Free Comic Book Day Recap

 First off: Thank you to everyone who made Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) such a huge success!  Without all the staff, Chris Batista, the fantastic Stormtrooper from the 501st, and our local comic creators Zach and Greg it would not have been as great a day!

That said, let's take a look at what happened and what we saw.

1. We gave out almost every single free comic book from the day! We have had some left over books from last year, so we put them out and they all went as well.  We show many new faces as well as some new to the store faces, so it was a huge success for us.

2.  Chris Batista was great! He was signing and doing custom drawings for people in the store.  He was also very social and was talking to everyone.  He is a great guy who I think would be fantastic to invite again sometime.

3. Aren't you a little short for a Stormtrooper? We had a Stormtrooper from the 501st out of NYC. He was walking around the store (and even in the plaza... UPS wanted to "beam" a package to the Death Star... what is beaming???). He was fantastic with the kids and got many people excited to hang out for the day.

 

4. We also had a local artist and writer who are working on their own comic.  They had copies of their book and they would sign it for people who stopped in.  They ran out quickly, but Chris Batista I know got one... so hopefully for them they get noticed. Good luck Zach and Greg with the comic book!

5. We had a fund raised for Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF), and we were able to raise money to make a donation to this worth cause.  Working with the Stormtrooper from the 501st and the great reusable totes for Free Comic Book Day, we were able to raise a nice amount of money to donate. It is a nice feeling to have such a successful day and also raise money for a worthy charity!

Free RPG Day

FREE RPG Day is coming up quickly, Saturday June 18th, 2011! We will be running many different events during the day so if you are looking to try a new RPG or maybe play an old favorite, check out all the events we will be running... well more info will be coming soon with times...

 Here is the list of FREE stuff that will here that day.  We will be trying to run events for about 8 different games as well as some super secret stuff as well! Some items may not be available as supplies are very limited.

• Amarillo Design Bureau
  Sample (1 per box), Prime Directive Adventure "Starship Aldo" (both d20 & GURPS)
  
• BlackWyrm Games
  Sample (1 per box), XDM Adventure: "Laser Squid Nemesis"
• Eden Studios
  Silver (5 per box), All Flesh Must Be Eaten Quickstart & Adventure
• Exile Game Studios
  Bronze (3 per box) ,Hollow Earth Expedition Quickstart & Adventure
• Fantasy Flight Games
  Gold (10 per box), Black Crusade Quickstart and Adventure
• Flying Buffalo
  Sample (1 per box), Tunnels & Trolls Solo Adventure, "Rescue Mission"
• Goodman Games
  Silver (5 per box), DCC RPG Quickstart
• Green Ronin
  Gold (10 per box), DragonAge Quickstart
• Paizo
  Platinum (15 per box), "We Be Goblins!" Pathfinder Adventure
• Paradigm Concepts
  Bronze (3 per box), Arcanis RPG Quickstart & Adventure
• Pinnacle
  Bronze (3 per box), Savage Worlds Quickstart & Adventure, titled "The Wild Hunt"
• Stone Tablet Games
  Bronze (3 per box), Aspect Quickstart Adventure
• Troll Lord Games
  Bronze (3 per box), Amazing Adventures Quickstart
• Valkyrie Games
  Sample (1 per box), Stellar Horizons Quickstart
• White Wolf Publishing
  Gold (10 per box), World of Darkness Quickstart
• Wizards of the Coast
  Platinum (15 per box), "Domain of Dread: Histhaven" D&D 4th Edition Supplement to the box set "The Shadowfell: Gloomwrought and Beyond"

New Phyrexia Releases

So after a very rocky start with retail stores being told that the name would not be spoiled until the pre-release (which oddly enough the cartoons are all labeled "Action") and the massive early spoil of the entire set list (thanks pro guys for that), New Phyrexia has released!

We ran many events last week-end for the pre-release events, including 85 players at midnight.  That brought the total number of players on Saturday to 140 for the day.  Now some of those players played twice, but it is still impressive to see so many players come in and enjoy the game.  Sunday was very light, but with the fact it was Mother's Day... I'm glad to see so many players visiting with their moms.  We ran many different sealed events so the players could enjoy as much of the new set as they possibly could before the official release. Many players really enjoyed getting the promo, Sheoldred, Whispering One.

The launch party was a success as well. With 34 players drafting the new set, there are many players opening some great cards. The promo card Phyrexian Metamorph is a cool card, and why would you not want to copy a Sword of War and Peace with it.

Many players went crazy when they saw that Surgical Extraction would be the buy a box promo.  This is the most expensive rare, not mythic, in the set.  We ended up selling out boxes so fast so players could get one... This was the best buy a box promo, in my opinion, so far.

So as far as I can see, the events and the set it self have been wildly enjoyed! I'm personally looking forward to drafting one of each from this block as I think they will please really well together... better then other expansions did.

Sean "Striderlotr" Banks

New Store Design at the Dragon's Den

So, we like to change the store around every now and again.  It helps us make slight changes, update the design, and try new items.  So we thought maybe it was time to show off some of the changes we have made recently. 

We changed the central island and moved the back counter.  This has made the central section a little larger, but it moved the side counter offering us more room for the gaming area! The gaming area can now support many players, with over 50 for Magic on a Friday night.

Another recent change is the new display for the comic books.  This is an amazing addition! The display is more of a waterfall design with lights under each section to allow better visibility.  It is also a nice wood tone for the display, not plastic racks.  It really makes the comic wall look great!

So if you have not stopped in in a while, then you should!  The store looks great and we are happy to try and make the store a better place for shoppers, and gamers alike!

Sean "Striderlotr" Banks