Elfsar Comics & Toys 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.