23/3/2020 Closed until further noticeWith tonight’s lockdown announcement from the government, Osiris Games inc. Proud Lion Comics will be closed for the next three weeks.
We aim to re-open after the Easter holidays (assuming the lockdown has been lifted and we are able to safely re-open). We will do our best to ship out or deliver any orders we can, but this will depend on postage and courier services continuing to operate, and whether we are allowed to access our business premises. If these services are unavailable or we are unable to enter our store, all shipments will be delayed, but will be dispatched as soon as possible. All customers with outstanding orders will be invoiced for any items still held. These invoices will be sent later this week. We don’t do this lightly, but we are doing everything in our power to make sure you still have your local comic and gaming stores in Cheltenham when this emergency passes. If you are unable to pay for your order due to financial difficulties, please email us as soon as possible - talk to us, so we can make the best decisions for everyone involved. Thank you for supporting us at this very difficult time. In addition to settling your invoices from us, please do consider purchasing gift vouchers for use afterwards or donating the price of a coffee. It all helps and we are extremely grateful for everyone who has done so thus far. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Play games, read comics, and most importantly, stay safe. See you all on the other side. 21/3/2020 New local delivery optionsPlease note: we have paused rollout of this service for the time being to ensure our volunteer drivers’ safety.As promised, we can offer local delivery to supplement our existing shipping options. Neither Rae nor I are able to drive, so we are relying on some trusted volunteers to facilitate this service. We will be charging a delivery fee to help cover their petrol costs, and compensating their time out of our pocket. Please see below for the areas covered and the initial delivery costs. Please contact us via email to make arrangements for any order you'd like delivered using this service. Please note that we will not be delivering every day, but only one day per week to the blue area and one day per week to yellow area. Current projection is Wednesday afternoon for Cheltenham and Thursday afternoon for Gloucester. We will not be able to give you a timed delivery window, and are likely to be delivering during daytime exclusively, so this service is probably most suitable for customers who are self-isolating and can receive a delivery at any time. We will let you know which day we are coming. If you need contactless delivery to protect you or our volunteers, please let us know in advance. Postcodes without highlighting are not eligible for local delivery at this time. Please use existing shipping options. Delivery charges will not be refunded if there is no one available to receive your delivery. The order will be returned to the shop, and you will be liable for a new delivery charge for any further attempt.
We know this isn't very flexible, but please remember we are relying on assistance from volunteers that we are reimbursing and we don't want to take advantage of their goodwill. This is a new service for us, assembled quickly to help us all during the COVID-19 crisis, so please be kind if there are any teething troubles. Please contact us via email to make arrangements for any order you'd like delivered using this service. Here are a few of the biggest titles out this week. Don't forget we're now trading from our sister shop, Osiris Games - 8 St Georges Place - and we're open from 11am. COMIC BOOKS
SPIDER-WOMAN #1 SPIDER-WOMAN IS BACK, AND PULLING NO PUNCHES! Jessica Drew hasn't been feeling like herself lately (she's not a Skrull, we promise). When the angry, irritable, and unwell Spider-Woman takes a simple security gig to help get back on her feet, she finds herself besieged by unknown forces out to destroy everything around her. What's wrong with Jessica? Just how DID she get this job? And who are these violent lunatics who keep trying to blow her up? WHO CARES? Does Spider-Woman have someone to punch? THAT'S ALL THAT MATTERS. An explosive new series that pushes Spider-Woman into new heights of action and adventure from the mad minds of Karla Pacheco and Pere Pérez, this is the Spider-Woman book you've been waiting for! Rated T+
RESISTANCE #1 (OF 6) J. Michael Straczynski, creator of Babylon 5 and writer of beloved runs on The Amazing Spider-Man, Thor and Superman: Earth One, returns to comics teaming with Mike Deodato Jr., the blockbuster artist of The Amazing Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk and Infinity Wars. Together they plant the flag for a new universe of heroes and villains. A global disaster leaves hundreds of millions dead in its wake. Shortly after, a few thousand suddenly manifest superhuman powers. Are they harbingers of more perils to come... or Earth's last hope?
