Christmas Opening Times 2013!

Here's our opening times for Christmas 2013! We'll be opening late on the final Thursday before Christmas, plus a bonus Monday opening on the last Monday before Christmas.

As Christmas Day and New Year's Day both fall on Wednesdays this far, the comic industry as kindly brought the New Releases forward on both weeks to the Tuesday, which means there will be new comics out on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve! Check the bottom of this post for a full list of the titles currently expected on those two days (this is of course subject to change as per our fickle little industry!)

Don't forget Proud Lion gift vouchers

are now available on our webstore!

Here's those Christmas opening times again:

DECEMBER

Thursday 19th	12pm – 8pm	LATE NIGHT OPENING
Friday 20th	10am – 5:30pm
Saturday 21st	10am – 5pm
Sunday 22nd	11am – 3pm
Monday 23rd	11am – 3pm	MONDAY OPENING
CHRISTMAS EVE	10am – 4pm	NEW COMICS!
CHRISTMAS DAY	CLOSED	MERRY CHRISTMAS!
BOXING DAY	CLOSED
Friday 27th	10am – 4pm
Saturday 28th	10am – 5pm
Sunday 29th	CLOSED
Monday 30th	CLOSED
NEW YEAR’S EVE	10am – 4pm	NEW COMICS!

JANUARY

NEW YEAR’S DAY	CLOSED	HAPPY NEW YEAR!

And as promised, here's a look at everything we'll be expecting to see released on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve!

NEW COMICS - CHRISTMAS EVE

DC COMICS
Forever Evil #4 (of 7)
Justice League #26 (Forever Evil tie-in)

IMAGE
Saviors #1

MARVEL
Avengers #24.1
Origin II #1 (of 5)


NEW COMICS - NEW YEAR'S EVE

ASPEN
Executive Assistant: Assassins #18

BOOM! STUDIOS
Hacktivist #1
Regular Show Skips #3 (of 6)
Robocop: Last Stand #6 (of 8)
Suicide Risk #9

DARK HORSE
Baltimore Chapel of Bones #1 (of 2)
Grindhouse Doors Open At Midnight #4 (of 8)
Juice Squeezers #1 (of 4)
Star Wars Lucas Draft #0 (of 8)
The Terminator Salvation Final Battle #2 (of 12)

DC COMICS
Adventures of Superman #8
All Star Western #26
Aquaman #26
Batman: Arkham Unhinged Vol. 3 HC
Batman: Arkham Unhinged Vol. 2 TP
Batman: The Dark Knight #26
Beware the Batman #3
Catwoman #26
Damian Son of Batman #3
DC Universe vs. The Masters of the Universe #4 (of 6)
The Flash #26
Forever Evil Argus #3 (of 6)
The Green Team: Teen Trillionaires #7
Injustice Gods Among Us #12
Justice League Dark #26 (Forever Evil tie-in)
Larfleeze #6
Red Lanterns #26
Superboy Vol. 3: Lost TP
Superman #26
Talon #14
Teen Titans #26 (Forever Evil tie-in)

DYNAMITE
Ash and the Army of Darkness #3
Garth Ennis' Jennifer Blood #35
Legenderry A Steampunk Adv #1 (of 7)
Lil Battlestar Galactica #1
Twilight Zone #1

IDW
Ghostbusters #12
Judge Dredd Vol. 3 TP
Sinister Dexter #2 (of 7)
Transformers: Regeneration One Vol. 3 TP

IMAGE
Artifacts #34
Carbon Grey Vol. 3 #2 (of 2)
Heavens War: New Ptg TP
Invincible Universe #9
Think Tank Vol. 3 TP

MARVEL
Avengers Ai Vol. 1: Human After All TP
Guardians of the Galaxy #10
New Avengers #13
New Avengers Premiere Vol. 2: Infinity HC
Savage Wolverine #13
Superior Foes of Spider-Man #7

