Image Comics Announces Returnability of New Comics Due to Coronavirus

Image Comics is looking to help retailers by making upcoming books on FOC returnable at a later date.

According to a press release sent out by Image, comics with a Final Order Cut Off Date of March 16, March 23, and March 30, will be fully returnable at a later date (date not specified yet). This move is to help retailers who may see a reduced foot traffic and in-shop sales due to closings, social distancing, and other measures in place to combat the spread of the Coronavirus. You can see the full press release below

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4 thoughts on “Image Comics Announces Returnability of New Comics Due to Coronavirus”

  1. Anthony…Need to fix your headline…”retainability” s/b “returnability”. But I personally intend to retain my favorite comics…lol.

  2. While this is a “Good Guy Image” moment, it’s still not all that helpful for retailers. We don’t get to choose when we can return the books. And if a retailer is in a cash crunch in June, it doesn’t help him to know that he has future returnability on that pile of dead stock in a box.

    Boom’s returnability is at least predictable and within 3 months. DC is frequently 6-9 months after a book comes out.

    This is more like “if it turns out your business survives, we will take back your unsold books in the fall but we could really use you spending the cash today”.

    I get why they get to set the dates. CrossGen went out of business because Borders exercised their returnability rights and sent back a massive pile of books far beyond anything CrossGen could have budgeted for. Their contingent liability for future returns was swamped by what Borders did and they ran out of cash. No publisher is making that mistake again. But Image’s announcement today, while nice, isn’t going to boost my shop’s orders by even one copy. I’ll probably show my appreciation for their gesture by choosing not to return books at the deadline even if I have a few unsold. But it won’t result in boosted orders for me like Boom’s policy does.

    1. I am sure it is not meant to boost orders. But if things go pear shape and you have a bunch of image books you can’t sell, you can return them. I do hope you and your shop pull through this. If you have an online presence, please send it to us.

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