DC Comics Unveils, Under Sole Publisher Jim Lee, Its Tone-Deaf Print and Digital Comics Plans Due To Covid-19 Coronavirus Pandemic!
DC’s Director of Marketing Services Adam Phillip detailed its digital comic book plans for select retailors on its private Facebook page. Despite the physical print distribution of comic books being halted due to the Covid-19 Coronavirus Pandemic, DC Comics will continue to release its digital comics weekly.
- “Here’s where we are on digital. All our data shows the digital consumer and the physical consumer are two different audiences. For now, we’re going to continue to release digital comics, but will revisit this if the pipeline for physical distribution continues to be challenged and disrupted.”
However, DC may be hedging their bets and could easily be able to reverse this decision if the negative backlash by retailors continues and grows.
Anyhow, this digital news follows an earlier news release from the company that offered support to retailors during this time.
- To Direct Market Retailers:
First, the entire team here at DC hopes that you, your family and your employees are staying safe and healthy during this very tough and precarious time. We know that you have been waiting for DC to comment on the state-of-affairs and to address any measures we will take to help our community lighten the burden of the disruption to our business, and we’ve been working hard on a long-term, solution-focused plan. Here is how we will help:
Periodicals and books with in-store dates between March 18, 2020 and June 24, 2020 will be fully returnable. We’ll even provide credit for your separate return shipping of these items only.
Additionally, because we anticipate that cotinued disruption to business operations will create regional volatility, DC is exploring a multi-distributor model to provide us with the flexibility needed during this crisis to get new content to our readers on an ongoing basis. In the short-term, we continue to engage in active conversations with Diamond to help us solve the distribution issues that have arisen and hope to get new product to stores that want or need it as soon as possible. We will provide additional information about how we’ll make that happen in the coming days.
Thanks for your patience with us. DC will continue to monitor the situation, continue to speak with you directly, and continue to support you through the days ahead. You are the lifeblood of this industry.
All best,
The DC Team
Despite DC noting that current data shows that the digital reader and print periodical is different, that was pre-Pandemic. It is quote likely with DC Comics choosing to continue with digital comics in the absence of their print counterparts, that new readers will drive to digital comics. That may convert many readers away from print periodicals hurting a comic book retailor system that was already going to look very different after the pandemic eases.
Shame on DC. Putting short-term profit over long-term industry and retailor health. Naturally, retailors are upset by this when most of the industries independent publishers have indicated they would not go with new digital comics in the absence of their print counterparts. The big question mark? That’s Marvel Comics who has not revealed their digital plans to date, but their initial communique looked promising.
Shameful.
