Next, we get to the reason you probably clicked on the link to get here – we're re-opening for pre-booked collections in store from Wednesday 8th July! We know many of you have been waiting for this day, and we're grateful for your patience while we put several changes in place in our store for everyone's safety. As you can imagine, the store at Osiris Games, 8 St George's Place (where we will continue to operate for both comics and games for the foreseeable future) is going to look and feel a bit different than it did before lockdown. We also are going to have new rules in place for collections, to protect both customers and staff as much as possible during the ongoing pandemic.

1) Collections must be booked in advance. Collection slots will be available on Wednesday (3pm – 6pm, comic pull list customers only), Thursday (12pm – 3pm), Friday (3pm – 6pm), and Saturday (12pm – 3pm). An online booking system will be put in place on our websites to accommodate this, and make it easy for you to book your collection. Additional slots will be added if there is sufficient demand!

2) Face masks / coverings must be worn while on the premises. We will also have a hand sanitiser station just inside the door; please use this when entering the building.

3) No more than two people present during a collection slot. Any additional people with you will need to wait outside please. If you bring a child into the building, you are responsible for ensuring they follow our rules and observe appropriate social distancing.

4) Browsing will not be permitted. Customers can ask for and purchase items from the shelf, and staff will get them for you. Remember collection slots are only 10 minutes long, so please make sure to have some idea of what you want before you come in!

5) Comic pull lists must be paid in advance to be collected. With the limited time of each slot, we simply cannot go through each individual pull list, scan each item, and organise payment without additional risk to staff and customer. If you intend to pick up a pull list, you must have paid your invoice for it before you book your collection. (You can add one-off items while in store if you wish and there is time to do so, but wherever possible, please request these in advance!) For the minority of customers who are unable to do this, or if you have not received an invoice for your items, please contact us at shop@proudlion.co.uk for comics or shop@osiris.games for games.

6) Card payment only, contactless is preferred where possible. We will be unable to accept any cash payments until further notice.

7) If you have symptoms or test positive for Covid-19, have been in contact with someone who has in the last four weeks, or you are or live with a high-risk individual, DO NOT book a collection slot. Any customer who displays symptoms of Covid-19 will not be allowed in the building, and will not be able to book a collection for at least two weeks.

Any customer who is unwilling to follow these rules will not be able to collect their items in store, and we will continue to offer shipping services as an alternative. Customers who do not follow these rules while in store will have to leave immediately.

We appreciate some of these rules might seem draconian to some, but they are necessary to protect all individuals who come in the store. Osiris Games inc Proud Lion Comics is a family business, and as such we must take care to ensure our family – which includes two at-risk individuals – are being as safe as possible. We must also point out that Rae is the only member of staff working in the store, and if she becomes ill or is required to self-isolate along with her household, the entire business must shut down during that time. Our hope is that with more regular deliveries from suppliers and this new way of visiting the store in person, revenue will stabilise enough to bring additional staff back and add more options as the situation develops.

If you value our store and our staff, we ask you to please remember this and respect our decision to put these rules in place. Thank you for your patience while we worked to offer the safest way to invite our customers back into our store, and we'll see you soon!

VAMPIRE THE MASQUERADE #1
VAULT COMICS
JUN201443
(W) Tim Seeley, Tini Howard, Blake Howard (A) Dev Pramanik, Nathan Gooden (CA) Aaron Campbell
From the internationally best-selling World of Darkness universe, Vault brings readers a brand-new Vampire: The Masquerade comic series, Winter's Teeth.
When Cecily Brine, a courier for the Twin Cities Camarilla, takes a mysterious younger vampire under her wing, she's dragged into an insidious conspiracy. Will she be able to escape with her unlife and protect her aging, Alzheimer's afflicted sister, or will she be yet another pawn sacrificed to the Masquerade?
Meanwhile, an Anarch coterie investigates a mysterious killing.

CRITICAL ROLE VOL 02 VOX MACHINA ORIGINS TP
DARK HORSE COMICS
JUN200289
(W) Jody Houser (A) Olivia Samson (CA) Fiona Staples
The unlikely heroes of Vox Machina are back in action! 
Join familiar faces from Critical Role's smash-hit first campaign as their escapades in Stilben lead them toward new adventure-and a dire threat to Grog when he goes missing in the night. Tracking him down will see the party lose one member, gain another, and reveal parts of Grog's secret past. But first, his friends have to actually find him.
From award-nominated writer Jody Houser (Orphan Black, Stranger Things) and first series author Olivia Samson, with colorist MSASSYK (Isola, Gotham Academy) and letterer Ariana Maher (James Bond, Xena)!

