Dear DC Comics, Why Have You Forsaken Us? (Not Really)
By 
Recently, DC Comics announced that it signed an exclusivity agreement with Amazon to release 100 of their top-selling graphic novels in digital form, to be released in conjunction with the Kindle Fire. Well, Kindle just started a pretty big fire with this information. Brick-and-mortar bookstores, comic fans with iPads and even writers and artists are weighing in on the news. But, actually, it’s not that big of a deal.
I’ve been an avid collector of comic books for decades, attended my fair share of comic conventions- big and small, and even worked at my friend’s comic book shop for two years. I know that “fan boys” (if you don’t mind the nomenclature) love to cause a ruckus. When Superman has a bad attitude, the forums blow up. When Invincible changes his costume, the blog-o-sphere is in a tizzy. When Jim Lee wants to sign an exclusivity agreement with Amazon, the comic community throws a tantrum. People should know that it is not as harsh as it sounds.
DC Comics has had its own app in the App Store for years, Comixology offers DC titles on a regular basis and free PDF copies of comics are running around, willy-nilly, on blogs everywhere (not that I condone that).
The “exclusive” deal is that 100 popular graphic novels will be released on Amazon’s Kindle bookstore, so iPad owners can still get their copy by downloading the Kindle app. There really isn’t much more to say about that. The fire has just been put out. Stop your ranting.
However, the real question is, how will this affect the brick-and-mortar retail stores? I don’t think it will cause too much pain in the pocketbook of comic shops. Collectors are die-hards. They will not give up the proverbial paper ghost. Not going to happen. However, retail bookstores are already seeing the affects of the digital book phenomenon, especially from Amazon’s Kindle bookstore. They will be more likely to suffer from this exclusivity debauchery. Two major retail bookstores know this, and have stormed out of the room, taking their toys with them.
According to the New York Times, Barnes & Noble removed all the copies of the physical volumes from its 1,300 stores, saying “It would not carry any book if it were denied the right to sell the digital version.” Books-a-Million, the third-largest bookseller, followed suit shortly after. When Barnes & Noble was asked about J.K. Rowling’s decision to only offer the Harry Potter digital downloads through her own website, Pottermore, a Barnes & Noble spokeswoman was quoted as saying “that case is not the same,” and that it would continue selling the Potter books. I guess Harry Potter has a lot more clout than Superman.
As the dust begins to settle on the forums and self-indulgent blogs, we will see just how much DC has wounded its reputation with comic fans and others in the industry. My guess is none.
