Merry Christmas, Comic Shop Friends! We had a great time at our Holiday party, thanks to all of you who made it out!

And a huge thank you to everyone who donated to the raffle! Our total was $6296, which creates 18,888 meals!

Another huge thanks to everyone who submitted a cover, we couldn’t do it without your help! We had a record number of covers to raffle off, 156, so keep that in mind for next year so we can top that, and beat this year’s donation amount for the Cleveland Food Bank.

This is also a good time to remind you that the Cleveland Food Bank needs donations all year long, so if you are in a position to do so, send some money their way throughout the year.

Some photos from the night:

John Shearer is bummed he didn’t win the Short Box King cover I did, but John’s daughter won it, so there may be some deals in play to get it into the hands of SBK.

Especially since John Shearer won the original painting of the Superman House, and gifted it to John Dudas!

Awwww, so sweet.

I somehow won most of the covers I put tickets in for, including Kevenn Smith’s Britney and Christina cover!

We’ve also extended the 50% off back issue sale until the end of the year, and wall books are included! Grab some gifts before Christmas, and then come back after and treat yourself to what Santa didn’t bring you!

Statues are still 20% off until Christmas Eve!

And now until the end of the year, all action figures will be 50% off! You guys did an awesome job cleaning them out after John’s Facebook post on Monday! There are still a bunch left, so come check them out!

There are still Funko Pops left from the generous donation, and sales of these benefit the Cleveland Food Bank.

We always have gift certificates, Winston stickers, and shop t-shirts! Exactly what all your friends and family need!

And don’t sleep on our newly restocked and reorganized Young Readers section! I’m excited I get to be the cool comic book aunt now that my nephews like Captain America and Hulk! Get those kids into comics!

Finally, a couple of reminders:

First, our hours for Christmas Eve, and Sunday the 24th are 12pm to 5pm, we are closed Christmas Day, and then back to regular hours on the 26th.

Second, we ask that everyone come in and clear out their files by the end of the year, so we don’t have to pay tax on the unsold inventory. You probably have some good reading in there too!

MARVEL COMICS

An all-new adventure with the original X-Men team! Having once been sent into the future, and returning with no memory of the events, Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Beast, Iceman, and Angel are summoned to another future by an alternate universe Phoenix to take down yet another universe’s Phoenix! Christos Gage and Greg Land’s one-shot leads into Weapon X-Men coming in March!

Featuring seven stories from across the Star Wars Universe, from the High Republic to the original trilogy, that will set up what’s to come in the coming months. Charles Soule and Andrea Di Vito set a story during the original years in “A Trick of the Mind”, where Dengar’s lawyer’s defense is that a Jedi Knight used a mind trick to make him do crimes! A Doctor Aphra-set story has bounty hunter Raslin Grace’s “Tall Tales” from Alyssa Wong and David Baldeon. Jango Fett stars in “Stolen Hope”, written by Ethan Sacks with art by Will Sliney. Mace Windu has a “Showdown at Ocean’s Deep” by Marc Bernardin and Chriscross. Greg Pak and Salvador Larroca’s Darth Vader “Tool of the Empire” story has him correcting some weaknesses. Writer Cavan Scott and artist Marika Cresta’s “All the Republic” is a High Republic set story, and finally Jabba the Hutt’s “top lieutenant” gets pulled into a “Duel of the Reprobates” from Marc Guggenheim and Salva Espin.

DC COMICS

DC has a week of beast-filled books!

Giant murder hornets! Rats! Lizards! And more! As the spores infect Central City, Irey West has to round up the Speedsters to stop Godspeed, and first up is Barry Allen. Si Spurrier and Scott Koblish take on the wraparound story, with Barry and Iris. In “Gimme the Volts” from Jarrett Williams and Geroge Kambadais, Kid Flash and Avery answer Barry’s call and run into spores on their way. Maxine and Jai’s first date is interrupted by an attack by Godspeed in Alex Paknadel and Gerg Acuna’s story. Circuit Breaker and Pied Piper team-up to stop theater rats and a lizard Impulse, from A.L. Kaplan. This issue also ties into the events happening across the Flash family titles!

Flash fights a humongous Cthulhu-squid-crab thing! Shazam and Supergirl against Godzilla! Wonder Woman and Wonder Girl take down a mammoth tusked Mammoth creature! Meanwhile on Skull Island, Green Arrow gets between Kong and another beastie! Worldwide monster fights!

Finish out the year with an excellent Wonder Woman book. (We’ll just keep pushing this until all of you have it on your pull list.)

SMALL PRESS COMICS

The Long Night is coming to the small, isolated Alaskan town of Qinu, and bringing with it the deadly spirits, Taqriaqsuit. Officer Sil Osha is sent back home after a decade away, to investigate bootleggers and a series of brutal murders, but something strange is happening to her. Now she has to face a dark past, her mother’s death, and a connection to local legends in this bone-chilling supernatural thriller from writers Mark Verheiden and Aaron Douglas, and artist Cliff Richards.

We had the Ashcan edition of Animal Pound recently, now the first full issue is out! Tom King and Peter Gross update Animal Farm as an allegory for the 21st century. Dogs and cats working together to free themselves from the cages of man. After years of being caged and killed, the animals unite against humans, and plan an uprising to take control of the pound. But there are some that are content, and may challenge the newfound freedom. Winston’s pick of the week!