DC Comics To Begin Bi-Weekly Shipping In 2016

DC Comics will publish a number of its top titles as twice-monthly series in 2016, ComicBook.com has confirmed.

This is a strategy not often employed at DC, although Marvel Comics has done it fairly recently.

DC, which has had a number of limited-run weekly titles to varying success of late, also did a pair of intertwined biweekly comics in the form of Brightest Day and Justice League: Generation Lost back in 2010.

Bleeding Cool originally broke the news. DC Comics had no official comment, but a source familiar with the situation has confirmed the report for ComicBook.com.

As the original report suggests, historically books that ship more than once per month will enjoy greater overall sales, but the number of readers will decline as more committed fans spend more money each month and casual fans fall away.

Our source wouldn't confirm what titles will be impacted by the initiative, but BC initially reported that Batman, Harley Quinn, Justice League, Batgirl, Superman, Green Lantern and Suicide Squad will be among those shipping twice per month.

Batman, Superman and the Suicide Squad will all appear in movies in theaters next year.

Green Lantern had supported more than one monthly title for years until recently, when the line shrank to Green Lantern, some Green Lantern Corps-themed miniseries and the less-connected Sinestro. Expanding the number of releases by making the main title twice-monthly instead of expanding the family of titles seems like a fairly safe way of increasing overall sales, especially in light of DC's recent marketshare losses.

It isn't clear whether a similar strategy could be employed for Batman, Superman, the Justice League or other characters who currently have multiple ongoing monthlies.