Candy Cub waves goodbye

It's funny what can change in a year isn't it? In March last year, we launched Candy Cub - a new department within Proud Lion - bringing imported American candy and soda to your favourite American comic shop.

Since then, we've seen two other dedicated sweet shops open up in the town - both with a substantial array of American food themselves - plus at least one notable large supermarket has also joined the fray (with rumours of a second rival giant store in Charlton Kings following suit). plus Vanilla Coke has now been reintroduced into the UK market.

We've gone from reordering our Candy Cub stock every month to maybe once a quarter, and now some of the stock we do have in is starting to go past its best before date. When we started selling American imports, the stuff was flying off the shelves - it wouldn't have had time to go out of date!

So, with heavy heart and sad face, it's time to bid farewell to Candy Cub for the time being. It's great that these products are becoming more readily available in the area, with dedicated businesses bringing you a broader range than we could ever accommodate! There's no sour grape soda here folks, but I've always believed in a transparent approach to business whenever possible, so it seemed like a brief explanation was in order.

We'll be marking down almost all of the Candy Cub stock in the coming weeks - all cans of soda are now down to just 75p, bottles of A&W Root Beer are now just £3.00, Coconut M&Ms are down to just £1.00 and Dark Raspberry M&Ms are down to £3.50! Come and grab a bargain!

Thank you all for your sweet tooth patronage over the past year!

Ben Fardon is loving the sunshine, but not the heat.

New Beginnings - Trinity of Sin: Pandora #1

DC is prepping for their next crossover – Trinity War – with the debut of a new comic, the Trinity of Sin: Pandora. Arguably some may say that this has been coming since the titular character's appearance in Flashpoint, after which Pandora appeared (in a where’s Wally style) in every first issue of all the initial New 52 releases. This was never completely explained, however this was brought to the forefront of everyone's minds in the DC New 52 2012 Free Comic Book Day special, where we learned the origin of the Trinity of Sin - the Phantom Stranger, the Question and Pandora herself.

Starting around 8000 Years BCE, the story opens with an unnamed daughter finding a golden skull which inadvertently releases the seven deadly sins upon an unsuspecting world (interestingly it appears that they are all the same colours as the variety of Lantern Corps). These sins take corporeal form and wreaking havoc, slaughtering the young woman's village. Called before the Rock of Eternity by the Shazam Council, the Trinity of Sin are duly branded and punished accordingly, with Pandora now fated to walk the earth as an immortal - powerless to do much except witness the horror she has created.

After years of not being able to stop the sins, despite trying to teach the world around her about them, Pandora realises that she can learn from a variety of sources, training herself to fight back.

Finally after millennia have passed, Pandora is visited by a member of the Council. In a moment of huge honesty he proclaims that the judgement passed upon her was not sound or fair, and sets her on the path to redemption. She is charged with relocated the golden skull - which is identified as the legendary Pandora's Box - and using its power to end the curse. Finding the box is one thing though; to find the one either pure enough or dark enough of heart to open it is quite another.

As a first issue, this is very much a character setting story and doesn't feel like an essential part of the Trinity War itself. It does however explain fully the motivation behind Pandora bringing her on par with The Phantom Stranger in terms of understanding their back stories and motivations. Only the Question fittingly remains a mystery in the New 52. 

Ray Fawkes has managed to set up a very credible and fitting corner of the triangle, in anticipation of the main story arc. With his creed coming from Justice League Dark (alongside Peter Milligan and Jeff Lemire), he is also in good stead when it comes to having a calibre of work to support this moving forward too. How this will all fit together is yet to be seen. In the teasers we know that a hero is going to die at the hands of a surprise killer, and as a result this could be a strong lead or a red herring with Pandora. Regardless we know there are presently three Justice League teams and three immortals stepping into the ring to fight it out.

The artwork has been subdivided out through the issue. Daniel Sampere creates a sandwich of pages, around Patrick Zircher’s work. This highlights a transition for the character and segways nicely between the past and present. It’s also the main moments of change and development for Pandora, so you get a good feel of her evolution as well.

The cover artwork is also of interest. On one hand you have a variety of Justice League characters, but also snuck in there are a couple of villains, noticeably Black Adam who I feel could provide a strong role in the coming events.

There is a feel of previous pre-New 52 greats such as Identity Crisis and the year-long 52 series, whilst also very much feeling like it's part of the new continuity. Although you don’t get the full impact of the upcoming Trinity War in this issue, it is definitely a comic that collectors should grab now, and one for those wanting to get the full experience of the Justice League crossover. It would also make a good extended set considering that Trinity War is going to lead straight into September's Villains' Month too. This is not an essential title but there will be ripples and repercussions that are going to be explored in later issues. Still it is an eye opener and a nice, different, take on things.

Matt Puddy urges everyone to get their Villains' Month orders in over the next fortnight!

Carrier bags and charity - Charlie's recovery cycle for MIND

Hi folks,

Last week marked not only the end of the current financial quarter (and the financial year) but also the end of the latest period of collecting money for charity from our sales of carrier bags.

This is our ninth full quarter and together we raised £8.32!

Last time I supported Red Nose Day. This time, I've supported a good friend of the store, whom many of you will know, Charlie from Judder! Charlie is undertaking a cycling challenge to raise money for Mind, the mental health charity. It's a fantastic and personal challenge, and a cause that needs more support and less stigma.

The next carrier bag donation will be in early October. If you have a charity you'd like Proud Lion to support, please email me at shop@proudlion.co.uk.

Big Game Hunting Live - The Last Night On Earth

This weekend heralds the arrival of the second Big Game Hunting Live! This is our monthly gaming event that takes place on the first Saturday of every month. Players will get a chance to learn and play a different game every month.

On Saturday 6th July, we will be playing Last Night on Earth! This horror board game is all about facing an oncoming zombie horde in a small town. You can play as the humans struggling to survive, or the shuffling zombies trying to stop them. The board changes every time, and there are multiple scenarios to play, so you get a new experience every time! This game was featured on season one of TableTop.

If you've never played before, or just want to brush up on the rules, we recommend you come to one of the learn-to-play sessions, taking place at 11am and 1pm. We'll show you the ropes and get you up to speed on how to play.

If you're already familiar with the game and want to jump right in, come along to the full game session at 3pm! This is also suitable for people who attend the learn-to-play sessions earlier in the day. No sign-up is required, and participation will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

If you like the base game, you may also like one of the game's expansions: Growing Hunger and Timber Peak. Growing Hunger provides you with new scenarios, characters, items, and boards, to name a few. Timber Peak is both a standalone game and an expansion, featuring several new game components as well as some new gameplay features. You might also like the Zombies with Grave Weapons miniature set, or the Hero Pack which offers up new heroes to add to your game.

All participants will receive a voucher that entitle them to 10% off Last Night on Earth, or any of the expansions or supplements. As Proud Lion is only a small store, we only hold a limited stock so you may have to backorder your copy if we sell out on the day. Expansions are currently only available if you place a customer order (NB: a 25% deposit may be required).

Rae is really enjoying all the sunshine this week!