A lot of talk has been about the characters and their new costumes, personas, abilities and lifestyles, but little has been said about DC’s other big change, which may have as much of an impact on their business as their stable of superheroes, something that is sure to have a significant impact on the brick and mortar comic book retailers.

At 2pm on Wednesday, September 1, 2011 DC is making a major change to their strategy on distributing their comics. In the past, new comics would be delayed online and in apps to allow for the local comic shops to get the first jump, like DVDs are released before they wind up on the movie channels. This allowed avid readers to be able to satisfy their thirst for new material at their neighborhood store, which owners no doubt appreciated. But now DC will be releasing the comics online and off at the same time, taking away that advantage to the small shops and giving people less reason to take the time to go down to their local place.

The impact is sure to be a negative one for comic book stores that have often stayed just over the brink of bankruptcy over the years. Many owners don’t even do it for the cash, but for the socialization and love of the comic world. And there will certainly be readers who will not abandon them for the digital era, purchasing books the same as they always have. And of course collectors will still want the printed copies. But what is concerning is the market will dry up for those who are casual readers who just come in, grab some comics and go. They may not be part of the comic world persay, but enjoy them on an individual title basis. And that’s got to put a hurting on the shops.

But there is something that perhaps owners should keep in mind and remind their customers. DC does not actually let you download a file like you do in iTunes when purchasing music. You only get access to the comic in your library online. This means that if their servers ever go down or their business decisions wind up sinking their ship, which is a possibility, then you do not have anything to show for the money that the reader put out. I would think this might be a definite selling point for actually buying the book rather than the digital rights.

We just got back from Hurricane Irene and this was something that came up in discussion when the power was out and our phones ran out of battery. We could take physical copies and read them by candlelight just as easy, but the online apps were gone and we would have been very, very bored had it not been for the real comic books. And so, that was definitely something that hit us in relation to the new digital copies. They may be convenient, but in the end, are they worth it?

Anyway, the new comics will go for $2.99 for a regular issue, $3.99 for an oversized issue no matter where it’s purchased, online or offline, and the digital comics will be discounted $1 after a month.

Justice League #1 will start the ball rolling into what could be DC’s folly…

Popularity: 16% [?]