DC Comics to go day and date on all digital comics

[cgk]

On Wednesday, August 31st, DC Comics will launch a historic renumbering of the entire DC Universe line of comic books with 52 first issues, including the release of JUSTICE LEAGUE by NEW YORK TIMES bestselling writer and DC Entertainment Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns and bestselling artist and DC Comics Co-Publisher Jim Lee.


The publication of JUSTICE LEAGUE issue 1 will launch day-and-date digital publishing for all these ongoing titles, making DC Comics the first of the two major American publishers to release all of its superhero comic book titles digitally the same day as in print. DC Comics will only publish two comic books on August 31st: the final issue of this summer’s comic book mini-series FLASHPOINT and the first issue of JUSTICE LEAGUE by Johns and Lee, two of the most distinguished and popular contemporary comic book creators, who will be collaborating for the first time.

http://www.comicsbeat.com/2011/05/31...ease/#comments

Surely Marvel and other publishers will be quick to follow this move into complete day and date digital publishing?

[Shack70]

Surely they wont try to charge full cover price for the digital versions

[Ajax]

It's nice that DC is finally doing this, it's been a long time coming. It's odd to me that it took this long though.

10 years ago when I used to read comics DCP and other scan groups were posting 0-day comics of all major new releases.

[Solitaire1]

Originally Posted by Ajax

It's nice that DC is finally doing this, it's been a long time coming. It's odd to me that it took this long though.

10 years ago when I used to read comics DCP and other scan groups were posting 0-day comics of all major new releases.

It looks like DC is using the current series "Flashpoint" (which completely altered the DC Universe [DCU], with only three people remembering the way things used to be) to completely reboot the DCU and clean up its continuity. If this is the case, then it would be a good jumping-on point for new readers and for long-time readers to go digital. It will also provide a dividing line for what is in continuity (those titles available in digital form) and what is not (everything before the transition).

[chrisanthropic]

I usually don't follow the major DC comics but cleaning up and rebooting could either be a MAJOR win ... or a huge disaster. Doing it in time with digital downloads makes me think they're actually looking at a larger strategy here so I'm hoping for the best.

[mr ploppy]

No mention of what format they will be in, so it will be interesting to see if they are as good as the fan-made ones. It will also be interesting to see if they start demanding the removal of the fan-made ones from forum sites like Marvel did when they had a half-hearted attempt at digital comics.

[newlaza]

I love Geoff Johns, he pulled me out of my Marvel bubble and I'm really glad. I'm not a continuity stickler, they change it every couple years with special events. It's sort of necesarry when you work with hundreds of characters written by thousands of writers over 70 years.

But I still won't buy any digital comics until I can access and back up the files on my own PC. I love reading on Comixology but the shifting digital market makes me worry over losing comics I have "licensed" as opposed to own.

[Solitaire1]

Originally Posted by chrisanthropic

I usually don't follow the major DC comics but cleaning up and rebooting could either be a MAJOR win ... or a huge disaster. Doing it in time with digital downloads makes me think they're actually looking at a larger strategy here so I'm hoping for the best.

As you said above, I agree that the reboot could go one of two ways. For me, the biggest issue is that I've already been through three reboots (Crisis On Infinite Earths, Zero Hour, and Infinite Crisis) and each didn't completely fix things. I'm hoping that this one will truly work and Geoff Johns being involved is a good sign.

[carpetmojo]

How much are eComics anyway ?

[RainingLemur]

Hope the prices are decent for the digital versions upon release.

[Shimarenda]

At DC Digital Comics, they seem to be mostly $1.99 or $2.99 with handful for 99 cents or free.

[mr ploppy]

I had a look at one of the free ones. Why would anyone pay for such a poor product?

[Richey79]

If they don't release as .cbr or .cbz, they may as well have not bothered with digital at all.

[WillAdams]

Marvel has shown that one can maintain continuity over decades --- I really wish DC would respect their readers and characters enough to allow them to grow and to have some sort of history and legacy (and I wish Marvel would respect history enough to allow characters to age and to stop doing retcons) --- if DC had stuck w/ the original scheme of numbered earths, what would they be up to now?

William
(who hasn't bought a comic book since X-Factor #1)

[mr ploppy]

Originally Posted by WillAdams

Marvel has shown that one can maintain continuity over decades --- I really wish DC would respect their readers and characters enough to allow them to grow and to have some sort of history and legacy (and I wish Marvel would respect history enough to allow characters to age and to stop doing retcons) --- if DC had stuck w/ the original scheme of numbered earths, what would they be up to now?

William
(who hasn't bought a comic book since X-Factor #1)

It's more of a marketing strategy than an attempt to "fix" anything. Like killing Superman or Batman for a few months, it brings in ex-readers who get curious when they hear about it.

But do you really want them all to age? Batman would be in his 70s or 80s by now. I was surprised Aunt May is still alive though. She was on her last legs when I was a kid.