VERTIGO
Dead Boy Detectives #1
Hellblazer Vol. 7: Tainted Love TP
The Sandman: Overture #2 (of 6)

OTHER
Afterlife With Archie #3
Bar Maid #1 (of 5)
GFT Code Red #1 (of 5)
GFT No Tomorrow #5 (of 5)
GFT Oz Prequel #6 (of 6)
GFT Wonderland Vol. 3 TP
GFT Wonderland Through The Looking Glass #5 (of 5)
Grimm Fairy Tales #92
Hawken Melee #2 (of 5)
Hit List #4 (of 5)
Knights of The Dinner Table #206
Steam Engines of Oz Vol. 2 #3 Geared Leviathan
Super #4

Proud Lion - minor opening times revision for the W/C 02/09/13

Monday 2nd September is the first Monday of the calendar month and as such, we'll be open 12pm-2pm for our Monthly Monday.

Conversely, the store will be closed on Tuesday for two hours between 2pm-4pm whilst I meet our little lion cub (aka Kiddo aka The Watcher Junior) after his first day at junior school.

This should be an isolated occasion, as we have alternate arrangements for his usual school routine, but I want to make sure all goes well after his first day. I hope you can understand. Many thanks.

Ben Fardon is off to the Cardiff Comic Con today!

Summer Holidays 2013 Opening Times - reminder

Quick reminder that I'm off to Brighton with the family this weekend, so I'm leaving you in the very capable hands of the lovely Jo whilst I'm away. She'll be minding the shop on Friday 26th and Saturday 27th July. 

On the Friday and the Saturday, we just ask that Reservation Customers refrain from making any alterations to their pull lists in store. If you'd like to add or cancel anything over these two days, please email me at shop@proudlion.co.uk, tweet us @proudlioncomics or post/message us on the Facebook page and I'll action your request as soon as I'm back in the store on Tuesday 30th July.

This will just help to make things a little easier for myself and Jo. Your understanding is very much appreciated!

Ben Fardon is looking forward to having a well-earned break!

Summer Holidays 2013 Opening Times & new kids comics section

What a fantastic change in weather we've had! In fact, for many of us now summer is finally here  - it's too hot! To be fair, Superman himself would be dangerously to overcharging in this weather and readers of All Star Superman or this week's Justice League #22 know how badly that can pan out...

School's almost out for summer too, just in time in fact, as we've just launched a wonderful new kids comics section in store featuring Adventure Time, Batman L'il Gotham, My Little Pony. Regular Show, Superman Family Adventures and the wonderful Phoenix comic! It's all at the right height for the younger readers too, I'm sure it's bound to be a big hit.

Our opening times will remain largely unchanged for most of summer, with a few notable exceptions towards the end of July. I'm off to Brighton with the family for a long weekend, so I'm leaving you in the very capable hands of the lovely Jo whilst I'm away. She'll be minding the shop on Friday 26th and Saturday 27th July. There will be revised opening times on those days (and the Thursday too) as you will see below.

On the Friday and the Saturday, we just ask that Reservation Customers refrain from making any alterations to their pull lists in store. If you'd like to add or cancel anything over these two days, please email me at shop@proudlion.co.uk, tweet us @proudlioncomics or post/message us on the Facebook page please and I'll action your request as soon as I'm back in the store on Tuesday 30th July. This will just help to make things a little easier for myself and Jo. Your understanding is very much appreciated!

Don't forget our Superman graphic novel promotion is on until the 26th July, saving you 10% off your Man Of Steel holiday reading. We also place orders every Thursday, with deliveries arriving the very next Tuesday, so if you want anything special to take on a long journey, make sure you don't leave it until the last minute and we should be able to help!

Have a great summer everyone and if you are going on holiday, have a wonderful time! 

Ben Fardon thinks it's time for a Cornetto.