X-FACTOR #1
MARVEL COMICS
FEB200865
(W) Leah Williams (A) David Baldeon (CA) Ivan Shavrin
MUTANTS HAVE CONQUERED DEATH! 
By the grace of The Five, the resurrection protocols can bring back any fallen mutant. But such a huge enterprise isn't without its problems and complications...
When a mutant dies, X-Factor is there to investigate how and why to keep the rules of reincarnation.
Writer Leah Williams (AMAZING MARY JANE, X-TREMISTS) and artist David Balden (DOMINO, WEB WARRIORS) take Northstar, Polaris, Prodigy, Eye-boy, Daken and Prestige into the world of murder and missing persons...
Rated T+

HEDRA (ONE-SHOT)
IMAGE COMICS
JUN200077
(W) Jesse Lonergan (A/CA) Jesse Lonergan
In a glorious exploration of the comics medium with echoes of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Flash Gordon, Chris Ware, and Moebius, a lone astronaut leaves a world ravaged by nuclear war in search of life.
What she finds is beyond all explanation. 

LOST SOLDIERS #1 (OF 5)
IMAGE COMICS
JUN200021
(W) Ales Kot (A/CA) Luca Casalanguida, Heather Moore
Vietnam, 1969.
Juarez, forty years later.
Three men tied by the war they left behind - on collision course with a new one.

POSSESSED #1 (OF 2)
CLOVER PRESS, LLC
APR201742
(W) Steve Niles (A/CA) Gyula Nemeth
In Nazi-occupied Budapest, a young woman sees her mother and father brutally murdered by an SS Officer. She escapes with her Grandfather and the help of a Rabbi. Filled with rage and hatred, the Grandfather asks the Rabbi for help and he shows them an ancient box that contains a demon filled with hate and violence. They can have the revenge they want but only by giving up their sense of right and wrong.
Horror master, Steve Niles, pairs up with his Criminal Macabre artist, Gyula Nemeth, on this poignant and terrifying tale of a family driven to rage and vengeance.
This extra-packed comic includes 32 pages of story, Steve's entire script, and a peek at Gyula's preliminary art.
Prestige Format

RICK & MORTY PRESENTS BIRDPERSON #1
ONI PRESS INC.
JUN201240
(W) Alex Firer (A/CA) Fred Stressing
In "Birdperson's Rite of Passage," see Birdperson's growth from Birdteen to Birdadult... and a friend to Rick Sanchez, but only after they go through an incredible adventure unites them... forever?!

Our physical store has not re-opened yet; we are working on a way to trade safely and will announce a date as soon as we are able: COVID-19 and re-opening safely

​Here are a few of the biggest titles out this week.

BATMAN THE SMILE KILLER #1

It wouldn't be a Joker story without a surprise... and right on cue, here's an unexpected one-shot epilogue to Joker: Killer Smile!

Young Bruce Wayne grew up watching The Mr. Smiles Show - and the show might have been watching him back! And not only was young Bruce watching, he was listening... listening as Mr. Smiles spoke across the airwaves only to him...

The Eisner Award-winning creative team of writer Jeff Lemire and artist Andrea Sorrentino land one last gut-punch - turning the mythos of the Batman on its head in the most devastating trick The Joker has ever devised!

PRESTIGE FORMAT.

​As you will no doubt be aware, the Government recently announced various new guidelines to reduce the lockdown – in particular stating that non-essential shops could re-open from Monday 15th June, subject to assessing and taking steps to manage the risks of COVID-19 in the workplace.

To this end, we have carefully reviewed the new guidance from the Government – in particular the document entitled “Working safely during coronavirus (COVID-19) in shops and branches” - as well as specific guidance from the Federation of Small Business and the British Toy & Hobby Association.

In addition, we must be very clear that we are closely monitoring the scientific and medical advice, specifically the many warnings regarding re-opening too soon, and the likelihood of a second wave of this pandemic.

We have identified several key challenges to our ability to resume trading as Osiris Games and Proud Lion Comics in the current situation.

Primarily, the small size of either of our retail units will make it difficult to return to anything approximating our normal operations whilst maintaining social distancing. We will almost certainly have to continue to trade out of only one premises, as we did in the last week or so before lockdown. Yet we feel that we cannot create an environment where the general public can safely enter and move around the shop, whilst maintaining a distance of two metres apart - especially as we only have one point of access that can be used to enter and exit the premises, and we are required to limit customer handling of stock.