HEXAGON #1 (OF 5) It's the 1980s and all twelve-year-old Don wants to do is play video games at the local arcade. Don's father, however, refuses to let him play. Egged on by his friends and trying to impress a girl, Don sneaks out to join an all-night game-a-thon. Defying the odds (and on his first quarter ever!), Don beats Crucible, a game long considered unbeatable. In an instant, his world is turned upside down when his victory triggers an alien invasion and sucks him into an intergalactic battle that has been raging for years, a battle his father was desperately trying to protect him from! MARVEL'S AVENGERS CAPTAIN AMERICA #1 CAPTAIN AMERICA BATTLES BATROC IN THIS NEW PREQUEL TO THE UPCOMING VIDEO GAME, MARVEL'S AVENGERS! Since World War II, Steve Rogers has fought for the side of good as CAPTAIN AMERICA! As one of his last friends from the war is laid to rest, Cap must contend with the mysterious robbery of a high-tech weapons company. But what is BATROC THE LEAPER planning, and how will this technology change the FUTURE of the AVENGERS? The journey to MARVEL'S AVENGERS continues with a mystery and an adventure that sets the groundwork for an inciting incident in the upcoming video game! Rated T+
$1 COMIC REPRINTS Also out this week:
GRAPHIC NOVELS & BOOKS
KEVIN EASTMAN'S TOTALLY TWISTED TALES VOL 01 TP A hell bent for leather collection! Ripped from yesterday's nastiest headlines! A dark look at the depth of twisted human depravity! As well as a Completely Awesome Collection of Totally Twisted Tales from the clinically insane minds of Kevin Eastman and Simon Bisley! Three full length stories featuring guys, girls, monsters, mutants, superheroes, slackers and lowlifes - as well as one VERY fast rat! Also out this week:
Despite all best intentions, sometimes you simply have no choice but to move home. Of course, moving back in with your parents is often stressful, not least because they've turned your old room into a gym or rec room! Well, here at Proud Lion Comics that's exactly what we're faced with. Due to the pressure of COVID-19, we're moving back into 8 St George's Place - aka Osiris Games - effective immediately. This enables us to consolidate our cleaning efforts during this pandemic and reduce our overheads so that we can do our best to keep afloat, but obviously its going to be a challenging time ahead for us. New opening hours Osiris Games incorporating Proud Lion Comics will have new opening hours starting from Wednesday 18th March 2020. These can be found on our websites, but most weekdays we will be open from 11am-4pm and then 4:30-7pm. We will use the break between 4-4:30pm to have a daily deep clean phase. Updated opening hours can be found on the front page of our websites. Cleaning phases The shop at 8 St George's Place will be closed for half an hour starting at 4pm during the week to allow us to deep clean the store. Our regular cleaning has been extended to include a renewed focus on door handles, card machines, our tablets and computers, and you'll be able to wash your hands with soap and hot water whilst in store. We will also have hand sanitiser available for anyone who needs it. However in addition to this, we feel it is prudent to have an extra phase of cleaning ahead of any evening gaming events for the foreseeable future. Reservation Service We have had to amend our Reservation Service terms and conditions to insist that customers collect their pull lists every month without fail. Cash flow is critical for small businesses at this point. If you cannot make it in every month - especially if you are self-isolating - please request a monthly invoice and we'll send one over to you. We appreciate this comes as a lot of you are struggling to pay your bills as well. We aren't suddenly becoming callous monsters - if you need some additional consideration, please get in touch and we'll do our best to come to some arrangement that keeps us all afloat. Home delivery Monthly invoices for your pull list can include shipping for home delivery. We can send out your comics via a Royal Mail tracked or signed for service, or using a courier service - whichever ends up being the most economical, unless you have a specific preference. Just ask! Local delivery We are just finalising a way of offering low-cost doorstep deliveries of existing stock or pull lists. More details coming soon! Direct delivery on graphic novels We recently teased our new Direct Delivery service but as yet haven't had chance to explain further. This is a direct fulfilment service, with graphic novels and manga sent directly from one of our trusted suppliers to your door. Please email us for a quote on any graphic novels you'd like us to order for you. This is a great way to get new reading material and support a local business, and for now we're offering a promotional offer on Direct Deliveries - shipping is just ONE PENCE per book. Reduced stock levels Please note due to this move, and the expected downturn in footfall trade due to social distancing and self-isolation, we will be dramatically reducing the amount of stock we hold for the foreseeable future. This means it is critical that you use our weekly FOC blog to pre-order the comics you want, and we will be encouraging everyone to use our Direct Delivery service (see above) for graphic novels and manga. Our thoughts go out to everyone affected by COVID-19. A lot of small businesses are in the same boat as us - or worse in the case of small theatres, pubs and restaurants - and we urge you all to shop local as much as you can in the coming weeks.
We ask anyone who shows symptoms of the virus to stay away (you're all awesome but please understand why we're saying this) and to act as per the recommended NHS advice at www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/. If anything changes again as things develop, we will of course update you ASAP - via social media and email where possible. 17/3/2020 Amended access - Tuesday 17th March 2020In response to last night's Government briefing on COVID-19, we have taken stock and decided to implement the following initial responses.
Due to the cosy confines of our premises at 293 High Street, we will be open today from 12-4pm. Access will be restricted to a single group of 1-4 customers at anyone time. Please knock to gain entrance. This is a temporary measure for today only. We will have further updates this evening regarding the rest of the week and the foreseeable future, and we are exploring new home delivery options too. |
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