DC Comics Will Resume Comic Book Shipments After Four Long Weeks

DC Comics has announced that following a 'break' from distributing new comic books, it plans to get new titles out to retail stores around the world, giving fans access to new stories. The revelation comes alongside an update from Diamond Comic Distributors, which announced that it will resume the distribution of new comics by the end of next month. Competitor Marvel Comics has faced similar changes.

DC Comics announced its plan to resume shipment of new superhero stories on April 16; the news followed a four-week break from new releases. The company says its new comics will be arriving at retail stores soon, the majority of which are located in the United States and Canada, though a few destinations throughout Europe and Japan will also get some releases.

The comic book industry has been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, something that resulted in Marvel Comics failing to release new issues by the beginning of April and a notice from Diamond Comic Distributors that it temporarily stopped distributing weekly comic releases in light of the lockdowns.

The reasons were numerous, including a large number of retail shops being forced to shut down temporarily under lockdown orders. Customers were unable to visit the shops, plus employees were laid off or furloughed and sent home, leaving the industry in a bit of chaos. Diamond's announcement had raised concerns over the state of new releases over the coming months.

On April 5, word surfaced from Polygon that Marvel Comics planned to pause around one-third of its comic books through June due to the coronavirus and resulting retail issues. It's unclear whether that is true and whether anything will change in light of Diamond's most recent update on its own business plans.