Hello everbody!
If this is your first Walt's newsletter: welcome to the party. It's not your regular shop newsletter, which is theoretically a good thing. But can also be a bad thing. Definitely an unusual thing. Let's see!
My coffeine intake is just right (by which I mean: way overboard) to add multiple layers of excitement to an already "subjectively" exciting layer of announcements. And wild stories. So, let's start with this one:
Marvel BIGGEST Gun is FIRING Shots at Walt's
The problem with (too much) caffeine: if makes you believe that EVERYTHING those hyped-up synapses are coming up with makes so much sense!!!
Even when it doesn't. But I still love this headline, so here we go.
Yes, it is true. Chip Zdarsky, the funny, humble, talented and, most importantly, fans-loving and -serving superstar creator, will stop by our warehouse soon.
For his next life-chapter, Chip has two Hercules-like tasks to wrestle with:
- Saving Marvel Comics.
- Serving Walt's Comic Shop customers with an endless demand for signatures.
For a 15€ (voucher!! you can buy anything on that day with with it, so it's basically a free) ticket, you'll get 5 signatures on anything you bring with you and (wait for it!) Chip has also offered to sign anything that you will buy on that day from Walt's! Even the brand-new Batman #1 by his pal Matt Fraction?! Or X-Men covers by his arch-nemesis Ryan Stegman!?! We'll offer them next to his signing table just to tease him... Where are the limits of Chips's generosity and goodwill? Witness the live-experiment on Tuesday, October 28th from 16h to 19.30.
Comic Books Are SOARING
You've probably heard the good news: Comic Books (esp. in their original single issue format) are selling gangbuster numbers these days.
I've been visiting the New York Comic Con last week and the mood was almost matching the coffeinated one I am in right now:
retailers, publishers and creators were just pumped up and positive about the near future. Tons of announcement coming out of the NYCC, but without focusing on anything specific, I think we're heading into a memorable 2026.
I am also happy to report that our sales are doing really well. So well in fact, that we've had some problems catching up with your orders in the past few months. Apologies for that. We've hired and trained new people, so expect some new names on your "thank-you-notes" soon...
If you want to get a taste of what is driving sales in the comic book section, I've just completed a new TOP50 write-up here.
And if you're curious, but don't want to overspend, Gloriana has come up with a cheap way to sample single issues in a new charge of super-cheap suprise-packs.
NYCC - 3 Personal Highlights
New York Comic Con started with a professional day on Wednesday, where I met with a few publishers and our rep Hector from Penguin Random House. It was a fun day, and many thanks to Hector, he was the perfect host!
On Wednesday night I was invited by Marvel to a secret dinner in a fancy restaurant (well, technically the cellar off-site — but still very fancy!). I got to meet Publisher Dan Buckley, re-meet Editor-in-Chief C.B. Cebulski, and chat with Director-of-Sales David Gabriel. It was a small group of maybe 20–25 people, and I kept pinching myself: What’s little Waltyboy doing here among the big guys?!
But after a few Negronis, I was talking to them like old pals… Anyway! Let’s hope the evening won’t have any lasting consequences for the Walt’s account!
The next night, I managed to score a ticket to a play. Not just any play — one of my all-time favorites by my favorite playwright, Samuel Beckett. And not just any cast either: the leading men were Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter (yes, Bill & Ted!).
It was my Broadway moment, and I savoured every second of it. Also… I drank more Negronis. (A theme is definitely emerging!)
Full disclosure: I’m not a crowd person. Never have been. Festivals and conventions aren’t as enjoyable for me as they are for others, so I didn’t hang out as much as I’d hoped in the artist area or on the show floor... both were insanely busy.
But I did get to meet one of my absolute favorites: Luana Vecchio. She was amazing. I told her how much everyone loved the interview she did with our fanzine — and that some customers are literally buying from us just to get their hands on it.
I also couldn’t resist picking up a hardcover copy of Dollparts (which, by the way, is set to reach the wider public early to mid next year).
In short: New York was everything: thrilling, exhausting, unforgettable.
The 2025 Survey Is Live!
Once a year we do this thing where we ask you (the people who actually keep this crazy operation alive) what’s working, what’s not, and what we should absolutely never change. It only takes a few minutes, but it really helps us steer the ship.
So if you’ve ever wanted to tell us how to do things better (or just to say we’re doing fine, thank you very much), now’s the moment.
Like always, a little reward is waiting for you at the end. Actually, not that little... depends on your order size.
Enjoy & thank you.
OK, the coffeine is wearing off... and the warehouse is waiting! We have more crazy announcements lined up. Be sure to check out the November newsletter :)
Until then: don't forget to take some Vitamin D supplements...
Cheers,
Walt
