Brainstorm Comics & Gaming

Downtown Frederick's Only Comic Shop

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Why Aren't You Reading?

Important News About Downtown Frederick

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Updated Hours

Friday, June 5th, our Frederick location will be closing at 4 pm.  Protests are scheduled tomorrow evening, so with the possible street closings and congestion of people, we decided to close early.

Saturday, June 6th, we will be reopening at noon.

Parking on the Weekend
Beginning June 12th and running for the weekend, downtown Frederick is closing Market Street to allow restaurants to set up an outside dining experience for patrons of the city.  While we believe this is a good measure that will encourage people to return to the area, we also know that some of our customers are wary of the parking situation in normal times.  If that pertains to you and you normally shop on Friday, Saturday or Sunder, we suggest either checking out our Walkersville location (a short 15 minute trip from the Frederick location) or coming into the downtown store Monday through Thursday.  The street will be closed down from 11 am to 10 pm, so plan accordingly.

Welcome Back!

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We Are Open!

After an almost two month hiatus, we are back up and running with your favoriate comics and games!  For this first few weeks we are running on a reduced schedule until we figure out exactly what hours people would like us to be open.  With that in mind, be sure to press the button below to hear our new policies to ensure your and our staff’s safety during this time period.  Below that is the list of our hours of operations along with a big announcement that many of you are going to enjoy.

THIS WEEK’S
HOURS OF OPERATION

MONDAY-TUESDAY, THURSDAY-FRIDAY
2 PM to 7PM
WEDNESDAY
NOON to 7 PM
SATURDAY-SUNDAY
NOON to 5PM

NEXT WEEK’S
HOURS OF OPERATION

MONDAY-FRIDAY
NOON to 7PM
SATURDAY-SUNDAY
NOON to 5PM

EVERYONE IS A SUBSCRIBER!

What does that mean?  To thank those who have supported us over the years, especially the last 2 months, and those who discover us on a daily basis, starting tomorrow and until further notice everyone will get the benefits of being a Brainstorm Comics and Gaming subscriber.  Here is what that entitles you to:
20% off NEW RELEASE COMICS
20% off BACK ISSUES
20% off GRAPHIC NOVELS
10% off BOARD GAMES

Don’t worry Games Workshop fans, we didn’t forget you.  We always have 10% off the MSRP of Warhammer products, but we are extended an additional discount on top of that.
5% off GAMES WORKSHOP

Currently, we are not allowing customers to go through the back issues at our Walkersville location as the disinfecting of that section would be a nearly impossible task.  However, if you shoot us an email list at [email protected], call us at 301-304-2407 or 301-360-5843 or come into the store with your want list, we will gladly pull anything you are looking for.

Thank all of you for the support you’ve shown and continue to show.  Keep an eye open for more announcement by following us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or our website brainstormcomics.com so you don’t miss any exciting news.

Everything You Want to Know About What’s Going On

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Wondering about the Ikoria pre-release and products?  Concerned about when comics will begin shipping again?

Your questions and much, much more will be answered in this post!

WE ARE OPEN!

Many people thought we were closed, so we wanted to make sure you were aware.

For those of you who were wondering or who were concerned, yes, we are open.  We apologize for not being as active on social media or through these emails, but we’ve been working on improving both the downtown Frederick and the Walkersville locations.  We are working out of the Walkersville location Monday through Saturday from noon to 6 pm.  You can either email us at [email protected] or call us at 301-304-2407.

Several people have asked how they can support the store.

First and foremost, you can still shop at the store through our web store.  It is still a work in progress, but we are improving it on a daily basis.  We recommend using the search option at the top as we have over 10,000 items in the system.  One of the additions we are working on is adding categories, but it is taking a longer time than we had anticipated.

For those of you interested in that, the web address is https://brainstorm-comics-gaming.square.site/

Second, we know we may not currently have something you are looking for in stock.  No worries,  Our webstore is also enabled to take orders for gift cards.  Those can be purchased at this link https://squareup.com/gift/388ZT5W7BGVCB/order

At this time we are only permitted to either do delivery or mail order.  If you wish to place an order for mail order, we will contact you to review the shipping costs.  We appreciate your understanding of the limitations placed on us at this time.

