COVID-19 Emergency Ordinance!

By EC admin | Published: June 24, 2020

EC Family!

Faced with an alarming surge in COVID-19 cases, the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday passed an emergency ordinance requiring that citizens wear face coverings in most indoor public places, effective today, Wednesday 6/24/20 at 5pm.

https://go.activecalendar.com/pinellascounty/site/pressrelease/event/bcc-passes-emergency-ordinance-requiring-face-coverings/

What does that mean for you?

  • You must wear a face covering while in most indoor public places within Pinellas County (see the link for various exceptions), unless you are strictly adhering to 6’ social distancing and there are 10 or fewer people in the location who are also maintaining social distancing.
  • If a person is under age 18, that person’s use of a face covering is left to the discretion of that person’s parent, guardian or an accompanying adult.
  • The EC Team must wear a face covering while on the sales floor.

What happens if you are NOT following the ordinance?
The Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners elected to adopt the emergency order by ordinance to allow it to be enforced as a non-criminal local ordinance violation, in addition to other enforcement remedies. Remedies include:

  • A warning.
  • A non-criminal ordinance violation citation that levies a fine.
  • Injunctive relief through a complaint filed in Circuit Court.
  • Misdemeanor arrest or a Notice to Appear for Repeat Violations.

We are doing our best to make Emerald City a safe and fun place to visit! We appreciate your support in helping keep yourself and others safe and healthy!

FREE RPG DAY!

By EC admin | Published: July 1, 2020


Saturday, July 25th from 11am to 8pm

FREE ROLE-PLAYING GAME DAY is an annual gaming event celebrating the joy of tabletop role-playing, popularized by games like DUNGEONS & DRAGONS! Established in 2007, Free RPG Day works with participating hobby game retailers and RPG publishers to bring new and exclusive RPG quickstart rules and adventure modules into your hands!

We will also have limited quantities of games in advance of their general release date!

10% OFF ALL GAMES & GAMING SUPPLIES!

ADULT GUESTS at 11am will receive their CHOICE of a “FREE ROLE-PLAYING GAME DAY” GAMING ITEM!***

ALL GUESTS, ALL DAY, can enter our FREE RAFFLE for a chance to win* EVERY “FREE RPG DAY” ITEM!***

See all the items at https://www.freerpgday.com

* ONE ENTRY PER PERSON, PLEASE. No purchase necessary to enter! Winners do not need to be present to win and will be notified by the phone number/email given on the entry ballot. All entries must be printed legibly to be considered eligible. All winners must collect their prizes within 2 weeks of the drawing date. EC reserves the right to alter / substitute give-aways and raffle prizes when unexpected circumstances occur.

*** Due to COVID-19, the availability of give-away items from game publishers is uncertain. EC will do our best to have some give-away gaming items for the event!

EC BOOK CLUB – BANDETTE VOL 1: PRESTO

By EC admin | Published: July 1, 2020


Wednesday, August 5th from 6:30pm to 7:30pm

The Emerald City Book Club meets the FIRST WEDNESDAY of the month from 6:30-7:30 pm, in “The Hub” at the center of the store (or by remote conference on Zoom during the COVID-19 crisis), to chat about the featured book. We usually begin each meeting with a “Comics 101” slideshow giving some historical, artistic, or social background on the book, and then we dive right into discussion!

******

Emerald City is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: EC Book Club – August 5th!
Time: Aug 5, 2020 06:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/76051286243?pwd=ZG1QRXh2aS9Hb3RVZDJ0NFBzWXdndz09

Meeting ID: 760 5128 6243
Password: ecbc

*** Part two of the meeting ***

Emerald City is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: EC Book Club – August 5th! (part two)
Time: Aug 5, 2020 06:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/74803763620?pwd=WnlkbkwxQjdNWUs2eVpQUFd6RDJ2UT09

Meeting ID: 748 0376 3620
Password: ecbc

******

The featured book for the next meeting will be announced at the end of the current ECBC meeting. That book is 20% OFF for the month leading up to its ECBC meeting! (The discount will be calculated at the register, and does not combine with any other discounts or programs).

