Posted in: Comics | Tagged: britain, coronavirus comics, jude dredd, new comics, new comics day

British 'New Comics Day' Is Thursday This Week. Next Week, Who Knows?

Published Mon, 23 Mar 2020 06:15:58 -0500

Last updated Mon, 23 Mar 2020 07:39:39 -0500

Normally, British comic book stores receive their weekly comic book delivery from the USA on Tuesdays, to be sold on Wednesdays. This week, I am told, deliveries won't reach UK stores until Thursday, as a result of the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. As for future weeks? Well, that is up in the air. Diamond Comic Distribution has reported on how their service will be tempered, and flights from the US to the UK are dropping too. What does come is likely to be disrupted.

And this combines with a perfect storm with ComiXology upping their prices of new comic books by 70% to achieve pound/dollar parity for the first time, it's not a great time to be a British fan of American comics. Or a British fan of American comics created by Brits. You get a choice between disrupted delivery, surging price points – or both. Maybe this is a time to look to the British publishers themselves?

Rebellion continues to publish 2000AD and Judge Dredd Magazine as well as their many collections and revivals. Oh and they've just made the Judge Dredd Case Files Vol 5 free on their app, with 400 pages of some excellent classic Dredd tales from John Wagner, Alan Grant, Carlos Ezquerra, Steve Dillon, Mike McMahon and the like.

Judge Dredd rides into action in this fifth volume collecting together some of his most exciting cases. Arch-nemesis Judge Death rises from the grave once again in 'Judge Death Lives', citizen is pitted against citizen in 'Block Mania' and the apocalypse comes to Mega-City One in the all-time classic Dredd epic, 'The Apocalypse War'.

So there's that at least. Keep in touch with your store through social media, we'll try and reflect an overall picture over here on Bleeding Cool. Stay safe, stay well, and maybe dive into a long box or two…