ELFSAR BLOG

Well today was like any other day here at Elfsar.  I was greeted by customers and helped a few people find that perfect gift for that special loved one or final issue that completes their collection.  Except for around 3:30 pm whereby a rather suspicious individual came into the store.  He came to the counter and asked if we buy Baseball cards to which I replied, “Sorry, no.  We don’t carry sports cards.”

Now Tuesdays are generally slow and I am usually able to handle the traffic we get while prepping for the Wednesday’s new shipment delivery.

The next thing I know, this dirty and desperate individual has an uncapped syringe pointed at me and shouts, “Give me all your ****ing comics or I am going to stick you!” Now really, he said money and more particularly he meant the limited amount of money in the till on a Tuesday, mid-day.  My first reaction was this guy must be joking as I was twice his size.  It only took a moment of looking in his ice cold pale blue eyes to know this turkey was playing for keeps.

Now, first and foremost I must state that if this happened to any of my staff the proper procedure is to comply and not put themselves or others in danger.  However, I am maybe not as smart as my employee’s and being the owner of the store, (basically money stolen from Elfsar is in other words stealing money from my livelihood) I made the instinctive decision not to bend to his demands.

The advantage I have by spending the most time at Elfsar, is knowing the exact layout and whereabouts of everything within (Including my weapons of defense).  It was all too easy for me to take a simple Jedi-like step back out of range of a syringe knowing that if he attempted to move forward he would be blocked by our mountain of merchandise crowding our front till display.  There was even a moment where he made a tiny motion forward and I could tell that he quickly realized there was nowhere to go as he as blocked by our mountain of World of Warcraft Starter sets.  The only logical option was to either go up and over or around the front counter, but there was not enough room to get over quickly as he would have to navigate through our Wizard and Toyfare Magazines.  This allowed me with more than enough time to choose which weapon to defend myself with.  My choices were to shoot him with the Elfsar pepper spray, pick up the Elfsar baseball bat or my last resort which was to attempt to sell him a Liefeld comic.  Logically, I choose the weapon with trustworthy distance.  The Elfsar baseball bat.

Now, you have no idea how much I want to say that I said something snappy, cool or right out of the comics.  “IT’S CLOBBERIN’ TIME!” would have been so soooooo perfect.  But to be honest what came out of my mouth was more along the lines of “**** YOU *******!  NOW GOING TO KICK YOUR MOTHER****ING ASS!  Now I am sure you can picture this hilarious stand off which seems to be taken right out of a Tarantino movie… a Desperate Man with a Hypodermic Needle verses an Angry Man with a Hard Aluminum Bat.

Bets on how this went down? Anyone?

Well, it was actually ruled a no contest, as this poor chap new he was outgunned.  In fact he instantly turned a shade whiter than his already pasty complexion as it became crystal clear that I was not joking either.  I moved around a side that I am not sure he even realized existed.  The last thing I wanted was to give him the chance to pull out any other type of weapon.  He turned, and ran for the door as I came around the corner with ill intent.  He moved like the flash as he jumped off the loading dock outside our storefront and into a White Malibu to speed off.  Allowing me enough time to record his license plate number and watch which direction he went.

I immediately called the Vancouver Police and gave a full detailed description.  I was very impressed at how fast the Police arrived. (around two minutes) I guess it helps to have so many coffee bars in Yaletown.  I filled out the statement and made the police report while we waited for them to dust for prints at the till and did my best to continue to serve customers on our other till.

I honestly think my heart returned to a normal speed after we closed at 6:00pm.  I am very pleased that the robber had enough smarts to run.  To be honest, the last thing I want to do is hit someone with a bat.  But if I am cornered, I am not afraid to protect myself.  The sick part is that if I actually did hit him, I could have been charged with assault.  (Yes, even though he was robbing me) The robber would have the right to file a lawsuit.  How messed up is that?  It’s sad that the situation came to this.  He obviously was desperate for money to get his next fix and it is sad that crime seemed like the only alternative.

 Later that night I participated in a police line-up (Not the kind you see in the movies but rather seeing a series of mug shots) and correctly identifying the robber to the best of my ability.  Hopefully he will get the help he needs to ween himself off the drugs.

Elfsar has been open for over 5 years and this is the first attempted crime of this nature.  Sure there is an occasional shoplifter we have had to bust and the occasional fake counterfeiter. All in all, I have always referred to it as “it’s the cost of doing business”.

To be honest, I was debating if I should actually blog about what happened today or not as most store owners want to keep these kind of things quiet.  In the end, I felt it was important to share what happened.  This was the extent of my day.  I want to ensure everyone that aside from this unusual incident, Yaletown is still a very safe neighborhood and Elfsar is still a safe heaven for getting in touch with your inner geek.  So not to worry, your comics are still safe at Elfsar.

WINNER OF THE ELFSAR $250.00 SHOPPING SPREE WAS:

Thomas Tan!

