On Saturday, DC Comics revealed DC Connect, a new catalog offering a look at what’s coming from DC each month. DC Connect is a downloadable, digital-only catalog containing solicitation information for DC’s comic books, original graphic novels, collected editions, and collectibles. DC says that, in the coming months, DC Connect will “update and evolve” to maximize the advantages of its digital format. Future issues will carry expanded content, talent interviews, preview pages from upcoming issues, behind-the-scenes looks at projects that are still in development, multimedia content, and more. DC Connect will also have a new look and a new layout compared to its predecessor, DC Previews.
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The goal is to make the catalog more engaging and to make it easier to get the latest intel on current and future DC comic book projects. The cover of DC Connect #1 features artwork by Jason Fabok and Brad Anderson for the upcoming miniseries Batman: Three Jokers, launching Tuesday, August 25th.
The launch of DC Connect as a replacement for DC Previews may be, in part, fallout from the comic book industry’s coronavirus-induced shipping struggles. Diamond Comic Distributors, which has been the exclusive direct market distributor for the biggest publishers in the industry for decades, ceased shipping new products in April. DC worked with two of the industry’s biggest retailers to create new distributors and began shipping limited product again later that month, ending their 25-year exclusivity with Diamond. DC Previews was a DC-focused spinout of the Previews magazine published by Diamond each month. As DC is no longer Diamond exclusive, it makes sense that they’d create a new catalog that is not attached to Diamond’s publication.
DC revealed a preview of Batman: Three Jokers earlier in May. DC seems to hope that the highly-anticipated new release will help lure fans back into comic shops as they begin to reopen.
“As more stores are finding ways to operate and service their customers, our release schedule is under constant review,” SVP and Editor-In-Chief Bob Harras said in a statement. “From placing orders to on sale, moving Batman: Three Jokers to August will enable more stores to order and sell this incredible story that Geoff and Jason have crafted.”
DC Connect #1 also features solicitation information for The Dreaming: Waking Hours #1, Dark Nights: Death Metal Guidebook #1, Teen Titans: Beast Boy, and more DC Comics releases coming in August. You can see the full list above.
DC Connect #1 is available to download now.