It will also be challenging if not impractical to have queuing measures outside the shop. Whilst it was possible to facilitate a queue outside 8 St Georges Place during Free Comic Book Day in years gone by, this was a one-off annual occurrence made simpler by virtue of the gated private car park on our left being largely used by office workers, and thus having a reduced need for access on a Saturday during FCBD. Combined with the incredibly narrow pavements on our end of St Georges Place, the public car park entrance, access to Hanna Court opposite, and consideration for neighbouring residents and businesses – we feel that we cannot maintain much of a 2m apart queuing system at this time.

With these key concerns in mind, alongside a myriad of additional challenges to address, we have decided to re-open as a Click & Collect point in the near future. This will be akin to a catalogue shop collection point like Argos for example.

We will be relaunching our webstore as soon as possible, continuing to offer nationwide delivery and are in the process of negotiating for a new shipping contract that should allow us to offer faster dispatch times and hopefully lower postage costs.

Alternatively, you will be able to purchase online (or via emailed invoice) for collection from the premises. We will be implementing an appointment system for collection slots, ensuring that we space out customer interaction for everyone's safety and leaving ample time to clean high-traffic surfaces between customer visits.

Obviously, if you or someone you have been in recent contact with is displaying COVID-19 symptoms, feeling unwell or in a high-risk category, we must insist that you do not use the collection service out of respect for everyone's safety. Please continue to follow the medical guidance regarding self-isolating, and consider having your purchases shipped to you.

We may re-implement the local delivery option we were poised to launch until lockdown nipped that in the bud, but that requires further risk assessments, so will not be an option in the foreseeable future. Whilst restaurants and fast food services have done a commendable job expanding their local delivery capabilities, we feel it contains too much of a risk for our volunteer drivers and our customers at this time.

Our initial opening times for collections will be finalised soon, but we will not be re-opening the week commencing 15th June.

We currently expect to be open Wednesday-Saturday towards the end of June (tbc). Further details regarding all of this will be made available before we re-open.

We will of course have hand sanitiser available for customer use whilst at the premises.

You can expect to see a greatly increased presence on social media as we highlight and promote exciting new releases, hot items tied to anticipated media events and new special offers. It would be immensely helpful if you could like and share as many of these posts as you feel comfortable with, as organic reach on social media is far superior to any sponsored posts (though you can expect to see a few of those too!).

We obviously anticipate no in-store organised play for gaming any time soon, which is particularly heartbreaking, but we are continuing to explore remote play and play-at-home options for the short term.

We want to thank everyone for their understanding and continued support, it means the world to us all. As things have unfolded you have adapted to our changing circumstances alongside the stress and disruption to your own routines – life has become a co-operative game again and you're all superheroes in our eyes.

Our intention is to keep trading, but continue to prioritise everyone's collective health and safety above everything else. Otherwise all of the sacrifices over the past few months will have been in vain. If you can continue to stay at home, we encourage you to do so as hard as that is, and we will happily ship your purchases to you as often as you want! For our part, we will not be bringing anyone back off furlough until we need them or have no choice, and will be looking to work from home where possible for things like our marketing and administrative duties.

If you or any of your friends and family have been directly affected by COVID-19 itself, you have our utmost compassion and sympathy. We hope the continued research by the international medical community and the hard work of the valiant medical care workers can turn the tide for good in due course.

Much love to you all.

Many of you will be already be aware that late Friday afternoon, news broke via Hollywood Reporter and other sources that DC would no longer be distributing their comic books, graphic novels and collectibles through Diamond Comic Distributors, ending a 25 year partnership.

During the US and UK lockdowns, most publishers chose to put their comics schedule on hold, understanding that printers, logistics and comic shops would be affected by the lockdown. DC were the only publisher to decide to quickly resume  regardless of the crisis, continuing to publish their comics digitally and announcing partnerships with two new "temporary" distributors. It wasn't initially disclosed - but was quickly discovered by canny US comic book retailers - that these new distributors were actually owned and operated by two of the largest online comic book retailers in the United States.

As you may imagine, this didn't sit well with the mostly independent community of US comic book retailers, with a large majority preferring to not sign up for an untested service operated by deep-discounting competitors, rallying behind the social media hashtag, #WaitForDiamond.

