Comic shops have been seeing added pressure, challenges, and obstacles over the past three months with COVID-19 and a downturn economy. Publisher AfterShock Comics, has announced the release of Support Our Shops (S.O.S.), a 48-page comic featuring seven stories from top creators, to be distributed at no cost to comic shops through Diamond Comic Distributors. 

S.O.S.features from some of the industry’s most celebrated creators emphasizing that fundamentally irreplaceable role played by comic shops in their lives and in the lives of fans. The title includes exclusive stories from Cullen Bunn, Stephanie Phillips, Zac Thompson, Steve Orlando, Jamie McKelvie, Jerry Ordway, and Aaron Douglas, with art from Leila Leiz, Don Kramer, Szymon Kudranski, Ro Stein, and Ted Brandt, Gordon Purcell and Cliff Richards, with cover conceived and executed by David Mack.

S.O.S. will be distributed to Diamond’s top-ranked 200 AfterShock accounts, which will each receive 20 free copies (per storefront) with their 6/24 on-sale books. The next 300 highest ranked stores will each receive 10 free copies. Stores not included in this ranking may receive a number of copies upon request or through their AfterShock Ambassador.

AfterShock’s S.O.S. was created so that each comic shop can leverage the title to best suit their individual needs and goals. It can be given away free, used as a purchase incentive, put into the pull boxes of AfterShock readers, or sold directly to consumers at a suggested price to help recoup losses that may have been sustained through pandemic-related closures and events.