All New, All Different Marvel! - order form and more

by Ben Fardon

"When Everything Ends, There Is Only Secret Wars..."

These ominous words have dominated the Marvel Universe over the past few months. Thanks to shipping delays Secret Wars is set to rage on into October, but the same week that Secret Wars #8 ships, Marvel also begins it's much hyped All New, All Different relaunch!

Starting with the new Invincible Iron Man #1 by Brian Michael Bendis and David Marquez, Doctor Strange #1 by Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo, the globetrotting new Amazing Spider-Man #1 by returning Dan Slott and Giuseppe Camuncoli, Avengers #0 (an anthology one-shot featuring All-New, All-Different Avengers, Squadron Supreme, A-Force, New Avengers, Ultimates and Uncanny Avengers) and several more, Marvel have cannily spread their relaunch across two months making it slightly more affordable than the onslaught that was the New 52.

In order to help a little bit more, we're offering the following price promotions to all customers (subject to change and whilst stocks last):

• Avengers #0 - only £3.00
• Doctor Strange #1 - only £2.50
• Invincible Iron Man #1 - only £2.00
• Amazing Spider-Man #1 - only £3.00

Purchase all four of these together and pay only £10!

(saving you an extra 50p on top of these already discounted prices)

Once again we are matching a few titles to previous orders on Reservation Service pull lists. This is primarily where the creative team remains the same (or at least the writer), ensuring that customers who only come in every couple of months will not suddenly find they've missed the next chapter of an ongoing saga like Jason Aaron's run on Thor.

Here's the full list of what we've matched - if you had the former, we've automatically added the latter on to your pull list:

Old Title	New Title (All New, All Different)
All-New Hawkeye	Hawkeye
Amazing Spider-Man (Marvel Now)	Amazing Spider-Man
Ant-Man	Astonishing Ant-Man
Deadpool (Marvel Now)	Deadpool
Guardians Of The Galaxy (Marvel Now)	Guardians Of The Galaxy
Howard The Duck	Howard The Duck
Legendary Star-Lord	Star-Lord
Miles Morales Ultimate Spider-Man	Spider-Man (Miles Morales)
Ms Marvel (Marvel Now)	Ms Marvel
Nova	Nova
Silk	Silk
Spider-Gwen (Gwen Stacy: Spider-Woman)	Spider-Gwen
Spider-Man 2099	Spider-Man 2099
Spider-Woman (Marvel Now)	Spider-Woman
Thor (Avengers Now)	Mighty Thor
Unbeatable Squirrel Girl	Unbeatable Squirrel Girl

If you're unsure, please email me to request a copy of your pull list and I'll send over a pdf copy. You are welcome to instantly remove any title we've automatically added to you up until you've purchased the first issue, then you are bound by our usual terms and conditions regarding notice periods for removing a title from your order.

Please remember that the FCBD All New, All Different Avengers showed that while there will be some significant changes (like the introduction of Miles Morales and Old Man Logan into the main Marvel Universe), the majority of Marvel continuity remains intact. This is not a major reboot akin to DC's New 52. For example, Bendis has stated his run on Iron Man will build on Kieron Gillen, Greg Land and Dale Eaglesham's Secret Origin of Tony Stark from Marvel Now.

You can view the full All New, All Different Marvel range in the free All New, All Different Preview magazine, available free from Proud Lion or digitally here.

If you'd like to order anything from the upcoming Marvel relaunch, please use the following order form:

Create your own user feedback survey

Orders made via this form must be submitted by midday on Friday 11th September. Orders after that can be placed by emailing shop@proudlion.co.uk.

Ben is really looking forward to seeing how this new chapter of the Marvel Universe will unfold!

PREVIEWS MAR-APR15 - Marvel's Secret Wars

by Ben Fardon

I can't lie folks, this has been a tough one to put together. After the chaos of Convergence, I was very excited by the prospect of Secret Wars, until we actually began to see the vast array of new titles and the uncertainty that came with it.

Thankfully in the last few weeks, details have begun to emerge about April's Secret Wars titles and Marvel have gone on record as to which titles are ending as Secret Wars kicks off. This makes things much easier!

I think we can now divide Secret Wars into several distinct sections. Firstly we have the main Secret Wars title and a couple of ancillary anthology titles. Secondly, there are a series of interesting titles revisiting classic Marvel events from the last few decades. Finally we have a long list of new titles that expand the new Secret Wars' Battleworld setting in a variety of ways.

