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Sure, it was a bad hair day yesterday, but I still managed to drop off $700 worth of comics each to Children's Hospital and the local USO. Most of the comics aren't pictured; they aren't that expensive yet!
This donation was made possible by the kind folks who participated in the Big Monkey Benefit Party, either by buying things at the party or making a contribution from afar.
At both facilities our contacts were delighted by the contribution, assuring us that such donations are of great value to the kids and soldiers. In fact, at the Children's Hospital we were shown that some of the waiting rooms are decorated with large images of comic book heroes, and that they are used to inspired the children to be brave while visiting.
Both CH and the USO are happy to serve as hubs for distributing our contributions to the various hospitals and clinics they operate in the metro-area. They are eager for as much as we can give them, so Big Monkey is hoping to have another benefit party soon, which we hope you can attend.
P.S. I got my haircut last night.
Next Wednesday, April 22, Big Monkey is having a benefit party to raise money for donating comic books to the ailing children and soldiers in two local D.C. hospitals.
For every dollar raised (either through purchases or direct donations), Big Monkey will match with an equivalent amount of merchandise sent to Children's Hospital and Walter Reed Army Hospital. Help give hundreds of comics and toys -- and hours of needed enjoyment -- to those in need.
Meet new characters, both real and fictional! And the Big Monkey staff will be on hand to find you comics and graphic novels you'll love. Catering by Harryfeatures, music by Big Monkey Radio. The party is from 7PM to 10PM at Big Monkey (1722 14th St. NW Washington DC; that's on 14th between R & S, near the U St. metro station).
IF YOU CAN'T ATTEND BUT STILL WANT TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE CAUSE, you can PayPal a donation to scipio@bigmonkeycomics.com with a message saying that it's for the benefit... we'll add it to the tally!
The Evite to the Party.
The Facebook Page for the Party.
Sorry, I've been rather busy getting ready for two away shows, three home concerts, and a competition!!! Meanwhile, I'd be delighted if my readers would consider becoming fans of my comic book store, Big Monkey Comics, on Facebook.
I've set up a Discussion Board there, with topics for many regular comic book series. Perhaps there are topics we've brought up here at the Absorbascon that you'd like to discuss further, but the post that started them gets shoved down by new posts. No problem! We can create topics for those on the Big Monkey Discussion Board. Just let me know there!
The Big Monkey Bystander Token Postcards have arrived!
If you'd like one, just PayPal me $1.50 to scipio.garling@verizon.net, with your mailing address, and I'll put one in the mail to you!
Steve Niles, author of such horror titles as
- 30 Days of Night,
- Criminal Macabre,
- Wake the Dead,
- Batman: Gotham County Line, and
- Batman: Gotham After Midnight
Steve's a local boy, and we're happy to welcome him back to his old stomping grounds here in the District. Join us, won't you!
Ah, now this one I'm proud of. It's not just decorative, it's functional (that is, if you play Heroclix).
This is an oversized Big Monkey postcard, with 15 tokens you can cut out and use in your Heroclix games! They are designed to go with my new full-size Heroclix map of the Big Monkey store in the District (you'll see that later, I promise, once it's available to buy from Xion Games).
All these tokens are people and things you might find at Big Monkey.
The Light Objects (in yellow) include:
- Spinner racks, with some loose comics nearby that you just might recognize;
- a Heroclix table, with my own "Iceberg Lounge" map on it;
- our famous sale table, where fortunes have been won and lost;
- and our beloved Civilian Bench, where the comic book pilgrims deposit their significant others while they pay their respects at the Big Monkey. It's the Wailing Wall of comic books, and if you look closely you can see a girlfriend lying on it unconscious, overwhelmed by the rarefied atmosphere of high-level comic book discussion at Big Monkey.
The Heavy Objects (in red) include:
- Bookcases, spilling over with quality trades and hardcovers;
- A file cabinet, container of sub files; "the perfect container, the container of all our hopes for the future";
- The picnic table (it goes outside on the rooftop deck behind the store);
- and the safe, where fortunes are stored and hopefully not lost.
The Special Objects (in blue) include the Absolute Edition and the Rare Issue. Either may be picked up by any figure in the game.
The Absolute Edition grants whoever carries it Deflection, because it's thick enough to deflect mere bullets and blasts of ill-defined energy. If an attack against the holder of the Absolute Edition succeeds, the Absolute Edition absorbs one click of the damage and is removed from play.
The Rare Issue grants whoever carries it immunity from long-range attacks, because no comic book character would risk harming a rare issue. If a close combat attack against the holder of the Rare Issue succeeds, the attacker takes the Rare Issue as his own. The Rare Issue cannot be destroyed; it's been bagged and boarded, you see.
The Big Monkey Bystanders (in brown) include:
- The Customer, as portrayed by the charming Lauren Martella, head of the Big Monkey Women's Discussion Group;
- The Player, as portrayed by the avuncular Tom Price, Wizkids Envoy and host of the on-going Big Monkey Heroclix tournament series;
- The Staff, as portrayed by the angelic James Rambo, host of our fortnightly Crime Alley Cinema night.
It'll be a while before I get them back from the printer, but when I do, maybe I can mail you one (for a modest PayPal fee to cover expenses).