You can purchase the discounted book in-store or online: https://shopify.emeraldcitycomics.com/collections/ec-book-club-selection

This month’s featured book is…

BANDETTE TP VOL 01 PRESTO
DARK HORSE COMICS
(W) Paul Tobin (A/CA) Colleen Coover
The world’s greatest thief is a costumed teen burglar by the nome d’arte of Bandette! Gleefully plying her skills on either side of the law alongside her network of street urchins, Bandette is a thorn in the side of both Police Inspector Belgique and the criminal underworld. But it’s not all breaking hearts and purloining masterpieces when a rival thief makes a startling discovery. Can even Bandette laugh off a plot against her life?

Open 11-6 on July 4th!

By EC admin | Published: June 30, 2020

Happy Independence Day!

FREE COMIC BOOK SUMMER!

By EC admin | Published: June 30, 2020


Wednesday, July 15th through Wednesday, September 9th!

Free Comic Book Day, the comic book industry’s largest annual promotional event, is traditionally scheduled to take place the first Saturday in May each year. However, the impact and spread of COVID-19 prevented the event from being celebrated at its normal time this year. Now, the beloved event has been rescheduled and reworked to take place throughout July and early September in order to accommodate social-distancing and store capacity regulations across the country, effectively making it Free Comic Book Summer!

We will receive five to six Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) titles in our weekly shipments during each week of the promotional window. Starting each Wednesday at 11am, EACH GUEST may choose ONE FREE COMIC BOOK from the selection EVERY DAY! Supplies will be limited, but new titles arrive each Wednesday, ensuring a little something for everyone throughout FREE COMIC BOOK SUMMER!

See the list of all available comics, and the Wednesdays they arrive, here:
https://www.freecomicbookday.com/catalog

New Comics & Books for 7/1/2020!!!

By EC admin | Published: June 30, 2020

Click here for the full list of new releases!

Featured Comics:

NEGAN LIVES #1
IMAGE COMICS
(W) Robert Kirkman (A) Charlie Adlard, Cliff Rathburn (CA) Charlie Adlard, Dave McCaig
The greatest f*@king comic book villain of ALL-TIME returns. ‘Nuff said.

 

GODDAMNED VIRGIN BRIDES #1
IMAGE COMICS
(W) Jason Aaron (A/CA) R. M. Guera
NEW STORY ARC
Writer JASON AARON and artist R.M. GUÉRA return to the stark and brutal world of THE GODDAMNED for the long-awaited second chapter of their biblical-noir epic.
Genesis 6:4. “…the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men. And they bore children to them…”
In the time before the Great Flood, the world of man is a place of wanton violence and unbridled depravity. But hidden high atop a mountain, there is a very different sort of world. One without men. Here, the holy sisters at a secret nunnery live in paradise, a new Eden, rearing their flock of orphaned girls to embrace their future as blessed Brides of the Sons of God. But when Sharri and Jael, two girls on the cusp of flowering, uncover what it truly means to become a Bride, they realize there’s only one way to escape the bonds of matrimony: run like hell.

Read More »

“Justin’s Jabber” – Back Issue Comics! 6/27/20

By EC admin | Published: June 27, 2020

Well…remember last week when I said that we were down to our last copy of Ultimate Fallout #4?

First off all that copy has sold…of course.

Secondly, We do still have second printings and some Halloween Comic Fest reprints left, so two big thumbs up there!

And also sets, because I like sets!

Ultimate Fallout #4 second print, first appearance of Miles Morales, Very Fine Plus (8.5), $69.

Read More »

New Comics & Books for 6/24/2020!!!

By EC admin | Published: June 23, 2020

Click here for the full list of new releases!

Featured Comics:

HARLEY QUINN & THE BIRDS OF PREY #2
DC COMICS
(W) Jimmy Palmiotti, Amanda Conner (A/CA) Amanda Conner
Over the course of her illustrious and very high-class career, Harley’s met pretty much every super-villain who ever worked in Gotham City. Some hate her. Some love her. But none of that’s gonna matter once they see how many zeroes there are on the bounty The Joker’s offering for her head! Sorry, Harley-it’s just business. Your next of kin will understand, right? Meanwhile, Cassandra Cain finds herself in the unenviable position of being Harley Quinn’s bodyguard…but this could be her opportunity to learn a little about, y’know, loosening up? If she’s currently wound too tight, then just sit next to Auntie Harley…she’s got more than her share of loose screws!