- Here is a list of what he bought with his winnings:

GREEN LANTERN NO FEAR TP,
GREEN LANTERN REBIRTH TP,
GREEN LANTERN CORPS VOL 1 TO BE A LANTERN TP,
GREEN LANTERN CORPS RECHARGE TP,
GREEN LANTERN CORPS VOL 2 THE DARK SIDE OF GREEN TP,
WONDER WOMAN PLASTIC BUST BANK,
SPIDER-MAN VOL 5 SPIDEY STRIKES BACK DIGEST TP,
QEE 2.5 INCH SERIES 3 OXOP VINYL FIGURE,
CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS TP,
DETECTIVE COMICS #844,
DETECTIVE COMICS #843,
BATMAN FACE THE FACE TP,
SUPERMAN BIRTHRIGHT TP,
MOUSE GUARD FALL 1152 TP,
HELLBOY ANIMATED MAGNET LOBSTER JOHNSON,
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #21,
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #20,All that & he had enough left over for even a pack of JUICY FRUIT GUM!

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2008 WAS A BLAST!

On May 3rd, Elfsar Comics & Toys gave away over 8,000 comics to a count of over 800 people in only 8 hours.

Thank you everyone who helped support the Vancouver food Bank.
With your help we overloaded 17 boxes full of food!  A major increase from last year’s (5 boxes) Way to go!

 A very Special Thank you to:
Steve Sadowski, Team Epic, Zeroes 2 Heroes, The Scotiabank Theater (900 Burrard St), CTVNEWS, Electric Playground,
Ryan Doell, Carlo and Julio Turcinovic, David Ingram, Laura Wilson, Candice Low, Brian Miline, Elizabeth Bakker,
Miret Rodriguez, Thomas Tan, Rob Barazzuol, Patricia Lam & Ben Hives!
The day would not have been the same without your help!

Check the updates and raffle winners at: http://www.elfsar.com/FCBD/FCBD_2008.htm
See a short video of FCBD here: http://elfsar.com/FCBD/2008_Comics/FCBD08long.avi
Check out the display at the Scotiabank Theatre and win a $250.00 Shopping Spree at Elfsar:
http://www.elfsar.com/FCBD/FCBD_Iron_Man_Promo.htm

See the FCBD 2008 Facebook Event page here:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=11497988863

Check out the after party here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=28960066192

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SHOULD ELFSAR WIN A HARRY KREMER AWARD?

2008 marks the 4th Annual Canadian Comic Book awards and you only have up until MAY 28th to vote and nominate your favorite store.
Last year we were in the final 3 and our good friends at Happy Harbor (Edmonton) won the 2007 award.
Did you have fun at FCBD?  Do you feel that we did more than other Canadian Stores?
If you did, and you think we should be recognized for our efforts please take 5 minutes to nominate us to the Shuster Awards.
If we don’t get nominated, we can’t win.
Plus the Shusters are a great way for your vote to be heard as to which Canadian Comic Creators are most deserving of praise.
http://joeshusterawards.com/content.asp?URL=8
It is all in your hands and we Thank you in advance.
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IMPORTANT ODERING REMINDER! -Did you get your May order in?
Did you forget to look through this month’s Previews Catalogue?
Tisk, Tisk… but never fear, Elfbytes http://www.elfsar.com/Elfbytes%20Articles/Elfbytes.htm is here!
Not sure yet about a series, give us a chance to help you decide. You can find this months review here:
http://www.elfsar.com/Elfbytes%20Articles/May_2008.htm

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Hothead Games is proud to announce that Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode One will be available worldwide both via Xbox Live® Arcade (except Korea) and via the Greenhouse digital distribution platform (http://www.playgreenhouse.com/) for the Windows®, Mac®, and Linux® versions on Wednesday, May 21.

Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode One is an RPG-Adventure game set in the deranged 1920s universe of New Arcadia, delivered to gamers via accessible episodic releases.  Players join Gabe and Tycho, the crime-solving team of the Startling Developments Detective Agency, to combat savage enemies and solve mysteries hidden deep in the sinister heart of New Arcadia.
The game is the result of close collaboration between Hothead Games and Penny Arcade, featuring distinct artwork and characters designed exclusively by Mike “Gabe” Krahulik, story and dialogue by Jerry “Tycho” Holkins, both brought to life by the Hothead team.

Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode One is expected to offer players six to ten hours of gameplay, and is priced at $19.95 for the Windows, Mac, and Linux versions and at 1600 Microsoft points via Xbox Live® Arcade.  The game has been rated “M” for Mature by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board for all platforms.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE FCBD 2008 RAFFLE WINNERS!

See more updates from the day here: http://www.elfsar.com/FCBD/FCBD_2008.htm

In case you missed its premier on all the Time/Warner-owned TV stations, here is a look at the Star Wars: The Clone Wars trailer.

The film opens nationwide on August 15th, 2008.

Star Wars Clone Wars Trailer