But what is Secret Wars? Well simply put, Secret Wars spins out of the recent Jonathan Hickman Avengers titles as the main Marvel Universe as we know it collides with the Ultimate Marvel Universe in what is being called the final incursion. The good news is you don't need to have been reading Avengers or New Avengers over the last couple of years to get into Secret Wars, as the collision of these two realities has created a brand new world in which most of the characters have no idea that this isn't the way things have always been.

The titular Secret Wars miniseries itself is the main event. Written by Jonathan Hickman, this is the spine of the whole event. If you read nothing else, read this book. 

This is accompanied by Secret Wars Battleworld - a title akin to the Vs. miniseries during AvX - featuring all the knockdown, drag out fights that are probably just to crazy to feature anywhere else during this event.

The final part of this initial section is an anthology series called Secret Wars Journal where every issue will feature a couple of short stories jumping around and highlighting different, small but significant parts of the Battleworld.

Both Secret Wars Battleworld and Secret Wars Journal feel to me like ones for completists and not essential if your looking to save the pennies for other titles on the list below.

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After that we have an array of titles re-visiting classic storylines and events from Marvel's past including beloved adaptations such as the 1992 X-Men animated series. A lot of existing Marvel titles are ending to make room for these - in fact some are direct continuations or analogues of previous titles now shaped to fit in with Secret Wars. More on those later.

Finally, there's a bunch of Marvel titles that aren't coming to an end, but are instead telling Last Days stories detailing the final adventures of the features characters before the final incursion. These titles include Black Widow, Captain America and the Mighty Avengers, Loki: Agent of Asgard, Magneto, Ms. Marvel, The Punisher and Silver Surfer.

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Confused yet? Well, let's see if a quick look at the full list of titles (revealed so far!) helps a little. Here you go:


Secret Wars: Battleworld

• Age of Ultron vs. Marvel Zombies
• Ghost Racers
• Inhumans Attilan Rising
• Korvac Saga
• Marvel Zombies
• Master of Kung Fu
• Red Skull
• Runaways
• Secret Wars: Battleworld
• Secret Wars Journal
• Star-Lord and Kitty Pryde
• Thors
• Ultimate End

Secret Wars: Warzones

• 1602: Witch Hunter Angela
• 1872
• A-Force
• The Age of Apocalypse
• Armor Wars
• The Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows
• Captain Britain and the Mighty Defenders
• Captain Marvel and the Carol Corps
• Civil War
• Deadpool's Secret Secret Wars
• E Is for Extinction
• Future Imperfect
• Giant-Size Little Marvel: AvX
• Guardians of Knowhere
• Hail Hydra
• House of M
• Inferno
• Infinity Gauntlet
• M.O.D.O.K. Assassin
• Mrs. Deadpool and the Howling Commandos
• Old Man Logan
• Planet Hulk
• Secret Wars 2099
• Siege
• Spider-Island
• Spider-Verse
• Squadron Sinister
• Weirdworld
• Where Monsters Dwell
• X-Men '92
• X-Tinction Agenda
• Years of Future Past

Secret Wars: Last Days

• Black Widow
• Captain America and the Mighty Avengers
• Loki: Agent of Asgard
• Magneto
• Ms. Marvel
• The Punisher
• Silver Surfer

For more details on each group of titles, click on the header to take you to the marvel.com explanations!

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In the hopes of making life easier for everyone, we've taking the liberty of creating a matrix - a list of everything that was coming out, followed by a list of the Secret Wars comics we'd recommend you get as a replacement. I've taken the liberty of automatically signing our Reservation Service customers up for our recommended titles, but these can be removed without our usual notice period up to the point of release. I've been trying to take the time to talk to you all about these new titles when you pop in, but if I don't see you before Secret Wars kicks off, please do email me for a pdf copy of your current pull list and then we can make alterations where required.

I hope that all makes sense!

Here's a look at that matrix (apologies for the jpeg):

If there's anything else I can do to help with Secret Wars, please do get in touch. I'm really excited for this event, I think it's going to be a whirlwind tour through some of Marvel's greatest moments before leading into the new status quo for the House Of Ideas. I hope you'll join us!

Ben Fardon was very, very happy with Daredevil on Netflix. Roll on AKA Jessica Jones.

STOP PRESS! Titan Comics new Doctor Who comics will now be available in the UK!

by Ben Fardon

I just received an email from Diamond UK with one welcome news!

Diamond UK and Titan Comics are pleased to announce that the brand new Doctor Who comics from Titan Comics are now available in the UK!

