DC Announces Move Back to Wednesdays for New Comics

DC is about to shake up the comic book industry once again. On Thursday, as part of their presentation at the ComicsPRO Comic Industry Conference, DC announced plans to move back to a Wednesday release schedule for their new weekly comics. This move will take effect on Wednesday, July 3rd, and will only affect single issues. New collected editions and graphic novels from DC will still be released on Tuesdays.

DC initially pivoted to Tuesday from the industry standard of Wednesday in 2020, amid supply chain disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. That initial decision also came amid the company's distribution move from Diamond Comics to Lunar Distribution and Penguin Random House, with other publishers like Marvel and IDW soon following suit.

What Is DC's Summer 2024 Event?

Also announced at ComicsPRO, this summer will bring the launch of Absolute Power, a new event miniseries shepherded by writer Mark Waid and artist Dan Mora, who have partnered on DC series such as Batman / Superman: World's Finest and Shazam!.

Absolute Power shows how Amanda Waller will use the strategic and military might of Failsafe and the otherworldly technology of the Brainiac Queen to steal all metahuman abilities from every super hero and super-villain around the globe, a threat so dire it will take the combined efforts of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and the Super Heroes of the DC Universe to defeat it.

Absolute Power will kick off with DC's Free Comic Book Day book, which will be available in participating comic shops on Saturday, May 4th. 2024 Absolute Power Free Comic Book Day Special Edition will be a 32-page comic featuring an original 12-page story by Waid with art by Mikel Janín, as well as a preview of Absolute Power's first issue. It will be followed by Absolute Power: Ground Zero, an official prelude that will debut in June and bridge the shocking conclusion of the Superman story "House of Brainiac" with Amanda Waller's machinations.

Is DC Reprinting the Amalgam Universe?

Earlier this year, it was confirmed that DC and Marvel will be joining forces to print two new omnibuses of their previous crossovers: DC Versus Marvel Omnibus and DC/Marvel: The Amalgam Age Omnibus. Both DC Versus Marvel Omnibus and DC/Marvel: The Amalgam Age Omnibus will be available at participating bookstores and local comic book shops on Tuesday, August 6th.

As the title suggests, DC Versus Marvel Omnibus will reprint a number of iconic issues originally co-published by both DC and Marvel, which have united some of their characters and teams over the years. DC/Marvel: The Amalgam Age Omnibus, meanwhile, will reprint portions of the fan-favorite Amalgam Universe, which fused DC and Marvel's characters into some surprising combinations. Many of these stories have been out of print and hard to find for decades. This is the second time in recent years that DC and Marvel have joined forces to reprint a beloved crossover, after a limited run of JLA/Avengers with the help of Hero Initiative, to celebrate legendary creator George Perez.

What do you think of DC moving its New Comic Book Day back to Wednesdays? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!