COMIC BOOK NEWS

For the last 6 weeks or so, Diamond Comics, the distributor of the great comics and graphic novels we carry, has been closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic which of course resulted in no new product. I won’t bury the lede–new products will begin shipping from them beginning the week of May 15th.

With that being said, I do want to go over the events that have transpired during that time.  If you aren’t into long-winded explanations, you’ll probably want to skip the next few paragraphs.

First, there was a plan floated in order to get comics to the readers far sooner than the May 15th date.  I found it quite interesting and was looking forward to seeing how it would work.  Basically, comic fans would buy a digital version of their favorite books with the proceeds going to their Local Comic Shop.  Once stores were reopened and product began shipping again, the customer would then receive a physical copy of their purchase as well from their chosen LCS.

There were many stores who were against this for various reasons; the main one that was stated repeatedly was they felt companies were trying to push their customers to digital.  I can only speak to me and my customers in reards to that.  From talking to our regulars and seeing their weekly habits, I don’t have that concern.  When the Nook and Kindle came out, I bought them (yes, both of them), but rarely used it.  Those of us who love printed media don’t get the same feeling from a computer screen.  It just isn’t the same.

Of course, there are those who argue that may be the case for the older base, but the younger readers will be swayed.  Again, I have to politely disagree.  When younger readers come into our store, their eyes light up in a way that a computer screen will never cause them to do so.  Yes, even the generation being raised in front of computers know the difference.  One of my favorite moments in the store was when one of those children came into the store, his eyes as wide as saucers, and said with so much excitement in his voice–“This must be what Heaven looks like.”

Like I said, regardless of age, people know the difference.

So unfortunately that idea went to the wayside.  DC vowed to find alternative means in order to get their books into their eager and reading bereft customers.  Some speculated they would be using Penguin Random House.  But that didn’t materialize…..

Until two weeks ago when we received an email from DC saying they had found two new distributors to get their books out to you.  We initially were very excited about this news.  I had even started the registration process.  But something about that email struck me and I paused.  We were being required to sign up within four days.  After looking online, I found some articles that shed some light onto why it may have been rushed.  The two distributors were not distributors in the traditional sense–they were two of the largest comic retailers in the country.  Basically we were being asked to float competitors on the backend while they also profited off the front end.  As a result of that, we decided not to go that route.  There were other concerns as well, which I will discuss in person if any of you care about the particulars, but would make this already long-winded explanation all the longer.

Meanwhile, that decision was made all the easier when Diamond made their announcement that they would begin shipping once more the week of May 15th.  Yes, we could have received a few DC titles this week, but it just didn’t make sense economically.  These titles will be provided to us through Diamond, just a few weeks later than those other distributors.  All of the titles should be in sync, regardless of distributor, some time in June is my guess.

So hopefully you will bear with us and support us in our decision.  We will have all of the books you are supposed to get.

IKORIA RELEASE AND PRODUCTS

Ikoria Lair of the Behemoths is rapidly approaching!  With the current restrictions in place in the state of Maryland, we are not permitted to do our normal pre-release, but Wizards of the Coast is allowing Magic players to take home pre-release kits.  We’ve sold about 2/3 or our pre-release kits already, so act quickly!

Go to this link to see the different products we will have in stock.  https://brainstorm-comics-gaming.square.site/s/search?q=Ikoria

Remember, quantities will be limited, so act quickly.

All of our pre-release booster boxes (the ones that come with the buy a box promo) but we still have a few boxes available without the promo.  Wizards, again due to the current situation, is doing the release and prerelease products simultaneously.

GENERAL NEWS

First and foremost, we want all of you to remain safe.  We are taking every precaution we can and working on several things to transition back into being your full service hobby shop once the restrictions are lifted.  Everything we are considering is with your safety and ours in mind.  If you have any suggestions, we are open to them as we want everyone to feel comfortable.  Feel free to email us at [email protected] or call at 301-304-2407 as we are operating strictly from the Walkersville location.