Previously listed in Previews as N/A UK, the first issues of the two ongoing series featuring the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors are set to arrive in stores on 23rd July!

This means that I can start taking orders for the new Doctor Who comics right now! There are two titles to start with, one featuring the Tenth Doctor as played by David Tennant, from Nick Abadzis, Robbie Morrison and Elena Casagrande. The other will feature the Eleventh Doctor as played by Matt Smith, from Al Ewing, Rob Williams and Fraser Simon. A later series will feature Peter Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor once the new series has debuted on TV.

Doctor Who 10th #1

Writer: Abadzis, Nick

Artist: Casagrande, Elena

Cover Artist: Zhang, Alice X

The Tenth Doctor is back, in an all-new ongoing series! New companion, new foes, unforgettable new horizons! Allons-y! The Eisner Award-winning Nick Abadzis and fan favorite Elena Casagrande take control of the TARDIS for the first five-issue arc with the tenth Doctor, portrayed by David Tennant! Gabriella Gonzalez is stuck in a dead-end job in her family's New York laundrette, dreaming of college and bigger, better, and brighter things. So when a strange man with an even stranger big blue box barges into her life on the eve of the Day of the Dead celebrations, talking about an infestation of psychic aliens, she seizes her chance for adventure with both hands. After Donna's tragic exit, the Doctor thought he was done with companions. But Gabby Gonzalez is going to prove him wrong - if she survives the night!

Doctor Who 11th #1

Writer: Ewing, Al
Artist: Fraser, Simon

Cover Artist: Zhang, Alice X

The Eleventh Doctor returns in an all-new ongoing series, with a time-twisting leap into the unknown! Geronimo! Alice Obiefune has just lost her mother when the Doctor explodes into her life. But what does a grieving young woman have to do with the career of a 70s musician, an amnesiac alien time traveler, and a terrifying cosmic threat? In the wake of the second Big Bang, discover what the Doctor gets up to when Amy and Rory aren't around! Plus, every issue includes a 'Titans' strip and a brand-new humor strip.

To order, please email me at shop@proudlion.co.uk ASAP! Always pre-order to avoid disappointment!

Ben Fardon is delighted by this news! Fantastic

Reservation Service Customers - update your details and save money!

Calling all Reservation Service Customers! Throughout October and November, we'll be running a promotion in store - if you ask to check your details with us and provide up-to-date phone number, address and/or email address, then we'll give you 10% off your purchase. For hopefully obvious reasons this offer  is only available once per Reservation Service customers.

This also applies to all new Reservation Service Customers - when you set up your new account with us (and pay your £10 deposit as per our terms and conditions), you'll receive 10% off your first purchase.

Why the sudden interest in up-to-date contact information? Well to put it simply, there are several important changes on the horizon. We launching a new clearance webstore, with many bargains to be had; we'll be relaunching the blog as well, with new features and content; and of course with the Haines & Strange/Odeon Cinema/Albion Street demolish and redevelopment plans being approved, there is every likelihood that the store will be moving in the year ahead.

Whilst I will refrain from sending out annoying marketing mailings, it will become necessary to inform you all of the biggest developments at Proud Lion, especially if we move! It's going to be an exciting time and I look forward to our fantastic customers joining us as we embrace the future!

Ben Fardon is feeling very positive.

September - a few polite requests

Hi folks, just a quick update and a polite request.

As you probably know, September is DC's Villains Month and as such there is A LOT on. To facilitate the correct allocation of our allotted 3D and 2D covers, I'm having to run an additional, separate system of checks and processes alongside our usual Reservation Service pull lists. I'm trying to make sure everyone gets what they ordered back in July, to the best of my ability after DC cut our orders back.

It's a serious amount of extra work for my merry little mostly one-man-band and there's only so many man hours in the day, so I need to ask you to bear with me on a few other matters that may have to slide during this time. Most notably any correspondence - be they emails, Facebook messages or posts, tweets or even good ol' fashioned snail mail - may take a little longer for me to respond to, but don't worry I will get to you eventually!

Secondly, I'm afraid we can no longer take any orders or reservations for Villains Month issues. I'm really sorry, but we did ask for pre-orders for these back in July. Since then we've had allocations and all manner of other nonsense make this publishing stunt even more chaotic than the previous years' launch of the New 52 and Zero Month.

