DC Comics has been drawing the line at $2.99 for the vast majority of their titles for some time now, and pretty much every comic book met that price point when Rebirth launched last year. Now, however, that’s set to change. While twice monthly seres like Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lanterns and Deathstroke will stay at $2.99, the rest are getting an increase.
Sixteen monthly titles will be going up to $3.99 from this April, but on the plus side, readers will now receive a download code for a digital copy with each of these comics. Marvel was recently criticized for removing that option and instead offering fans back issues, so you have to believe that this is a very deliberate decision by DC Comics.
Among the books affected by this increase are Batgirl, Batgirl and the Birds of Prey, Batman Beyond, Batwoman, Blue Beetle, Cyborg, The Hellblazer, New Super-Man, Red Hood and the Outlaws, Super Sons, Supergirl, Superwoman, Teen Titans, Titans and Trinity. All-Star Batman, meanwhile, is going down from $4.99 to $3.99.
What sort of impact this will have on sales remains to be seen, but John Cunningham, SVP, Sales & Trade Marketing, had this to say about the company’s decision:
“Giving readers value was a key component of our Rebirth initiative, and we’re continuing that commitment with this move. We’ve heard from many fans that they like to read and collect our books in both digital and print formats so this new offering gives DC readers the convenience and value pricing they asked for.”
While you might think that increasing the price of the comic books is a move which will backfire, many readers like getting a digital copy with the physical one. This is also something that retailers will probably appreciate as well, as many fans get their monthly titles online now. We’ll find out whether this new strategy from DC Comics pays off when the initiative starts in a few months from now, but until then, let us know what you think by commenting down below!