Help Megabrain Comics Weather The Storm

Hey there, Megabrainiacs!

It’s never pleasant when a fundraiser like this pops up, but the unfortunate economic trends of the past year have caused a volatile retail environment that is not easily weathered by a business as young as we are and we need some financial assistance to survive the current storm.

Following a year when dozens of comic book shops across the country were forced to close their doors, many of whom had been in business for decades, we count ourselves lucky to have made it this far.

We hoped the holiday shopping season would be the healing balm to get us back on track as it had always done since opening our doors 6 years ago, but it’s become increasingly more difficult to compete with the likes of Amazon and the many corporate retail behemoths that can not only offer “ease & convenience” but deep discounts that smaller shops like us just can’t match.

And so, after a decision made out of desperation, Megabrain has been left at the end of a $14,500 rope held by a predatory creditor as well as a $9,400 outstanding vendor invoice making it impossible to operate.

Being a parent with a mortgage I understand that folks have been struggling with higher costs of housing, food, clothing and transportation among many other inflated costs, so it’s not surprising that sales have gone the way that they have.

That’s why in 2024 we’ll be concentrating more on experiential activities for our customers and community here in the Rhinebeck/Red Hook area such as free toddler story times, craft nights in Cafe Manju and movie viewing parties.

2024 will also see us cultivating relationships and collaborating with other local businesses and organizations such as…

…our upcoming event at the Rhinecellar in Rhinebeck on February 13th “Cocktails & Comics presents a chat with Black creators on making historical comics of influence” with our guest speakers from Milestone Media, DC and Marvel Comics, Joe Illidge, Micheline Hess, and ChrisCross

…or the weekend bonanza of February 24th & 25th when Jean Michel will be moderating the panel Winter Horrors With Werewolves Within Director Josh Ruben and Friends on Saturday at Spillian in Fleischmans, NY and then welcoming Josh and Invader Comics into the Megabrain clubhouse the next morning to promote his upcoming comic book DARLA

…and of course there's our continued gaming events including our upcoming Nerdy Trivia Night and Sip n Paint event with our friends at Lasting Joy Brewery in Tivoli

…the exciting 2024 Red Hook/Rhinebeck Pride Celebration plans with BeckHook Pride

…and a very exciting and special community event being planned with the amazing team at Camp Ramapo here in Rhinebeck.

A big ingredient in a businesses success is longevity and their ability to pivot and survive during challenging times and we are currently living through some extremely challenging times to say the least, but we need a bit of help to survive them.

This platform allows you to donate publicly or anonymously, but if you’re unable to help financially we would greatly appreciate it if you could share this fundraiser with anyone who may want to.

Asking for help is embarrassing and it’s never an easy thing to do, but we are definitely in need of some right now and if you’re able to lend a hand and help us weather these challenging times we would greatly appreciate it.

Thank you,

Jean Michel