It's Wednesday and as all good comic book fans know that means new comics day! Not only is that true at your local comic shop, but its true here at the chronicles of the Tal Nor. While Kelsea, Rose and I are hard at work crafting the next issue, I've been sneaking off now and again to do a little coloring flatting and re-lettering of the first Tal Nor story, Dangers of the Road. Every Wednesday I'll be posting up a newly colored page. Today we have page two. You will notice that from page one to page two that the color of the grass and shrubs has changed. This improvement is due to some fabulous advice I received from Chronicles of the Tal Nor issue 1 and I Hate When They Run artist Kelsea Jewell. She really knows her stuff; be glad she is the one coloring issue 1 and not me!
Click HERE to check out page two of Dangers of the Road.
Before I sign off, I wanted to mention how lucky Rose and I are to have a fantastic local comic shop called Uncanny! in the King of Prussia mall. If you are ever in the King of Prussia area of Pennsylvania, do yourself a favor and visit the store. Tell them T. sent you. They have a new location just above the food court. Unfortunately, there is a shoe store that is interested in this location and may cause our favorite comic shop to have to change location once more. I go into more details on this in my personal blog, which you can read HERE; but because Uncanny! has always been so supportive of my comics, I wanted to return the favor and share the letter I wrote to Villa, the shoe store in question. I hope your local shop is as awesome as mine and you love it just as much!
T.
Dear Villia Management:
I'm writing you today because I heard some distressing news. It's my understanding that you are thinking of opening a store in the King of Prussia Mall in the location currently occupied by Uncanny. I urge you to choose a different location in the King of Prussa mall. Over the last year Uncanny (formally called Comics and More) has had to move twice and as you can imagine this has put a real strain on them as it would any business. I know it put a major strain on their employees as I was there to help them move, because Uncanny is more than just a store for me.
I have been a dedicated customer of the store for nearly 30 years. I even worked there for a few years while I was finishing up college and looking for a job in my field. I have seen every location they have ever had and this current location is by far the best. They have just finished setting up the back room for gaming and events. It looks fantastic. They have incredible art on the walls and front window. It is clear to see how much time and effort that the employees and customer volunteers have put into the store. As the operators of a store you know how rare it is to have employees and a customer base that cares that much about a store.
That's because Uncanny is more than a store and employees; it's a place for old friends to meet and new friendships to be formed. Every Wednesday I come in to pick up my comic books. Not only do they have the books that I have asked for, but they will set aside things that they know I would be interested in. It is rare in this day and age to find such customer service. As much as I love the people that worked there when I was an employee back in the early 2000's this current group are some of the best people I have seen running a comic shop.
I have become a comic book professional in no small part to due to the influence this store has had on my life. It the first place to ever carry any of my works and it the first place I look to when I want to premier any of my new titles.
This store is also responsible for me meeting one of my best friends in the world. Over a decade ago I was finishing up one of my last shifts at the comic shop when a young lady came in asking for a comic book recommendation. Over her next two visits we had such a good time talking we decide to meet up for coffee after I was no longer working at the shop. From that meeting we formed a lasting friendship that included me being a bridesman in her wedding. I still see her nearly every week.
This is the kind of place that you could put in jeopardy if decided to have the King of Prussia Mall management make them move once more. I ask you again to investigate and choose a different location in the mall. While I have never shopped in your store before, if you choose to pursue Uncanny's current location I assure you I never will and will be vocal about my reasons. However, if you choose a different location in one of the largest malls in the world, I will most assuredly come and check your store out. I cannot promise to buy anything, but there is a good chance that I will. As you can imagine from this letter I tend to be a vocal supporter of the places I like.
Thank you for your time and consideration in this matter.
Regards,
T. Perran Mitchell
Creator of Chronicles of the Tal Nor