REVISED Easter 2013 Opening Times and Monthly Mondays

UPDATE: Diamond UK inform me that next week's comic will be arrive on the Thursday due to the two Bank Holidays.

As such, we will be now be closed on Tuesday and operate reduced hours on Wednesday. We will be open until 6:30pm on Thursday for you to get your new releases!

Things return to normal the following week.

With Easter nearly upon us, here's our opening times for the Bank Holiday.

Please note that due to Easter Monday, Monthly Mondays for April will move to Monday 8th April. The same will happen in May due to the May Bank Holiday; Monthly Mondays in May will move to Monday 13th May. Apologies for any inconvenience.

Things will then return to the first Monday of the month as per usual.

Have a Happy Easter! Don't forget TableTop Day is this Saturday, sandwiched neatly between Good Friday and Easter!

Revised Opening Times for the Cheltenham Festival Race Week 2013

It's almost that time again. Cheltenham goes crazy as racegoers descend upon our little town. It makes getting from A to B a bit of a nightmare for local residents, so with that in mind here's my revised hours for Race Week.

 

Tuesday 29th January 2013 - revised opening times

Apologies folks, but Proud Lion will closed for two hours mid-afternoon on Tuesday 29th January.

This should be a one-off; normal hours should resume for the rest of the week. Our childcare for Tuesdays and Wednesdays have been struck down with vomiting and diarrhoea. Always a miserable experience. Needless to say we wish their household a speedy recovery! 

I'll be leaving to do the school run at 2pm on Tuesday, with the aim being to re-open by 4pm. My partner will leave her workplace early on Wednesday to cover that day's school run, so Proud Lion shouldn't be affected after Tuesday this week.

So for the next seven days, Proud Lion's opening times are as follows:

TUESDAY: 10:00-14:00, 16:00-17:30

WEDNESDAY: 10:00-18:30

THURSDAY: 12:00-17:30 (late opening for Jan-Feb)

FRIDAY: 10:00-17:30

SATURDAY: 10:00-17:00

SUNDAY: CLOSED

MONDAY: 12:00-14:00 ("Monthly Mondays")

Thank you for your understanding.

After a rather disagreeable encounter last week, I feel I must sadly remind everyone that I am self employed, and as such I don't automatically get a minimum of four weeks holiday per year, any sick pay or benefits such as paternity cover or bereavement leave.

Whilst this is what I signed up for when I decided to open my own business, I remain shocked that a minority of customers take umbrage when the realities of a human life occasionally interfere with our normal opening times.

A small business such as Proud Lion is still going strong in this horrible economic climate - and has been for almost FIVE YEARS now - in part because I haven't rushed to hire staff. I won't take on employees until I feel I can guarantee their livelihoods and mine! So please bear with me when situations like this arise - it is after all just muggins here.

Thanks again!

Thursdays - Revised Opening Times for January and February 2013

Please note we will be operating revised opening times for Thursdays in January and February.

We will now be open 12-5:30pm on Thursdays for these two months.

All other days will remain unaffected unless further notified.

Monthly Mondays will continue to operate in 2013. Our first two will be Monday 7th January and Monday 4th February. On these two days we will be open 12-2pm.

Christmas Opening Times 2012 - Revised!

In a change to our previously advertised opening times this week, we will now be open only 12-4pm on Thursday 27th and Friday 28th. Everything else will remain unchanged. Apologies for any inconvenience.

Christmas Opening Times 2012 - Reminder!

Just to remind you all, here's our Christmas opening times for this year. As you can see we will have a late night opening on the last Thursday before Christmas, as well as opening on the last Sunday and Monday (Christmas Eve) before Christmas.

