can at least keep their cars out of the sun.

THE Comic Book Store

A father and his daughter were just in the store.

His wife called him and asked where he was. He said, "I am at the comic book store." I can't tell you how that warmed my heart. WE are "the comic book store."

And she obviously knew exactly what he was talking about.

I think that is great. I really LIKE being THE comic book store. :D

Changing store hours?

We had decided to change our hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays from Noon-8 pm to 3pm-8pm. We started it for May. Well, last Thursday, I was in the store early, so I opened a bit early, and sure enough, we had folks coming in at 2 pm.

Today, Sean forgot we had changed our hours, so he was here at noon. I got here at 1:00, and we had steady customers from the moment I got here today.

Perhaps we need to change our hours back to Noon - 8 pm, given the traffic.

This is a GOOD thing. :)

Odds and ends

This has been an odd week. Wednesdays are usually our busiest day. This week, Wednesday was one of our slowest days, and we did really well on MONDAY. Fridays are usually slow, but yesterday was incredibly good. Saturdays are usually our 2nd best day of the week. Today so far? Not so much. On the whole, though, it's been a good month so far.

Tonight we have a video game tournament. Halo 3 for the XBox 360. Apparently quite a few people have expressed interest in participating, so the day may still turn around. :) First prize is the Halo graphic novel.

Last night I saw the new Star Trek movie. Wow, was it AWESOME! Makes me want to read the comics. ;)

Dead Gear

Since we are a store, upon occasion, we sell things on consignment for people we know, or if we find something we think is really cool. Well, our good friends, Dan and Jenn were part of the band that played on FCBD - the Super Zero Hit Squad. In reality, that is simply an alter-ego for them, as the band that they have been promoting for a couple of years now is called Dead Gear.

You can see more pictures and hear their music here.  

We will be hosting their long-awaited CD Release party on May 16th. It's going to be a blast!!!

So, of course, CDs will be available that night, and we will be carrying them in the store also.

The Monday After

Free Comic Book Day has come and gone, and I wasn't able to be there, as my business had me elsewhere for the weekend.  But I got to hear all about it from Sean, Avery, and Andy, and I have no doubt that it was an awesome day!

And luckily, Andy and Avery, as well as the EDGE 103.9 FM

 took lots of great pictures. 

Here is Andy with SuperGirl

And here is Avery with the Hulk.

For more pictures, you can go to the EDGE's myspace site

Or to Andy's website

It was actually a great day!  Everyone loved SuperGirl and the Hulk and lots of photos were taken. People LOVED having Tosh back - he sold out of all of his paintings and the comics he brought! And World Wide Villains were back too, and they also had a great day in sales.

The EDGE had a blast, and people loved having them there. And even after ALL of that, the Super Zero Hit Squad came in, dressed up like Bat-Dan and Robin, and rocked the house down.

For us ComicZoners, it was one of our best days ever.