In addition to that, we have taken this last month to improve our stores.  Over 25,000 comics have been added to our Walkersville location.  A new layout of the store is in the works.

Downtown Frederick is having a new comic display being built currently.  A slightly adjusted layout is in the works for that location as well.

Rest assured, we took the last four weeks as an opportunity to put into place ideas we had in the works for quite some time.  And there are a few more I don’t want to mention quite yet.  Keep an eye out this week and next for those announcements though.  We truly think you’ll love them.

In close, we want all of you to know we greatly appreciate everything you’ve done for this store and continue to do for the store.  We aren’t going anywhere.

Those things that do not kill us only make us stronger.

Thank you for reading and we hope to see you very soon.

We’re here for you!

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We have our web store up and running!

Currently we have more than 6,000 items listed and are adding more each day. Since this was a spur of the moment decision, there will be some bumps in the road, but we promise that the experience will improve as we go along.

Pictures will be added as we go along.

If you have questions about any particular item, please either email us at [email protected] or call us at 301-304-2407.

While the website gives the option for pick-up, that is not the case and will be updated soon. Unfortunately, pick up does violate the governor’s order, so that is not an option. If you do show up at the door, we cannot and will not open the door for you. We apologize for that, but we all must adhere to the governor’s order.  All items will be delivered to your house.

In order to see the store and what is available, click the link below. Let us know what you think and which improvements you suggest.

We look forward to hearing from you and thank you for your continued support.

Here is the link to the store

https://brainstorm-comics-gaming.square.site/

New Policies in Effect

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With the continual spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), Brainstorm Comics and Gaming is continually evaluating and re-evaluating how to handle the situation. Our chief priority is to keep our employees and you, our customers, as safe as possible. We are looking for suggestions as to what would make you feel safer as well as rolling out our own in the meantime.

First, we are canceling our roleplaying sessions until further notice. Due to the close proximity our RPG participants, we felt this was a needed measure to be taken. We are still considering our options for both Warhammer and Magic. If we do hold Magic drafts, there will be several requirements. One, it will be capped at 8 players. Two, all players will be required to wash their hands and use hand sanitizer prior to drafting. Third, after the draft portion, there will only be two players at a table, not our customary four. Again, we have not made a final determination regarding Magic, but if we do, those will be requirements. For Warhammer, again, we are considering similar measures. If there are other ideas, please let us know. More than likely, they will be canceled as well, but we are open to ideas that balance safety and fun.

We are taking under consideration the possibility of shortened hours. For now, we are operating at our normal hours, however.

To work within the context of suggested social distancing, we are limiting the number of people allowed within the store at a single time at 5. If you are asked to wait outside to keep to this number, we ask you to please be considerate and understanding of the reasoning. So this does not become an issue, we are offering two services. One, curbside delivery, now available at both stores. In order to take advantage of this service, either call the Frederick store at 301-360-5843 or the Walkersville store at 301-304-2407 to place your order. Then, simply come to the location you called and call once more, letting us know you are outside for your pick-up. We will bring an iPad outside to run your card. The tablet will be disinfected after each and every use. Feel free to call us to check on the availability of a new release or game.

The other new service is John will personally deliver your items to your house. Deliveries will be made to those who live within a 15 mile radius of either of our stores. To limit how much cash is on John during these deliveries, only credit cards will be accepted.

We want to incentivize you to use these services, so we are offering 10% off all of our products. For comic book subscribers, we are offering you an additional 5% for a total of 25% off comic books and graphic novels. Please make use of either one of them for the safety of yourself and those around you. These discounts cannot be stacked with the existing sale.

At Brainstorm Comics and Gaming, we pride ourselves on the community that we have fostered in the Frederick area for the last 35 years. It is through that community spirit and relationships that we know we can and will weather whatever comes from this unprecedented set of circumstances.

Please message us on Facebook or Instagram, email us at [email protected] or call us at the numbers listed above with any additional suggestions you have for how we can maintain some sort of normalcy while also providing safety for all.

Thank you.