Post #1500
in
“THE CASE OF THE MISSING MANGA”
Chapter One: The Game’s Afoot!
“Jeepers!” exclaimed Dor. “It just doesn’t make sense!”
Dor was standing in front of the large shelving unit, staring at the rows and rows of paperback manga books, mindlessly twirling his oversized magnifying glass in one hand. To the untrained eye, the shelves looked as if they were fully stocked, but Dor knew better.
Mike, Dor’s fellow detective, stood at the store’s front counter, notebook and pencil in hand. “You say the manga is missing? That someone stole the books from you?”
“No, no, it wasn’t like that at all,” came the reply. The store’s proprietor, the kindly Mr. Daniels, shook his head sadly. “They never arrived at all.”
Mike was puzzled. “Wait a minute…if you never had them, how could they be stolen from you?”
“Look here,” Dor called out to Mike. “Take a look at this shelf. See the books there?”
Mike stood beside Dor and peered at where he was pointing. “Yes, I see…Dynamic Hero Gunface volumes one through nine. What about them?”
Mr. Daniels replied before Dor could answer. “I was able to order those first nine volumes of Dynamic Hero Gunface from the publisher, and I expected that I’d be able to order the rest of the series as well. However, starting with volume ten, I’m no longer able to carry the series, no longer able to offer them to our customers, even after spending time and effort to build an audience for them at my shop.”
“So who’s doing this to you?” Mike asked, anger flushing his cheeks. “Hmmm…maybe one of our old nemeses…the dread pirate Evilbeard, perhaps, hijacking your shipments? Or maybe that local crimeboss Fleshhead, putting pressure on the distributors….”
Dor shook his head. “No, Mike, that’s just it. That’s what’s not making sense. Mr. Daniels says it’s the publisher who’s holding the books from his shop. And not just his shop, but shops like his all around the world…allegedly so they can sell the books directly to the customers themselves.”
“WHAT?” Mike exclaimed. “Why, that would risk undermining retailer confidence in ordering and supporting future products…what publisher would want to do that?”
“It certainly is a stumper,” came Dor’s reply. “And I want answers.”
“As do I,” said Mr. Daniels.
“And that makes three of us,” said Mike. “Mr. Daniels…never fear, for Dor ‘n’ Mike, Junior Detectives, are on the case! We’ll get to the bottom of this nefarious scheme!”
