DC Comics Limiting Digital Releases, Pulling Individual Issues Due to Coronavirus Concerns

The ongoing situation around comics distribution during the coronavirus pandemic continues to unfold and after announcing over the weekend that they would be releasing a limited selection of comics on Wednesday, April 1st, DC Comics has made another shift in their release strategy. DC will now be releasing mostly collections and the digital-first Batman: The Adventures Continue #1 on Wednesday while single-issue releases originally set for that date have been pushed back to Wednesday, April 29th.

The current listing of DC’s digital releases on ComiXology for Wednesday is limited to nine offerings, six of them being collections. The three single issues available are the previously mentioned Batman: The Adventures Continue #1 as well as gen:Lock #14 and Teen Titans Go! To Camp #6, which is currently available for free. You can check out the full listing of what will be available from DC on Wednesday below.

Batman: Creature of the Night
Batman: The Adventures Continue #1
Doom Patrol: The Silver Age Vol. 2
Event Leviathan
Harley Quinn Vol. 4: The Final Trial
Justice League of America: The Nail: The Complete Collection
Justice League: Origin Deluxe Edition
Teen Titans Go! To Camp #6
gen:Lock #14

Currently listed as being available on April 29th are all single issues, including Batman #92, Harley Quinn #72, and Strange Adventures #2 though it’s worth noting that ComiXology does still have what appears to be “normal” releases for April 8, April 15, and April 22 which could be an indication that the release strategy for individual issues is still very much in flux. Specifically, Batman #93 is still listed for release on April 15, something that won’t especially make much sense if #92 is delayed to April 29.

At this point, it appears that things are very much still in flux. Marvel Comics currently still has their full line-up of titles set for digital release on Wednesday (per Bleeding Cool).

The comic book industry is currently dealing with an ever-changing landscape thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. Last Monday, Diamond Comic Distributors announced that they will no longer receive shipments of new comics at its warehouses. In an official Steve Geppi, chairman and CEO of Diamond’s parent company Geppi Family Enterprises, stated that the move was prompted from what they were hearing from retailers — specifically that due to stay at home orders put in place by various state and local governments, stores were no longer able to service customers in a business as usual manner.

“With these changes in our distribution strategy, we will work with our publishing partners to develop programs that will address product already in the pipeline and what will happen when we resume distribution. We know that during this time you will face many challenges, and we will direct our energies toward addressing them, rather than fighting on increasingly numerous fronts to get product out,” the statement read.

On Saturday, DC released their own statement on the ongoing issues of distribution and returnability, indicating that they are looking at other distribution methods, something that could long run lead to the end of Diamond’s position in the industry and open up other avenues of sales and shipment.

“Additionally, because we anticipate that continued disruption to business operations will create regional volatility, DC is exploring a multi-distributor model to provide us with the flexibility needed during this crisis to get new content to our readers on an ongoing basis,” that statement reads. “In the short-term, we continue to engage in active conversations with Diamond to help us solve the distribution issues that have arisen and hope to get new product to stores that want or need it as soon as possible. We will provide additional information about how we’ll make that happen in the coming days.”

Keep an eye on ComicBook.com for more information on the ever-shifting changes to the comic book industry and more information about what comics DC will be offering via digital release on Wednesday.