If there's a 3D cover you want (and assuming we have any left after allocations) then you need to get in here quick smart please from 10am onwards on a Wednesday! It really has to be first come, first served now for the shelf stock. Most of the people who pre-ordered back in July will be receiving the 3D covers, so it's worth remembering for the future that it really does pay off to preorder in advance!

In addition, my busiest two days of processing comics each week in September will be Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Which is pretty much the standard every week to be fair, it's just that it's an EVEN BIGGER workload because of Villains Month. So to help me out, can I ask all Reservation Service customers to please avoid making any changes to their pull lists in store on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. By all means use email, etc. to inform me of any changes you'd like to make. I'll take any cancellations as being dated from the date I receive your correspondence, so you won't be held accountable for any extra days just because I might be slower than usual in replying!

Finally, blog posts may also be delayed going up. We have some shiny reviews from Matt Puddy in the pipeline of The Star Wars and X-Men Battle Of The Atom. He's written both of them, but I have yet to edit, format and upload them. They are coming! Full apologies to Matt and many thanks for to him for his patience with me as his humble editor.

Apologies that any of this has become necessary and many thanks to everyone who has offered support and understanding during this difficult endeavour. Hopefully normal service will resume next month from both myself and DC Comics!

Ben Fardon is also adjusting to a new school run routine and new medication which has a side effect of making him quite drowsy. Fun times!

The Mane Event - The Throne Of Atlantis

The Throne Of Atlantis crossover starts on Boxing Day!

Written by Geoff Johns, it wil alternate between issues of Justice League and Aquaman.

All Reservation Service customers who order either title will automatically receive the other issues as well, in order to get the full crossover.

Should you wish to opt out of this service, please contact me ASAP and let me know.

GEOFF JOHNS    IVAN REIS

PAUL PELLETIER

READ THE ENTIRE EPIC CROSSOVER!

DECEMBER 

• Part 1: JUSTICE LEAGUE #15
• Part 2: AQUAMAN #15

JANUARY

• Part 3: JUSTICE LEAGUE #16
• Part 4: AQUAMAN #16

FEBRUARY

• Part 5: JUSTICE LEAGUE #17

IT'S NOT SAFE TO GO IN THE WATER!

Comic Cubs - the future of children's comics

Has the recent sad news about the Dandy got you thinking about getting a regular comic for your little ones? It certainly has made me think about how little there is on the market these days.

I'm considering launching some kind of kids comics club, where parents will get a chance to get discounted comics for their children.

Unlike our normal Reservation Service, the Comic Cubs service will be supplied as a quarterly subscription, with parents paying up-front to help me minimise any risk, since kids comics can often sadly fail to sell when I order them in for the shelves. (We had a full range in the first three months after I opened and they almost all ended up in the 50p box.)

In return for a up-front quarterly payment, the comics will be competitively discounted. Superman Family Adventures would be £5 per quarter, compared to the normal cost of three issues of said comic which would usually be £7.05 (a saving of almost 30%!).

These can be posted out to customers too, although that will cost a little extra.

Comic Cubs will of course be open to kids of all ages, so adults won't be excluded if they fancy something fun! Comic Cubs will only be available from a selected range, though this will be updated when new titles become available.

It's an initial idea so far, so I welcome feedback and interest from parents. I'd be interested to hear from teachers if they would be interested in Comic Cubs supplying their class, or if they think their school would allow us to send a flyer home in pupils' book bags.

I'd also be interested in seeing if we could work up some kind of monthly activity sheet to include with the comics, giving away to make them part of a child's ongoing education. I know the National Curriculum has finally begun to embrace the idea of comics as a way of getting reluctant children to read! So if any teachers are interested in workshopping something like that, please drop me a line.

In the meantime here's a link to Diamond's own Kids Comics website, with a look at the American comics available for children. If you're looking for something more homegrown, check out The Phoenix, which is smashing!

Ben Fardon still hates that picture of himself in the Echo!

Reservation Service customers exclusive offer - lose a bag or gain a board!

Firstly, many thanks to all the Reservation Service customers who have kindly supported the decision I made at the start of December to introduce a deposit scheme.

I've been thinking of ways to try to add value to the Reservation Service and after requests from regular customers, I can add two offers starting from January 1st.

A) If you decide in advance to have your Reservation Comics WITHOUT a comic bag, you will save 5p per issue. This only applies if you tell me in advance, you can't decide on the day of purchase! Please contact me if you'd like to take advantage of this offer.

B) Alternatively for an EXTRA 10p per comic, you can have your Reservation Comics boarded. This can be decided on a case by case basis at the time of purchase.

