Trans people, especially trans women, face disproportionate risks of violence, and her friends and family are extremely concerned for her safety.

Please share widely, especially in St. Louis and Chicago.
Our community keeps each other safe, help us bring her home.

2/2

I think you should get it.

I want the area to thrive. We don't need more shops though lol. Stl has more than enough. Buy yeah. Free Comic Book Day. It's been a wild ride.

And I think that's a good thing. Maybe my body will respond in a more positive way if I don't have to worry about the pressure of FCBD competition. Which is crazy in itself since a fair amount of stores do encourage patrons to visit other stores on this day. I recommend other shops all the time.

It's honestly still good for retailers, in spite of how awful the prep and aftermath may actually be. It's a big community day and it's built into the world. "1st Saturday of/in May."

So, even if it dies, I find myself realizing that I'll actually have to plan for something next year, anyway.

Which is kinda funny, since yesterday's might actually have been the final FCBD as it currently exists. You know, due to all the Diamond Comics drama. I'm actually a little relieved by that idea. That it could finally be over. But it sucks for everyone who genuinely enjoys the day.

I ended up having the biggest line I've ever seen at my current store. It was nuts. But why did I stop trying? Well, this is my whole point to the story. My body has a stress induced reaction to this day. It's like an actua trauma response. It's ridiculous. But now the day finally works out for me.

And then it worked. LOL.

I didn't reach out to a single entity. No band, no DJ, no pancake artist, no cosplayers. No movie passes. Nothing. (Save for the local artists, but I was upfront about what to expect). I just ordered the free comics and upped the limit. Also didn't even open early.

Our landlord was also insane during the lockdown. And the local municipality wasn't allowing people to utilize the sidewalk space in front of their stores on a street where that was expected, The Delmar Loop. Just hurdle after hurdle. So, last year, I just quit trying to make FCBD work.

Then Covid hit, and we had that FCBD Summer which was terrible. Then we had a hobby store competitor move down the street who undercut us on everything, I'll name them, because why not? Mythic Lotus/Lotus Lookout. Look them up, you'll see what I was dealing with. They are out of business now.

Between a local anime convention scheduling itself for FCBD weekend and a ton of new stores opening in the wake of Star Clipper's closure, and an admittedly not so great reputation held over from my current store (long story lol), my efforts were met with poor results. It was emotionally exhausting.

My shop is a true small business in every sense. And it's hard work. And the whiplash of having a huge respected reputation from one store to having the build one up from the ground has been especially trying. And a lot of those FCBDs at the current store, The Wizard's Wagon, were rough ones.

That store was massive. At one point. We had something like 16 active staff. That includes owners, full-time, and part-time employees. Had volunteers too. It made dealing with this day relatively easy.

But that was then. Currently, my store's active staff is 4. That includes 2 owners, 2 part-time.

But it was hard work. And it was a massive team effort. I'm actually the reason why local artists even get asked to come out and draw in the area. Our efforts at Star Clipper made a lasting mark on the area that continues to this day. But all of the staff played a huge part. And that's the thing.

You see, I used to work for Star Clipper in STL. Arguably one of the best shops in the country while it existed. In the STL area, the spectical of its FCBD was unmatched. Bands, DJs, Cosplay Contests, Signings, Local Artists, Teast. Pancake Art, we even had a real wedding one year. Stuff was nice.

Become something better by becoming something new. Use this second chance for something worthwhile. Find retailers a reason to keep giving you money. Just fucking fix it.

And every local retailer that I've talked to has done the same. The damage caused since Oct 2024 through now has made it clear that a retailer can't rely on Diamond and expect to survive. They aren't getting that business back if it's gonna be "business as usual."

So it's time to change.