We'll be closed for Christmas Day itself, but we'll re-open on Boxing Day with some huge new comics including, but not limited to (subject to change):

DC
Justice League #15 (part one of the Throne of Atlantis crossover)
Aquaman #15 (part two of the Throne of Atlantis crossover - all Reservation Service customers with Justice League on their pull list will automatically get Aquaman #15 unless they opt out by the end of November)
Before Watchmen: Nite Owl #4

MARVEL
Amazing Spider-Man #700 (the last EVER issue of Amazing Spider-Man and rumoured to be the death of Doctor Octopus!)
Avenging Spider-Man #15.1 (coinciding with the end of Amazing Spider-Man, a look back at the greatest conflict in comics history: Spidey vs. Doc Ock!)

Amazing Spider-Man #700 will make history. Be here and be a part of it on Boxing Day!

ABSTRACT
Rachel Rising #13

AVATAR
Crossed Badlands #20

BOOM!
Deathmatch #1 (kill or be killed in the ultimate superhero deathmatch!)

IDW
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Secret Foot Clan #1 (the origin of the Foot Clan!)

IMAGE
Mara #1

Amazing Spider-Man #700 will make history. Be here and be a part of it on Boxing Day!

Christmas Opening Times 2012

Here's our Christmas opening times for this year. As you can see we will have a late night opening on the last Thursday before Christmas, as well as opening on the last Sunday and Monday (Christmas Eve) before Christmas.

We'll be closed for Christmas Day itself, but we'll re-open on Boxing Day with some huge new comics including, but not limited to (subject to change):

DC
Justice League #15 (part one of the Throne of Atlantis crossover)
Aquaman #15 (part two of the Throne of Atlantis crossover - all Reservation Service customers with Justice League on their pull list will automatically get Aquaman #15 unless they opt out by the end of November)
Before Watchmen: Nite Owl #4

MARVEL
Amazing Spider-Man #700 (the last EVER issue of Amazing Spider-Man and rumoured to be the death of Doctor Octopus!)
Avenging Spider-Man #15.1 (coinciding with the end of Amazing Spider-Man, a look back at the greatest conflict in comics history: Spidey vs. Doc Ock!)

Amazing Spider-Man #700 will make history. Be here and be a part of it on Boxing Day!

ABSTRACT
Rachel Rising #13

AVATAR
Crossed Badlands #20

BOOM!
Deathmatch #1 (kill or be killed in the ultimate superhero deathmatch!)

IDW
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Secret Foot Clan #1 (the origin of the Foot Clan!)

IMAGE
Mara #1

Amazing Spider-Man #700 will make history. Be here and be a part of it on Boxing Day!

REVISED August Bank Holiday 2012 Opening Times

Quick revision to the previously advertised opening times for next week. The new comics will be in on Wednesday next week after all, but won't be ready until 1pm or later.

Proud Lion will be until 6:30pm that day. In fact now we'll be closed Monday and Tuesday, then it's business as usual after that,

New Monthly Mondays!

As many of you know, Proud Lion is closed on Sunday and Mondays to give me a much needed weekend - something I started after more than two years of working a six-day week, almost every week.

It makes a huge difference to me - but I am aware that some of you also only get those two days of each week. So in a change to the previously advertised monthly Monday opening, I'll now be opening on the FIRST MONDAY of each month. This is based on customer feedback that some people would rather we opened after pay day. I happy to accomodate where I can.

So, Proud Lion will be open on Monday 2nd July from 12-2pm. Then again on Monday 6th August. And so on. all other opening times remain unchanged.

I look forward to seeing some of you in store and apologies to anyone if they tried to pop in yesterday!

Opening Times - Bank Holidays and new comic delivery dates in June

Make a note folks. Due to the Bank Holiday weekend and the Queen's Jubilee, Proud Lion will be closed Sunday 3rd June through to Tuesday 5th June.

The shop will re-open for business on Wednesday 6th June. New comics will arrive for the first half of June on Thursdays. So that's Thursday 7th and Thursday 14th June. It will then return to Wednesdays for the rest of June - Wednesday 20th and Wednesday 27th June.