Here in the UK, we had no choice. Diamond UK had completely locked down too - quite rightly halting service halfway through a delivery consignment from the US - and neither of these two new distributors were offering shipping to the UK. Which makes sense, because of course, they were only temporary. And in fairness, we would have also preferred to #WaitForDiamond.

Recently, Diamond started back up again, with a slow but steady trickle of new comic books. Most publishers have re-evaluated and spaced out their release schedules, ensuring that most beleaguered retailers and cash-strapped customers aren't suddenly overwhelmed by a flood of new purchases (though it is notable that DC's comics are coming through at a a pace not seen since the early days of the New 52, as Diamond struggled to catch up with the issues DC had published during the lockdown!). There was a great sense of re-ignition across the whole industry, with publishers and retailers triumphantly supporting Diamond's #BackTheComeback campaign, hints of a revised date for Free Comic Book Day, and even new publishing initiatives to help the Direct Market.

Here at Proud Lion Comics, we have been considering our position come June 15th (and we will be releasing a statement in the next few days) and greatly appreciate the efforts being made to support our industry by the publishers, creators, fellow retailers, Diamond Comics themselves and of course, all of our wonderful customers.

This news from DC is a kick in the teeth for almost everyone. Which is probably why they released the news on a Friday, when there'd be little time for scrutiny. UK comic book retailers didn't receive the email from DC that is spoken about in the Hollywood Reporter article as far as we know; it seems we all learned about it at the same time as many of yourselves, and Diamond UK who were understandably caught completely off-guard.

If you're wondering what happens next, so are we.

​The final issues of any DC Comics we will receive through Diamond will arrive Wednesday 24th June:

There will be no DC titles released through any physical distribution channel on Wednesday 1st July; publications will then resume via the two new US distributors the week after.

Here's what we do know:

1. Comic books come to the UK via costly air cargo - a service that has gotten more expensive due to the reduced capacity during the pandemic - so the loss of one of the two largest comic publishers in the US will make things more difficult for Diamond UK to cover the costs, at a time when COVID19 and the Brexit-weakened Pound have already made their operation many times more difficult.
2. DC seem to have no clear plans on how to ship comic books to the rest of the world at present. Current emails to DC representatives are returning advising UK retailers to contact one of the two new distributors  - the one on the East Coast naturally - however said distributor isn't currently offering international shipping. They do ship to Canada, but apparently the cost of getting weekly DC orders across the border from these new distributors has been higher than the cost of the comics - and that's using more affordable shipping routes on a contiguous landmass!
3. Penguin Random House already distribute graphic novels around the world, including publishers also carried by Diamond, and DC will continue to use them for graphic novels. Past experience says they used to be slower than Diamond UK to get books in, but that may have improved. We have no idea if they can or will undertake to distribute single issues internationally as well now.
4. Marvel Comics tried to use separate distribution in the Nineties, backing a then new distributor called Heroes World. Heroes World was reportedly a nightmare to deal with, and ultimately went bust, almost sinking Marvel with them. Worth looking up. There is no good precedent for this move in the industry.
5. Long term DC co-publisher and stalwart champion of the Direct Market, Dan Didio exited the company at the end of February. Rumours swirled that he was pushed out or fired, but these have never been directly addressed by DC. It is telling that his passion for physical comics was the stuff of legend, so many are wondering if cutting ties with Diamond was on the cards for a while before lockdown and maybe Dan was seen as an impediment to that. (Dan meanwhile seems pretty happy, reorganising his comic collection, promoting local stores that were still able to offer services and picking up new comics from them, and seen sporting a #BackTheComeback t-shirt recently while doing a video to thank the comic shops he'd been receiving his orders from during lockdown! But then, if you ever meet Dan, he comes across as a no-nonsense bundle of passionate energy, so it's not much of a surprise!)
6. Many US retailers are furious, as reported by Newsarama here. Chuck Rozanski at Mile High Comics in Colorado has already launched a huge sale with the discount code "DCSucks, " along with some fairly strong words on his feelings on the matter. (Many of you will have seen the video of Kevin Smith touring Mile High Comics with Chuck a few years ago; it's huge!).

Ultimately, we don't know what's going to happen next, and anything more becomes speculation. We await an official statement from Diamond UK - once they've had chance to assess this sudden seismic shift - and at the moment we are trying to remain hopeful that a clearer vision of the path ahead will emerge in the next few days. We're not impressed with this decision, but we're not breaking out the Kryptonite and blowing up the Batcave just yet.

We ask that you refrain from sending in any questions about this for now, because this is all we know at present. Many thanks.