 

THAT TEXAS BLOOD #1
IMAGE COMICS
(W) Chris Condon (A/CA) Jacob Phillips
SERIES PREMIERE
CRIMINAL colorist and first time solo artist JACOB PHILLIPS and writer CHRIS CONDON break onto the scene with a brand-new ongoing series! Like Paris, Texas gut-punched by No Country for Old Men, this mature neo-Western crime series kicks off when the search for a casserole dish leads to a dark and tense confrontation on Sheriff Joe Bob Coates’ 70th birthday.
“CHRIS & JACOB pull off something remarkable here. A vivid and bright story that nails a thorough sense of foreboding and darkness. A shocking amount of talent for a duo so fresh to comics!” -CHIP ZDARSKY (SEX CRIMINALS, Daredevil)

Read More »

THE WALKING DEAD WILL RISE AGAIN IN SPECIAL ‘NEGAN LIVES #1’ STORY JULY 1st!

By EC admin | Published: June 19, 2020

It’s no secret that comic book shops have had a rough go of it during the COVID crisis. From distribution being temporarily shut down, to people sheltering in place, to figuring out curb-side pick up or delivery, it hasn’t been easy. Well, Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard wanted to see if they could do something for the shops. Turns out there’s this character named Negan and there might be some story left to tell there…

NEGAN LIVES #1, a special one-shot that catches us up with everyone’s favorite villain, will be here at EC this July 1st! “While Charlie Adlard and I had laid the series to rest, this felt like something special we could do for the store owners who made our series a success to begin with,” says Robert.

July 1st is also the release day of the FIRE POWER, VOL. 1: PRELUDE original graphic novel and the FCBD FIRE POWER #1 free promotional comic, both by Kirkman and co-creator/artist Chris Samnee!

Here’s an introduction to the new comic:

Spurned by a slowly rebuilding society, Negan lives a life of desperate isolation … or does he? In the tradition of HERE’S NEGAN, this all-new story in NEGAN LIVES #1 gives readers a glimpse into what has happened to one The Walking Dead’s most popular characters in the time since his last appearance in THE WALKING DEAD #174.

As long-time readers of the post-apocalyptic survival series will recall, THE WALKING DEAD #174 proved to be a pivotal point for Negan, as he was tracked down and confronted by a vengeful Maggie, still heartbroken and furious over the murder of her husband, Glenn, in THE WALKING DEAD #100.

FREE MARVEL “BACK IN ACTION” PRINT!

By EC admin | Published: June 19, 2020


Wednesday, June 24th at 11am

Marvel Comics and Emerald City are celebrating being “Back in Action” with a FREE PRINT by Ron Lim!

The first TEN Guests who purchase a Marvel comic book starting at 11am Wednesday, June 24th will receive this print!

New Games! 6/19/2020

By EC admin | Published: June 19, 2020

ENDANGERED

The march of humankind’s progress threatens the survival of many species. It’s up to you and your team to save them!

Work with your fellow conservationists to save tigers and sea otters from extinction. Influence the UN to save the animals and stop environmental destruction. If four UN ambassadors vote yes on the resolution then the players win. But until the vote takes place, players need to keep the destruction at bay, and keep the animals alive!

Each turn players will roll the dice they can allocate to action cards. After actions are taken, mating pairs will have a chance to procreate, and destruction tiles will enter the board, possibly killing already scarce animals.

Play as the Zoologist, Philanthropist, TV Wildlife Host, Lobbyist, or Environmental Lawyer, each with a special ability.

Time is short. Can the animals be saved while also influencing the Ambassadors’ votes? Or will threatened animals be lost forever?

 

 


TOURNAMENT AT AVALON

Tournament at Avalon takes players to the land where Excalibur was forged, building on the innovative mechanisms of Tournament at Camelot with new characters, cards, and mechanisms, allowing players to focus on informal diplomacy or alliances alongside the standard combat of the original game. It’s a deep, challenging experience all on its own, with extra depth and complexity for players who own both games!

In the game, you play as a legendary character, battling opponents with weapon cards: arrows, swords, deception, sorcery, and even alchemy. The more you injure your opponents, the better you fare in the tournament. However, even the most injured characters can make a complete comeback with the grace of Godsend cards and the aid of their special companions. This trick-taking game ends when one opponent has been injured to the point of death. The player with the most health is then declared the tournament victor!

In Tournament at Avalon, you also have cards representing the legendary enchantress Morgan Le Fay and a new set of location panels that grant additional advantages to a player when they are the host of a tournament round. If you have Tournament at Camelot, you can mix and match your favorite cards, playing with either ruleset or combining the two games to play an epic “Chaos of Battle” tournament with seven or eight players!