Starting from June however, Proud Lion will now open on the last Monday of the month from midday - 2pm, giving those of you who always have Sundays-Mondays off as well, a chance to pop in to the store. I appreciate it's only a small window, so plan accordingly. That starts with Monday 25th June.

Finally, please note that Proud Lion will not open until midday on Tuesday 29th May. Apologies for any inconvenience caused.

The Lion's Share - Avengers Assemble

It's almost here. Tomorrow, Joss Whedon's Avengers movie opens in UK cinemas.

I grew up reading comic books - getting a weekly issue of Transformers from our local newsagent, delivered with the newspaper. Transformers UK featured a serialised chunk of the monthly Transformers US comic, an original black and white Transformers comic by British creators, and a reprint of something else. For a brief time, it was Iron Man - in his red and silver Centurion armour heyday.

It was my first exposure to American superheroes and I loved it. Eventually Tony was replaced by Visionaries and finally Action Force/GI Joe, but I never forgot the Armoured Avengers. Years later as a college student, I found an American comic shop in Swindon - True Believers. It was during the chaos of the Onslaught saga, but as the dust settled Marvel announced two things that caught my interest. The first was the Thunderbolts - which remains one of my favourite comics fifteen years later. Though, quick aside - damn you Marvel for rebranding it as Dark Avengers in the coming months - that sucks.

The second was Heroes Reborn - the classic Avengers titles, reimagined by Image creators. I loved the chance to pick up an all new Iron Man comic and enjoyed the way the Hulk's origin was linked to Tony becoming Iron Man. Sadly the Heroes Reborn experiment was as flawed as it was inventive and eventually the idea was shelved, replaced by the Heroes Return titles. With Thunderbolt's co-creator Kurt Busiek at the head of both Avengers and Iron Man, this was a golden age for this fan.

Heroes Reborn however, did lead the way to the Ultimate universe and following the success of Ultimate Spidey and Ultimate X-Men, Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch brought us the incredible Ultimates book (coming soon - Why Should I Read... The Ultimates!). This arguably gave a fresh modern take on the Avengers that incorporated the Millar/Hitch "widescreen" flavour of comic storytelling. It seemingly became the blueprint for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, starting with the incredible Iron Man film.

2008 will always have a special place in my heart. I opened my own comic shop! After years of working for others I was finally my own master. Then Marvel gave us the most amazing superhero film with Iron Man. Managing to be both respectful to the source material and yet forging its own story, the film combined action with real emotion and gravitas plus a great sense of humour.

The post credits scene hinted at a larger shared story to come, with Samuel L Jackson bringing the Ultimate Nick Fury to life. The Incredible Hulk movie a few months later chased the taste of the Ang Lee travesty out of my mouth and continued to show that there was a larger plan behind these movies. After that came Iron Man 2 and that first glimpse of Thor's hammer. At the end of Thor, we saw the cosmic cube (aka the Tesseract) that was a key plot point in Captain America, and at the end of Cap, we find Steve in present day ready for a new mission. Help save the world.

(There are so many more connections between the Marvel Cinematic Universe films, from the super soldier serum in The Incredible Hulk, to the Tesseract in Iron Man 2 and the World Tree in Captain America - it's a wonderfully rich tapestry that reveals the shared universe ethos of Marvel comics transposed onto the big screen.)

So, for me, Avengers Assemble is the most anticipated film of the year. Sure, I've obsessively watched the Prometheus trailer. I've devoured every bit of info on The Dark Knight Rises. And I've championed The Amazing Spider-Man even in the face of that dire Mirror's Edge-style sequence in the first trailer. But Avengers is the one for me this year.

To that end, on Thursday 26th April, Proud Lion will not be opening until 2pm. In the morning, this self-employed smuck with no company or statutory sick pay and no minimum four weeks holiday a year, is taking the morning off. I'll be making a fannish pilgrimage to Cineworld, to see the first showing of Avengers Assemble.

Then as a reward for your patience, I'll be open 2-6pm and there'll be a special bonus. 