Here are a few of the biggest titles out this week.

Head over PREVIEWSworld for the preliminary Final Order Cutoff list of all the new comic books and graphic novels due out in four weeks time - Wednesday 17th June (or later in the case of some graphic novels, etc.). This schedule remains subject to change.

FINAL ORDER CUTOFF

If you'd like to confirm a pre-order for anything on this list, please email us before 10am on Saturday 23rd May. This is the best way to guarantee your new comic books on day of release. 

​Please disregard the Monday due date listed on the PREVIEWSworld page - this is for US accounts only, the UK date is earlier than that.

WYND #1
BOOM ENTERTAINMENT
FEB209200
(W) James TynionIV (A/CA) Michael Dialynas
For fans of Once & Future, Isola and Middlewest, the award-winning team of James Tynion IV (Batman, Something is Killing the Children) and Michael Dialynas (The Woods, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) reunite for the new must-read series that shocked the comic industry!
Magical heritage is punishable by death in Pipetown, so a young boy named Wynd must keep his true identity - and pointy ears - a secret from everyone, even if it means he'll never have the normal life he wants.
But when his secret is threatened, Wynd will be forced to leave his home behind to embark on a dangerous quest that will put him at the heart of a royal conspiracy beyond his imagination.
Now on the run with Oakley (his best friend), Thorn (the boy of his dreams), and Yorick (a literal prince!), Wynd will have to embrace the magic within himself if he wants to save them from the shocking dangers that await!
Every issue of Wynd is oversized, featuring more than 40 story pages.

A MAN AMONG YE #1 
IMAGE COMICS
MAR200045
(W) Stephanie Phillips (A/CA) Craig Cermak
SERIES PREMIERE
High adventure on the high seas in the waning days of piracy, when men were men, and the best pirates were... women? Writer STEPHANIE PHILLIPS (Butcher of Paris, Descendent) and artist CRAIG CERMAK (Red Team, Voltron) bring to life the tale of Anne Bonny and Mary Read as they hoist the skull and crossbones, draw cutlasses, and seek a treasure that will make them legends. In an era when sailing with women was thought to be bad luck, Anne and Mary might just be the only people capable of saving the pirate way of life.

PULP HC
IMAGE COMICS
MAR200016
(W) Ed Brubaker (A) Jacob Phillips (A/CA) Sean Phillips
A gorgeous original graphic novel from the bestselling creators of KILL OR BE KILLED, MY HEROES HAVE ALWAYS BEEN JUNKIES, and CRIMINAL. 
Max Winters, a pulp writer in 1930s New York, finds himself drawn into a story not unlike the tales he churns out at five cents a word - tales of a Wild West outlaw dispensing justice with a six-gun. But will Max be able to do the same when pursued by bank robbers, Nazi spies, and enemies from his past?  
One part thriller, one part meditation on a life of violence, PULP is unlike anything award-winning BRUBAKER & PHILLIPS have ever done before. This celebration of pulp fiction set in a world on the brink is another must-have hardcover from one of comics' most acclaimed teams.

BATMAN THE SMILE KILLER #1
DC COMICS
MAR200502
(W) Jeff Lemire (A/CA) Andrea Sorrentino
It wouldn't be a Joker story without a surprise... and right on cue, here's an unexpected one-shot epilogue to Joker: Killer Smile! Young Bruce Wayne grew up watching The Mr. Smiles Show - and the show might have been watching him back! And not only was young Bruce watching, he was listening... listening as Mr. Smiles spoke across the airwaves only to him... The Eisner Award-winning creative team of writer Jeff Lemire and artist Andrea Sorrentino land one last gut-punch - turning the mythos of the Batman on its head in the most devastating trick The Joker has ever devised!
PRESTIGE FORMAT.

SUPERGIRL BEING SUPER TP NEW ED
DC COMICS
MAR200671
(W) Mariko Tamaki (A) Sandu Florea (A/CA) Jo?lle Jones
Kara Danvers isn't any different from any other teenager in her hometown. Problems with school. Problems with boys. Problems with friends. But while growing pains shake up Kara's world, a series of earthshaking events hits her hometown, leaving her with the choice of blending in with the crowd or being different. Being an outcast. Being super. This reimagining of Supergirl will appeal to fans of all ages and readers new and old, as the Girl of Steel flies face-first into the struggles that every teenager deals with.
The hit miniseries returns, in the DC graphic novels for young adults format!
Collects Supergirl: Being Super #1-4 with all-new color!