Read More »

“Justin’s Jabber” – Back Issue Comics! 6/19/20

By EC admin | Published: June 19, 2020

Okay, folks!

This is it!

This is our last copy of Ultimate Fallout #4!

THE VERY LAST ONE IN THE ENTIRE STORE!

So if you’d like this copy here you’d better hurry up and let us know because I sold like five of these in the past few days.

 

Ultimate Fallout #4, first appearance of Miles Morales, Near Mint Minus (9.2), $200.

 

Read More »

New Comics & Books for 6/17/20!!!

By EC admin | Published: June 16, 2020

Click here for the full list of new releases!

Featured Comics:

DARK NIGHTS DEATH METAL #1
DC COMICS
(W) Scott Snyder (A) Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion (CA) Greg Capullo
Get ready for the earth-shattering encore! The legendary team behind Dark Nights: Metal and Batman: Last Knight on Earth take center stage and reunite for one last tour. When the Earth is enveloped by the Dark Multiverse, the Justice League is at the mercy of the Batman Who Laughs. Humanity struggles to survive in a hellish landscape twisted beyond recognition, while Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman have all been separated and fight to survive. Unleash the beast and let the head banging begin!

 

WYND #1
BOOM! STUDIOS
(W) James TynionIV (A/CA) Michael Dialynas
For fans of Once & Future, Isola and Middlewest, the award-winning team of James Tynion IV (Batman, Something is Killing the Children) and Michael Dialynas (The Woods, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) reunite for the new must-read series that shocked the comic industry!
Magical heritage is punishable by death in Pipetown, so a young boy named Wynd must keep his true identity – and pointy ears – a secret from everyone, even if it means he’ll never have the normal life he wants.
But when his secret is threatened, Wynd will be forced to leave his home behind to embark on a dangerous quest that will put him at the heart of a royal conspiracy beyond his imagination.
Now on the run with Oakley (his best friend), Thorn (the boy of his dreams), and Yorick (a literal prince!), Wynd will have to embrace the magic within himself if he wants to save them from the shocking dangers that await!
Every issue of Wynd is oversized, featuring more than 40 story pages.

Read More »

WEDNESDAY IS NEW COMIC BOOK DAY!

By EC admin | Published: June 15, 2020

Enough people have asked us about this, so we want to put this out so we’re all on the same page:

DC Comics has declared Tuesdays as their new release day, but have not yet found a way to reliably get their comics to stores early enough for that to happen (we get comics on Tuesdays to sell on Wednesdays, so DC’s comics would have to arrive Mondays to have them ready when we open at 11am on Tuesdays).

Even if they do start to ship them to us on Mondays, it is not reasonable for us to change our Team’s schedule and check-in processes for only one publisher, when the entire rest of the comics industry is sticking to Wednesday as New Comic Book Day. We have people specifically scheduled on Tuesdays to count, inspect, check in, and pull the new comics for our subscribers. Mondays are when we check and clean up the New Comics Wall and graphic novel sections, and reorder what has sold out in the last week so it’s available again before the weekend.

Also, we feel it is unfair for DC Comics to force our Guests to come in twice a week to ensure we’re not sold out of a comic they want, so we will continue to put DC’s comics out for sale on Wednesday morning with the rest of the new comics to be fair to all.

The exception we can make for our in-store comics subscribers is this: we should usually have DC’s comics in subscribers’ files by 2pm on Tuesdays. We will gladly hand our subscribers any DC Comics that are in their file on Tuesdays. Unfortunately, any titles or alternate covers that are not subscribed to will not be available until Wednesday at 11am.

We appreciate your understanding. Wednesday has been comics’ “Christmas morning” for a long time now, and longtime readers and new fans alike all know it as New Comic Book Day! If a great majority of comic book publishers decide as an industry to change it to Tuesday or any other day of the week, we will move mountains to make that work for our EC Family – and we’ll shout it to the heavens so you know when to come get your new comics! But until then…

WEDNESDAY IS NEW COMIC BOOK DAY!

“Justin’s Jabber” – Back Issue Comics! 6/12/20

By EC admin | Published: June 12, 2020

Marvel keys, as you please!

Nice Bronze Age books here folks, all published by the House Of Ideas.

