Cryer from the Castle 9/30

This week's cryer from the castle

Archon

 Archon 48 takes place this weekend at the Collinsville Convention Center. We have attended since the 1990s when the organizers held it at the long demolished Henry the 8th hotel and look forward to seeing old and new friends again.

Cryer from the Castle Sept 23 2025

New releases and events

Universes Beyond Spider Man

 Magic Spider Man released today and, according to one of our suppliers, WotC printed 3 times as much of this set as the company did Tarkir Dragonstorm. While I do not expect to see Final Fantasy numbers, because that was just nuts, we do expect to sell out of Collector Boosters within a couple of weeks and Play Boosters within a month.  Gift Bundles are almost pre-sold out, to the point we are not preselling any more as we want to make sure our allocation covers our orders.  Surprisingly, at least to us, we did not presell a single regular bundle but expect those to sell out within a week. 

Cryer from the Castle 9/16

this week's new comics and events.

Pre-registration

 Today is 

Just a reminder that today is the last day to prepay for the Spider Man pre-release or any of the Spider Man product and save money.  Pre-release entry goes to $55 tomorrow.

Cryer from the Castle 9/9

this week's Cryer from the Castle with events and new releases

Used RPG Materials

We do have a large stock of used RPG materials including items for 1st, 2nd 3rd, 5th and, as the photo shows, 4th edition D&D. We also have out of print materials for Vampire, Traveller, Champions and GURPS as well as many other systems.

 

Retailer Handbooks

The reason the Wallace's training guides and handbooks are important is that Wallace was one of the first people in the game industry to push for retailers to be viewed as, and act professionally. At a GAMA trade show years ago, WizKids gave out a limited edition Dropship to every retail store attending. While most retailers grabbed the ship and frantically either posted pictures of it or listed it on eBay, Wallace let his staff, which he paid to attend the show as well, handle that while he continued to discuss discounting and breakeven points.

Before the publication of these books, back around 2000, a game or comic store owner had little reference material on which to draw and opening a store was rather flying blind, as most game and comic store owners got into the business because of their love of the hobby and ran the store as a reflection of that love, rather than as a business. The Specialty Retailer's Handbook and the Store Manager's Training Guide were the Wallace's codification of what they had learned running their stores into a format others could use.

 

Comic Shop Handbooks

Although there are more books available now, during the early 21st century, if you wanted to open a game or comic store, these books by Dave and Kell Wallace were essential reading for anyone hoping to have a successful operation.

 

Cryer From the Castle 9/2

This week's events and new releases