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This is annoying. But it's also a perfect example of the issues that we face in this brave post COVID post Brexit world. For various reasons, some political, some logistical, the movement of things from one place on the globe to another place on the globe has become less easy than it used to be.
So.
For two decades FREE COMIC BOOK DAY has been the first Saturday in May. A day when comic stores across North America and the UK have had a stack of comics to give away to anyone and everyone for FREE! It's been a chance to introduce readers to things they might love, but might never have risked their hard earned cash on. A chance to show people just how wonderful comics can be.
For the record, Destination Venus LOVES Free Comic Book Day.
Now, obviously both last year, 2020, and this year, 2021, the first Saturday in May has not been a day when comic stores have been able to invite customers to come in and see us because of COVID lockdowns. This meant that in 2020 "Free Comic Book Day" became "Free Comic Book Summer", with the free comics being spread out across the whole of July and August.
This didn't work so well. The beauty of Free Comic Book Day is that it focused attention in a single day. So. In 2021, as increasing proportions of the population received vaccines against COVID it seemed reasonable to move the date of Free Comic Book Day to August 14th. In North America, that date still stands.
Here in the UK and Europe though, there are continued logistical problems. Mostly as a result of COVID international shipping is currently less reliable than it has usually been. Diamond UK, the company with the exclusive rights to distribute most US comics in the UK and Europe has contacted comic stores in the last week to let them know that they can't guarantee all of the comics intended for FREE COMIC BOOK DAY will be available by August 14th.
As a result, Destination Venus has decided to move Free Comic Book Day to Saturday 28th August. By then Diamond is pretty sure they will have all of the FCBD comics out to all of the stores.
So. A new date for your diaries - 28th August, 2021.
One day. No Catch. Just FREE COMICS!
You'll have noticed that "What's on the Rack?" is also late this week. That's because we were informed by Diamond last Friday that - as result of the same shipping issues detailed above - some of the titles we were expecting this week would be late and we didn't want to tell you things were going to be out if they were going to get stuck in a warehouse on the wrong side of the Atlantic. The absolutely 100% accurate rack will be up shortly...