Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Huge Sale NOW in FLYING COLORS!

THURSDAY DEC 31 11AM-6PM

•BUY 2, GET ONE FREE!
on ALL Graphic Novels, Softcovers & Hardcovers

•BUY 1 GET ONE FREE!
on DC ARCHIVES & MARVEL MASTERWORKS!


•BUY 2 GET ONE FREE!

on ALL reg. priced STATUES & BUSTS!
•BUY 2 GET ONE FREE!
on ALL reg. priced T-SHIRTS!

CLOSED FRIDAY JANUARY 1ST


SATURDAY JAN 2 & SUNDAY JAN 3

•BUY 3, GET ONE FREE!
on ALL Graphic Novels, Softcovers & Hardcovers

•BUY 1 GET ONE FREE!
on DC ARCHIVES & MARVEL MASTERWORKS!

•BUY 2 GET ONE FREE!
on ALL reg. priced STATUES & BUSTS!

•BUY 2 GET ONE FREE!

on ALL reg. priced T-SHIRTS!

(all FREE items same priced or less, subject to available stock)


See you soon---in FLYING COLORS!

Peace!

FlyCoJoe

Friday, December 25, 2009

Merry Christmas!

We received another great note from a Chaplain serving on Northern Iraq, thanking Flying Colors for the comics we sent over with other goodies from the East Bay Blue Star Moms.

This line from the Chaplain cracked me up:
"I did note with surprise (remembering comics of my youth) that Wonder Woman put on weight in certain areas and her outfit got a lot smaller."


2010 plans for Wonder Woman--- maybe a little diet and some warmer clothes?

Peace & Merry Christmas!

FlyCoJoe

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

BLACKEST NIGHT Ring Sets!

We have a limited number of rings from DC's phenomenally successful BLACKEST NIGHT series.

Full sets of all eight BLACKEST NIGHT rings (Green, Orange, Red, Blue, Violet, Yellow, Indigo...and the hard to find BLACK) are available for just $15.99 per set at Flying Colors... while supply lasts.

In addition to the sets, individual rings (though not in all colors) will be available on a first-come, first-served basis with any net purchase of $25 or more that includes any BLACKEST NIGHT title starting Wednesday December 30 (the release date for BLACKEST NIGHT #6)...while supply lasts.

Peace!

FlyCoJoe

Monday, December 21, 2009

A FlyCo Holiday Salute to Our Soldiers Overseas

One of my very favorite gifts arrived in my email yesterday morning!

It's from SPC Steven Graulau--a man I've never met (yet!)--- currently serving in Iraq. Steven, along with a number of other soldiers serving our nation in Iraq and Afghanistan, received comic books from Flying Colors as a part of the terrific effort made by moms of our soldiers, specifically the East Bay Area Chapter of Blue Star Moms. Flying Colors donated about 3000 comic books to Blue Star Moms as a way to provide some entertainment and fun to the soldiers. SPC Graulau sent us the following email:


Good morning,

My name is SPC Steven Graulau. I am currently deployed in COB Speicher, Iraq with the 47th Combat Support Hospital. We have recently started receiving comics from your store this month. I would like to tell you personally and on behalf of all the other soldiers I work with, thank you. We deeply appreciate this gesture and your generosity.

We couldn't imagine where to start telling you how much we enjoy the comics we receive on your store's behalf and how often we exchange comics (due to the short supply). I hope to one day personally exchange my salute with you at your store. Until then, take care and God bless.

V/r

Steven Graulau
SPC, USA
PAD/AE Specialist
47th CSH, COB Speicher IZ


At Flying Colors, we are honored to help give our soldiers a few minutes away from the rigors of their mission by providing comic books to them whenever the Blue Star Moms ask.

I want to personally thank every soldier for their service to our country and I hope and pray for their speedy and safe return to each of their many loved ones here at home.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of you!


Peace!

FlyCoJoe

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Put Your Money Where Your House Is!

From today's Contra Costa Times, Joe "FlyCoJoe" Field offers some thoughts about how your holiday shopping impacts our local community.

The ongoing state budget crisis bleeds over into county and municipal budget cuts, with threats of school closures and service reductions leading the news almost every day in these trying economic times.

The season of giving and shopping continues with Black Friday and its $42 billion gross sales having come and gone. An estimated 95 million Americans bought something online Cyber Monday with a dollar total of nearly $1 billion.

How do our local and state budget problems connect to big-box and online shopping? To begin with, non-taxed cyber-sales mean a loss of state and local tax revenue. Bringing that home, that means a loss of revenue to fund fire departments, road repairs, schools and libraries.

