An interesting twist in the Barnes & Noble/DC/Amazon kerfuffle: 2000AD/Rebellion has stepped in to fill Barnes & Noble’s empty shelves with a new deal that’ll see the line get what is probably its broadest US release to date:
A major part of the deal involves 2000 AD’s extensive library of Alan Moore-written comics. Having published some of Moore’s earliest material for decades, the British company has struggled to find a firm foothold in the giant US publishing business. DC’s loss is 2000 AD’s gain, however, as orders of titles like “The Complete Alan Moore Future Shocks” and “Tharg’s Terror Tales” have been increased by B&N in significant quantities in an effort to fill the hole left in the chain’s stock by the DC Comics purge.
This is great news for 2000AD/Rebellion, although I wonder what will happen if/when the bookseller decides to add the DC titles back to its stores. But as someone who grew up reading 2000AD, and who’s been disappointed by the lack of penetration the title has made in the US to date, this seems like a great opportunity; now I hope there’s going to be enough promotion to ensure that potential readers know what these books actually are.
October 24th, 2011 at 1:11 pm
So they’re replacing DC crap with good comics? Sounds like a great idea.
October 25th, 2011 at 6:18 am
Really, because there are just as many shitty 2000 AD comics as there are DC Comics. This is an extremely dumb idea. Joe average American doesn’t give a crap about ABC Warrior or Judge Dredd.
October 25th, 2011 at 6:20 am
DC comics have history, longevity and more importantly “Brand recognition”. Unless B & N has a plan to put a mjor push behind it, I’ll watch the eventually crash and burn.
October 25th, 2011 at 3:49 pm
“So they’re replacing DC crap with good comics? Sounds like a great idea.”
No, they’re only replacing half the good DC comics with worthwhile 2000 AD (hopefully not the ones Millar wrote). There’s still bad DC comics on shelves (JMS’ Grounded). But I don’t expect a dumb hipster like you to know that.