Marvel Comics has officially announced that it will not be releasing any new comic titles digitally on April 1. This is in conjunction with
Diamond Comics Distributors being shut down temporarily due to the coronavirus pandemic, which meant comic shops would not be receiving any physical copies of new comics starting this week.
The shutting down of Diamond Distributors, who pretty much has a Monopoly on shipping comic titles to individual comic book stores has sparked debates on how comic book publishers should proceed in this new age of Covid-19. If Publishers continue to release new titles digitally, while comic shops are unable to sell those same titles physically, many feel it will put most shops out of business. On the flip side, many question how long publishers can go without releasing new titles. If this drags on for weeks/months, and it's not possible for them to start using other distributors to get out physical comics, my guess is they will soon move forward with the digital releases.
Marvel Entertainment's President Dan Buckley already said in an official statement regarding this weeks titles, that this was a fluid situation with details changing every day.
Marvel titles original slated for release this week included Empyre: Avengers #0, Empyre: Fantastic Four #0, Black Widow #1, Taskmaster #1, Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #1, Strange Academy #2, Daredevil #20, Marauders #10, Excalibur #10, Deadpool #5, Miles Morales: Spider-Man #17, Doctor Doom #7, Black Cat #11, The Magnificient Ms. Marvel #14, Doctor Strange #5, Spider-Man Noir #2, Strikeforce #8, Ant-Man #4, Avengers of the Wastelands #4, Black Panther and the Agents of Wakanda #8, Swordmaster #10, X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills Extended Cut #1, True Believers: Introducing the Black Widow #1 and True Believers: Black Widow - Red Guardian #1.
Do you think publishers should release new titles digitally now, or wait until comic shops can start selling physical copies as well?
ADour -
2020-04-03 @ 11:03 pm
42 minutes ago, JayC said:I just heard from some folks word is coming down from publishers including Marvel telling writers an artists pencils down for the foreseeable future, so yeah its gonna hurt some people.
Marvel has already made the announcement official (x). 15-20% of May and June's solicited titles will be put on hold. They're still outlining what to do with the books they'll still be working on.
JayC -
2020-04-03 @ 10:21 pm
17 hours ago, Benn said:I'd be really surprised if not offering digital comics for a few months puts anyone out of work. Offering the digital booksmonths ahead of their physical counterparts sure would make it a whole lot harder for comic shops to ever re-open, though.
I just heard from some folks word is coming down from publishers including Marvel telling writers an artists pencils down for the foreseeable future, so yeah its gonna hurt some people.
1 hour ago, JayC said:It sounds good in theory, but I just dont see how its terribly practical to set up soon enough to do any good. It sounds like you know more about it than me but I just don't know how they would really be able to set it up.
Comichub is the main site that a lot of comic shops use, so the system was mostly set up already. Big Bang Comics here in Ireland were one of the comic shops trying to help promote the idea.
JayC -
2020-04-03 @ 5:23 pm
1 hour ago, leokearon said:As i mentionedComicHub were planning to do it, but aren't any more. Alot of the publishers pulled out at the last moment even though comic shops and customers liked it.
It sounds good in theory, but I just dont see how its terribly practical to set up soon enough to do any good. It sounds like you know more about it than me but I just don't know how they would really be able to set it up.
31 minutes ago, JayC said:I have seen reports of them looking at doing something along those lines. Where comic shops can start selling codes for digital downloads and then get the physical copy later. I don't know how practical that is or if it will happen but I think they are at least looking at that as a possible option.
As i mentionedComicHub were planning to do it, but aren't any more. Alot of the publishers pulled out at the last moment even though comic shops and customers liked it.
JayC -
2020-04-03 @ 3:15 pm
On 4/1/2020 at 11:54 AM, leokearon said:Why not do the opposite of what they usually do? If you buy a digital copy you can claim a free physical copy when the shops reopen.
I have seen reports of them looking at doing something along those lines. Where comic shops can start selling codes for digital downloads and then get the physical copy later. I don't know how practical that is or if it will happen but I think they are at least looking at that as a possible option.
JayC -
2020-04-03 @ 3:12 pm
10 hours ago, Benn said:I'd be really surprised if not offering digital comics for a few months puts anyone out of work. Offering the digital booksmonths ahead of their physical counterparts sure would make it a whole lot harder for comic shops to ever re-open, though.
If publishers are continuing to pay writers and artists during that time then your right, but many of those guys seem to live hand to mouth so if they had to go months without pay I would say it would hurt.
Also, and I hope this doesn't end up being the case, but I don't think its out of the realm of impossibility that this goes on for most the year, not just a month or so.
2 hours ago, Benn said:I'd be really surprised if not offering digital comics for a few months puts anyone out of work. Offering the digital booksmonths ahead of their physical counterparts sure would make it a whole lot harder for comic shops to ever re-open, though.
ComicHub seem to have the right idea when it comes to digital first, physical later. Shame it is going ahead now
Benn -
2020-04-03 @ 5:04 am
I'd be really surprised if not offering digital comics for a few months puts anyone out of work. Offering the digital booksmonths ahead of their physical counterparts sure would make it a whole lot harder for comic shops to ever re-open, though.
ADour -
2020-04-02 @ 8:36 pm
13 hours ago, mako said:WHoah! I'll never preach digital over paper . . . NEVER. It's just that, as horrible as the situation for brick-n-mortar Comic Shops is, I just don't see how placing employees of the digital end of the publishing industry in the same dire straights is gonna help anyone.
Marvel and DC offer their digital releases through comiXology, an Amazon subsidiary that still needs to be mantained like any other website. The site still offers countless of collected editions and back issues, and people can still access to them unlike physical comic shops.
The livelihood of an employee doesn't rest on them having toguesstimate an amount of comics to order, then hope they can make a profit while mantaining their locale. They are part of a bigger corporation, and are not of running an entire small business on their own. Sothey are definitely not in the same dire straits as comic shop owners. Shop owners are a thousand times more exposed to the consequences of the industry halting.
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