Sales at big box retailers and online also impact our community in many other ways:

* Studies have shown that for every dollar spent at a big chain store such as Wal-Mart, only 13 cents of that dollar gets put back into the local economy. Spending the same dollar at a locally owned business re-circulates 45 cents into the local economy.

* The entrepreneurial spirit of local business owners drives America’s economic innovation and prosperity, creating a key way for families to move out of low wage jobs and into the middle class.

* Local businesses put less of a demand on our roads, sewers and public services and generate more tax revenue per sales dollar helping local and state budgets.

* Locally owned businesses also are more likely the customers of local printers, wholesalers, attorneys and other service businesses, helping to expand the local entrepreneurial spirit while adding even more to local and state tax coffers.

* Locally owned businesses donate twice as much per dollar to local non-profits, charities and events than huge retail corporations.

* Independently owned businesses, catering to a wide variety of customers’ tastes and interests create greater consumer choices for all of us.

* Local businesses give our community character and are the ultimate “social networking sites.”

* Local businesses are more eco-friendly since they are “people-sized” not corporate-sized. Local businesses consume less land, create less traffic and air pollution while being closer to residents.

* A diverse business climate market of thousands of small businesses is the best way to ensure innovation and broader consumer choices over the long-term.

In short, there is a high local cost for those who only shop for a low price. Imagine the huge impact if everyone started by shifting just 25% of our spending away from large corporate-owned chain stores and online merchants and instead spent that money locally. It would begin a positive trend of good news for everyone.

Peace!

FlyCoJoe

Wednesday, December 09, 2009

In case you're not on our email list...

...here's a coupon we sent out last night that you may want to take advantage of over the next several days.

By all means, print it out and bring it in to get these good deals!

If you would like to get our special offers, news and other non-spammy useful info, please sign up now by scrolling down a bit on the left hand side of this screen and enter your info where it says:

"News! Deals! Cool Stuff! Join the FlyCo Email Brigade!"

Peace 'n' Coupon Clipping!

FlyCoJoe

Tuesday, December 08, 2009

Fly Co Featured in Comics Buyers' Guide

There's a new feature debuting in the current issue of COMICS BUYER'S GUIDE, called "DESTINATION: Comics!" Flying Colors is honored to be the first store featured--- and the online version can be found HERE!

Of course, we also have the print edition on sale now in the 'Zine section at Flying Colors.

Peace!

FlyCoJoe

Monday, December 07, 2009

Snow Daze!



For those of you who live in places where it actually does snow every winter (like my lovely daughter Michelle in Portland), this post will seem like nothing.

However, in this part of California, snow is a BIG DEAL! Rarely does any appreciable amount of snow fall and actually stick to the ground like it did early Monday morning.

So before FlyCoLibby and I headed off for our Monday morning gym time, we went up to the Mitchell Canyon entrance to Mount Diablo (I always like to say 'Mount Diablo' ominously...) and we snapped a few pix on our iPhones.

In the top photo here, the shot is taken looking east away from Mount Diablo to the hills between Concord and Pittsburg. And that, my friends, is a LOT of snow for this area. The elevation on the top of those hills is maybe 800 feet above sea level.

In the middle shot, I took that from a different spot near the North Gate entrance to Mount Diablo, so it's looking southeast to the beautiful Mt. Diablo.

In the bottom photo, it's another shot of the open fields near the Mitchell Canyon entrance to the park, looking up to the the quarry.

And as beautiful as this area looks under a very thin blanket of the white stuff, it's way too cold for me. Please return the real California to us as soon as possible!

Peace 'n' a briefly White Christmas!

FlyCoJoe

Friday, December 04, 2009

"the road to god knows..."

Long time Flying Colors Faithful know that we try to stock a wide variety of comic goodness in our little emporium here in Concord.

More than occasionally, we search off the beaten path of super-heroes and action stories to find comics and graphic novels with a smaller, more personal vision. That is the core of a new graphic novel called "the road to god knows..." by first-time graphic novelist Von Allan.

While not autobiographical, "the road to god knows..." concerns a teenage girl coping with the mental illness of her mother. Von Allan lost his mother to the ravages of schizophrenia when she was just 48 and he was 20. So there is personal experience shared in the sometimes harrowing fiction of this graphic novel.

My pal and fellow long-time comic retailer Joe Ferrara of Atlantis Fantasyworld in Santa Cruz was able to get his local paper to interview Von Allan about his graphic novel and you can read that article HERE!

Flying Colors is one of a handful of comic specialty stores carrying Von Allan's "the road to god knows..." We hope you read the linked article and then pick up a copy of "the road to god knows..." on your next visit to Flying Colors. It currently is stocked in our "New & Cool" section.

Peace!

FlyCoJoe