We are currently out of stock of Long Comic Boxes and Current Age Comic Boards. These are on back order with Diamond. Apparently their latest delivery to the warehouse of these items was "held up at the docks".

Diamond have now confirmed these are back in stock. I'm hoping we'll have them next Thursday.

Once again, these offers won't start until the New Year.

The Reservation Service - an important change to the Terms & Conditions

It is with regret I'm afraid I have to amend the Terms & Conditions for the Proud Lion Reservation Service. I have always done my best to ensure that that Reservation Service customers never miss an issue and in the rare occasions you might, I make every effort to find one from one of my other suppliers. In return I have asked that customers keep their folders clear, picking up comics in a timely manner and completely clearing their folder out at least once every three months. I've also asked that you give me fair notice before cancelling any titles from your orders, or indeed cancelling your Reservation Folder altogether.

Most of my customers have been really good with this, but some are consistently overdue and a significant few have seriously let me down over the past few years. Sadly, this autumn has been the worst for this. I've had a number of large Reservation Folders go unclaimed, with stories ranging from “I thought you had closed down,” to “I've moved to Cornwall for work.” Seriously, at what point whilst moving does it not occur to a person to pop into their local comic shop and cancel their order? Another customer went travelling for a few months and asked me to keep his folder going for longer than usual. After nine months and numerous attempts to contact him, I was forced to conclude that he wasn't coming back after all.

The problem with this is that US comic books are supplied to me by Diamond on a Firm Sale basis, not Sale Or Return (SOR). I'm stuck with them if a customer fails to collect what they ordered and it means I risk making a loss. Proud Lion will have been trading for four years in March 2012 – in a very, very difficult economic climate. For this to continue though, I have to put an end to the culture of Free Credit that exists within the comic shop community and their pull lists - in my store at least.


You can download new Terms & Conditions here, but I'll quickly summarise the key points.

Most significantly, you will all be required to pay a £10 deposit by January 31st, or your Reservation Folder will be terminated. This is not negotiable, but it will be refunded to you should you choose to cancel your Reservation Folder at a later date – provided you adhere to the additional Terms & Conditions.

The length of time which I will hold onto items in your folder will now reduce to two calendar months for comics and graphic novels (four weeks for magazines). Should you need any longer for holiday, etc. you will need to speak to me in advance so we can make appropriate arrangements.

Finally, should you want to alter your Reservation Folder by removing any titles, I will need a full calendar month's notice and you will liable for any issues of those titles that I cannot cancel with my supplier(s). Should you wish to terminate your Reservation Folder altogether I will also need a full calendar month's notice and you will be required to buy everything that is in your folder at the end of that notice period. Otherwise you will forfeit your deposit.

This is being done to protect myself and all of my loyal customers. No one wants to see Proud Lion close because a few bad apples ruined it for the rest of us.

Please direct any feedback to shop@proudlion.co.uk.

Many thanks.

Proud Lion and the DCNu

By Now, many of you have hopefully heard the news that come the end of August and throughout September, DC Comics are completely rebooting their superhero universe.

For the record, the Vertigo line is completely unaffected.

Dubbed the DCNu by the blogosphere, this move will see them publishing 52 NEW titles in one month.

With this in mind, I will need you to order the titles you want added to your folder by Tuesday 19th July.

As this is a complete reboot, we will consider all previous DC orders cancelled, so you will have to order again. In short, if you already get Batman you will still have to re-order Batman to ensure you get the DCNu version. Many people will potentially decide to radically alter their DC pull list at this time, so I can't take anything for granted.

It's a complete faff for all of us involved, both Proud Lion and you guys, but to help us all, I've created an order form that you can collect in store or print off at home.

If you right click here and choose "save as", you can download a pdf of the order form to fill in at home and drop in to the shop. Just mark an X next to the titles you want in the column marked Yes?

Or right click here and choose "save as" to get a Word document version that you can fill in on the computer and email back to me at shop@proudlion.co.uk. Again, just mark an X next to the titles you want in the column marked Yes?

I'll be trying to contact every Reservation Folder customer in the coming weeks to get your DCNu, orders, but if you could get them into me first that would be a huge help. I have to create 52 new titles on the database in one go as it is!

If you don't have a Reservation Folder, but would be interested in starting one to try some of these titles, please contact me at the email address above.

Thanks folks. Some of these new titles do look AMAZING.

Ben Fardon is a little exhausted by a lot of things, but finding exhilaration in the challenge.