Rich Johnston reports on “[t]he biggest story coming out of San Diego“:
DC is instigating its own [Final Order Cut-off] system with the new Previews. At San Diego Comic Con, DC announced that retailers will be able to change their orders up to 3 weeks before the comics ship, or 5 weeks before trade paperbacks ship. Hardcovers and CMX titles however, only one week after the order form is due. And for DC Direct items, 5 weeks after… This is part of a continual tweaking of the current direct market model to reflect the changing marketplace - continuing books have a far more fickle audience these days, far more susceptible to superhero events, creator changes and willingness to drop books. And it’s only the big superhero publishers who have the financial resources and flexibility to allow this kind of change. What this means to everyone else is yet to be seen.
The Newsarama Mother Ship, meanwhile, has retailers talking about DC’s 52, which shifts away from a returnable sales model this week.