I’ve just learned that The House Of Ideas is an actual place in the Marvel Universe, an actual literal house.

That’s a nice little nod there.

I wonder if it’s located at the corner of Excelsior Avenue and True Believer Boulevard?

What will those writers think of next?

Sub-Mariner #1, origin of Namor, Fine Minus (5.5), $300.

Read More »

New Games! 6/12/2020

By EC admin | Published: June 12, 2020

MONOPOLY GODZILLA

“Put your Godzilla fandom to use in Monopoly: Godzilla! Buy, sell, and trade your favorite locations from the different Godzilla movies and eras. Choose your favorite token to travel around the board and relive your favorite moments from this worldwide pop-culture icon! ”

 

 


KING OF TOKYO: DARK EDITION

King of Tokyo: Dark Edition is a collector’s edition of King of Tokyo, with the fight taking place in an alternative and darker world in which the struggle for control of Tokyo has never been so fierce…and wicked!

This edition includes deluxe components (such as an embossed box and lightning-bolt-shaped energy) and all-new art by Paul Mafayon. The game is based on the classic KoT rules, with the addition of a new mechanism exclusive to this edition to offer a fresh gaming experience.

Read More »

New Comics & Books for 6/10/20!!!

By EC admin | Published: June 9, 2020

Click here for the full list of new releases!

 

Featured Comics:

BATMAN #92
DC COMICS
(W) James TynionIV (A) Guillem March (CA) Yasmin Putri
The greatest heist in history is underway in Gotham City, courtesy of the mysterious crime master known as the Designer! Batman knows what he needs to do, but in order to stop the plot, he must first escape the most ingenious death trap the Riddler has ever devised!

 

JOKER 80TH ANNIVERSARY 100 PAGE SUPER SPECTACULAR #1
DC COMICS
(W) Brian Azzarello & Various (A) Rafael Albuquerque & Various (CA) Greg Capullo
The Clown Prince of Crime celebrates 80 years of chaos! The Joker has been the greatest villain in comics since his debut and to celebrate we have a who’s who of comics’ finest talent giving the Harlequin of Hate the birthday roast he deserves. The stories feature a range of terror and anarchy, showing how the Joker has impacted Gotham City from the police to Arkham Asylum, from the local underworld to the Dark Knight and his allies! Make sure to RSVP to this birthday bash-you wouldn’t want to wake up with a Joker Fish on your doorstep, would you?

Read More »

DC Comics and YOU!

By EC admin | Published: June 9, 2020

You may have heard by now that DC Comics recently announced that they’re leaving Diamond, the main comic book distributor, for other comic distributors. We’ve heard a lot of people worried about how that will change their subscriptions, and wondering what kind of delays to expect for DC books.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR YOU?
If you buy your comics here at EC, you hopefully won’t see a huge change in anything. We will be ordering our DC comics from the new distributors, and other than the usual damaged and missing comics that we deal with behind the scenes every week, we don’t expect this change to impact you much.

HOW CAN YOU MAKE THIS EASIER FOR US?
Easy: make sure you’re subscribed to your comics early. The more confidently we can order a series because YOU have asked for it, the easier it is for us to get enough comics for everyone who wants them. If you’re already subscribed to a series, we’ll still be getting everything on your list for you. To make changes to your subscriptions or preorder books not already on your subscription list, contact our Books & New Comics Merchant, Frank, at 727-398-2665 or comics@emeraldcitycomics.com.

Now, we won’t kid you – this isn’t a super positive change for most shops. It’s going to cause some extra work on the ordering and receiving side of things, but don’t worry about that on YOUR end. WE like a challenge – and with the state of the world today, we’ve had a lot of practice figuring out how to do new things. Ordering comics from a new company should be a cakewalk at this point!   :D

As always, thank you so much for supporting us, and for being a part of our EC Family!

Previews of new DC comics expected Wednesday, June 10th!

By EC admin | Published: June 5, 2020

See them here!

“Justin’s Jabber” – Back Issue Comics! 6/5/20

By EC admin | Published: June 5, 2020

WHOOF!!!

Pricey assortment this week!

These books are not for the faint of wallet, but rest assured their awesomeness is commensurate to their hefty price tags.

Observe the awesomeness!

 

All Star Comics #7, first Superman Batman Team-Up, CGC 7.0 (Very Fine/Fine), $3,399.

 

Read More »