ALL AVENGERS STOCK WILL BE 20% OFF! FOR ONE AFTERNOON ONLY!

That includes comics, graphic novels, action figures, t-shirts. It also includes Avengers team members' solo stuff such as Iron Man, Cap, Thor, Black Widow and even Spidey and Wolverine. It even includes Reservation Service folder comics. It DOES NOT include back issues from upstairs though. Sorry about that.

So, come on down from 2pm and grab a bargain. Just remember, I'll be closed tomorrow morning. Just this once.

Ben Fardon CAN.NOT.WAIT!

Revised Opening Times for the Cheltenham Festival Race Week

It's almost that time of year again. As the intelligent locals you all are, I'm sure you know that whilst Cheltenham Race Week sucks if you are a resident who doesn't have a spare room to rent out, a catering business that can crank out a huge fry up, or indeed someone who loves horse racing - it also brings a considerable amount of tourist money to the area and is generally great for local commerce.

That said, it does make getting to work a bit of nightmare for me and tends to mean that most of the locals go into a self-imposed exile. Our very own Kate Townshend spoke of her dislike for Race Week last year in fact and I have to say I agree with her!

With this in mind, this year (and probably every successive year from now on), I'm going to change my opening times for Race Week. Hopefully, this gives you plenty of notice!

That particular week sees some great releases including the new deluxe hardback of Frank Miller's Batman Year One, part one of the 'Secrets Of The Indigo Tribe" storyline in Green Lantern, the first hardback for the Games Of Thrones comic adaptation, Transformers UK Classics Vol 2 TP, Avengers Assemble #1, the first issue of Paul Cornell's Saucer Country, Atomic Robo Real Science Adventures #1 and the eagerly awaited Saga #1. So it is worth popping in, even with the reduced hours.

It will be business as usual on Saturday 17th and from then on until Easter.

See you soon!

NEWS FLASH! Late night opening - Thursday 22nd December 2011

A week of promotions!

Just a quick reminder that this week Proud Lion is open from Monday-Christmas Eve for all your shopping needs!

In addition, there'll be a new daily promotion each day. These won't be advertised in store, only on our Twitter (@proudlioncomics) and the Facebook page, so make sure you follow or like the Lion. Or both!

Today's promotion is... you know what, I'm not going to tell you here. Go to Twitter or Facebook and find out for yourself!

Later today I'll be back with another announcement about an exclusive new ongoing offer for Reservation Service customers.

Finally, here's a lovely little Christmas cheers from the folks at Image Comics!

One week till Christmas!

This time next week it will be Christmas Eve!

Don't forget Proud Lion is open till 5pm today, then open on Monday from 10am. That Monday is a one off for the holidays, blink and you'll miss it!

New comics are Wednesday this week, but don't forget that over Christmas the new release day for comics moves to Thursdays due to the Bank Holidays. It will return to Wednesdays after the festivities.

Temporary Revised Opening Times - w/c 21/11/11

Just a quick note about next week folks - due to a family commitment I have to revise our opening times for a couple of days next week, as follows:

TUESDAY 22ND NOVEMBER: 10:30am - 5:00pm

WEDNESDAY 23RD NOVEMBER: 10:30am - 6:30pm

THURSDAY 24TH NOVEMBER: 12:00pm - 5:30pm

FRIDAY 25TH NOVEMBER: 10:00am - 5:30pm (business as usual)

SATURDAY 26TH NOVEMBER: 10:00am - 5:00pm (business as usual)

It has also come to my attention that some of you have noticed that the store is occasionally open later than advertised. Please remember that I am the sole member of staff and as such I am on occasion held up at the bank, etc. on my way to work. Despite my best efforts, such things do happen and I ask that you show some understanding on these occasions. It is frustrating for me as well.

Please also remember that I get no guaranteed annual leave, so I do on occasion become quite run down. Again, understanding on these occasions would be greatly appreciated.