The west coast ports are some of the busiest in the world, and handle one-quarter of U.S. international trade. The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the nation’s largest complex, have been shut down since Thursday due to a contract dispute. Ships sit idle in the waters off of San Pedro and Wilmington, full of cargo waiting to be unloaded, while other ships sit empty without dock workers to load them. According to NBC, this could be retail’s worst nightmare, and a 7 billion dollar loss if it goes on much longer. And now, it’s hitting the comic industry. IDW posted this press release on their website today:
“To our loyal friends and fans: Due to the ongoing problems at West coast ports, our normal shipping procedures have been completely interrupted, causing unpredictable delays. Regrettably, this has resulted in all our books planned for release on 2/18 to be delayed. We’ve looked at every possible scenario to prevent this, but the situation is completely beyond our control. We are taking steps to improve this for the immediate future, but the books and products that are currently on the water cannot be re-directed. We will be updating our weekly releases and keeping you informed as the situation works toward a resolution. We understand this is not an ideal situation, and apologize for any inconvenience this causes, and look forward to things getting back to normal in ensuing weeks.”
The affected 2/18 titles:
Airboy Archives Vol. 3 TP
Creature Cops Special Varmint Unit #2
D4VE #1
Dead Squad #4
Galaxy Quest: The Journey Continues #2
Garbage Pail Kids: Love Stinks
G.I. Joe Vol. 1: The Fall of G.I. Joe TP
Haunted Horror #15
Joe Frankenstein #1
Judge Dredd Anderson– Psi-Division TP
My Little Pony Adventures in Friendship Vol. 2 HC
TMNT New Animated Adventures #20
Zombies vs Robots #2
They’ve put the digital editions of these books on the back burner as well, at least until the print edition goes to retailers. So if you’re waiting for Zombies vs Robots #2, Haunted Horror #15, or any of IDW’s other titles, you’re going to be waiting a bit longer.
There’s no word yet on whether other publishers have been affected, but ICv2 mentions that any comics printed in Asia may not make it to shops on Wednesday. More on this as it comes in.