Diamond just released a statement that they are potentially targeting late May for comics to resume shipping to stores. See the full letter from Diamond below:
Informed Comic Book Speculation and Pop Culture News
Diamond just released a statement that they are potentially targeting late May for comics to resume shipping to stores. See the full letter from Diamond below:
This is going to be a disaster for Brick n Mortar shops. Most states are looking at easing restrictions in June, and even then the rules set forth might not let them open until a later date with social distancing guidelines and such.
My other concern is regarding the comics already printed and sitting around. What kind of damage has been caused to these and are they looking to reprint them ? At thr least these comics are going to have spine roll and page warping.
Leave it to Diamond to toss in a sales pitch as well ..
Who cares about any possible damage to stored comics .. ?? The damage is being done to the B&M shops ..
For me, i cant think about one without the other. Being on the “hook” for items that were ordered but come damaged is not only a major inconvenience but it is also a drain on a shops resources. Your first week back open with only damaged books to sell?
For those of us who do not have a devote following of pull lists , it could be a potential problem.
I would not anticipate a huge number of books that are currently lying dormant to be damaged in any substantial number .. they ship to Diamond in boxes, and it’s unlikely, given Diamonds scenario, that the boxes have even been opened ..
At any rate, even discounting any damages and filing a return with Diamond, Retailers will still at least have some new comic product to sell .. which beats absolutely nothing by far ..
And DC just announced they are using two new distributors and relaunching product April 28th with Tuesday release dates. Lunar in the west, UCS in the east.
That’s not going to mean anything if you’re in a lock down State / non-essential Business .. it’s also a limited number of releases .. Retailers will need to re-submit orders to DC, of which I don’t think there has been any details on yet ..
Sorry, I’m not doing curbside pickup or mailing, especially for just a handful of weekly books ..
It’s a nice gesture on DC’s part, though ..
My lcs is not allowed to do curbside any more as a part of our lockdown. But they are delivering in a 10 mile radius. That is pretty cool. They also are doing $5 flat rate shipping. Which they are taking a bath on but it is stimulating sales.
It’s going to mean quite a lot to the spec market if it goes through as announced. You’ll have books that were released to 800 shops a full month before they get released to the other 2000. DC normally has a pretty set overprinting. Who gets those copies if they are divided between 3 distributors, one of which isn’t even accepting shipments from DC? If an issue blows up even a little, the 800 shops dealing with Lunar/UCS will eat up the entire overprint before DIamond customers even get to play. And what does the market look like for a book that does blow up at early release, when everyone knows there are 2000 more shops that will have copies 3-4 weeks later? If I used to have 8 shelf copies from Diamond, but the book was released through Lunar 4 weeks before I got it, and has been selling for $20 online for weeks, am I the jerk for not selling my shelf copies at cover? Uneven playing field all around if this actually happens.
It’s my understanding from DC, that the books Diamond had solicited would be cancelled to Diamond and then re-solicited at some point .. so yeah, those that get the books from DC’s new two channels will get the drop on things .. as well, I don’t know if it would be 3-4 weeks later that Diamond would get the same books ..
There is no point in me racking any books until folks are allowed in again ..
It seems odd to me that DC appears to be wanting to do two separate print runs .. first, the books they ship thru their new channels, then again when Diamond can start shipping again ..
At any rate, Diamond will be on the tail end of this thing .. so the issue raises some questions on what that relationship is going to look like later on .. I don’t see how in the World Geppi can be happy about it .. in fact, the Diamond response seemed fairly curt ..
i said this somewhere, but online retailers are setup to win with this. TFAW DCBS and even midtown are going to make out like bandits. You got the Boom email. You know they are getting ready to do the same thing. It wouldnt surprise me if Marvel followed suit.
The thing is with DCBS (I’m a customer) you already have to have made the pre-orders, so you can’t spec. They’re still charging for May and even June orders even though those are heavily delayed.
Here’s the release schedule, what could have spec value .. ?? ::
Tuesday 4/28
Batman #89 (3rd Printing)
Batman Giant #4
Daphne Byrne #4 (of 6)
The Dreaming #20
Nightwing #70 (2nd Printing)
New Comics available for sale on Tuesday 5/5
Batman and the Outsiders #12
DC Super Stars Facsimile Edition #17
The Flash #753
Green Lantern Season 2 #3
Hawkman #23
House of Whispers #20
Joker/Harley: Criminal Sanity #4 (of 9)
New Comics available for sale on Tuesday 5/12
Harley Quinn #72
Justice League #44
Justice League Odyssey #20
Lois Lane #10 (of 12)
Metal Men #6 (of 12)
I would add that this new development with DC is throwing some confusion into the Retailer area in a time when things are already topsy-turvy ..
Batman 89 3rd print is the winner of the bunch The bigger deal is how DC phrased it.
The new schedule is designed to allow each of you to begin ordering a limited amount of DC product at first, * and then ease back into the number of books that represents a normal release * schedule from DC when your business can accommodate it.
For me that means from this point forward i have 2 places i can order from. IE distributor wars all over again. Or am i reading that wrong?
I can wait until my LCS is allowed to re-open to purchase all my future comic books. I have zero interest in mail order as I like to pick out my own books. Also, my LCS has been there for me and I will continue to support them as they attempt to re-establish their business.
And I will not support any publisher doing 1st/2nd/etc. print runs based on who is and isn’t ordering b/c they are or aren’t allowed to be open. If 1st prints are not available to me b/c my LCS can’t get/sell them yet, I will simply drop the titles impacted and look to reduce my purchases associated with the publishers involved.
I don’t want to support an uneven playing field. So I hope the publishers consider how to roll-out new product across all retailers, not just some. DC may be first on my chopping block based on their current plan.
“So I hope the publishers consider how to roll-out new product across all retailers, not just some.”
I’m for this as well in a perfect world but that’s not reality in our current situation. While some states and locations have different restrictions and dates they’re allowing the non essential to reopen, some shops are going to be able to open before others. Is it fair to shops that can open to wait to get new product for the shops in a state or location that has not lifted their own restrictions?
Unfortunately, this situation we’re in is unique and I think the publishers want to get the process going in getting their own product rolled out, whether you can accept it or not. Like most have claimed, the longer some shops wait, the more likely they’ll close up cause they can’t wait that long. Why should these shops who can start accepting shipments to turn around and sell have to wait on all the other shops to do the same? This is where we hope the local government can help assist the companies they told were not essential and have to stay closed.
You are right, Poyo, it is a unique situation. And there may not be a one-size-fits-all solution. I don’t want to see any shops go under. And probably those shops that can be open should be able to sell new product. But as a long-term collector, if I can’t get 1st prints of the titles I have been loyally supporting when my shop is allowed to re-open, then I will choose not to support that title/publisher. I have no desire to chase printings or pursue alternate distrib. dates for multiple publishers or any other craziness. I see this as a time where the major comic publishers & Diamond need to come together, model leadership & co-operation, and try to develop an industry-wide plan to roll-out new product. Certainly not easy, and definitely won’t be perfect, but doable. And it will be in the best interests of the long-term health/success of the industry.