In a notice published Monday 22, Diamond Comic Distributors announced Marvel would no longer give comic book retailers advanced previews of soon to be released comic books
Marvel’s ‘First Looks’ program has ended for now due to one internet site misusing access and posting story elements that were exclusive for retailer’s sales tools.
The notice comes a week after the full-issue PDFs, stamped with retailer ID number watermarks, mysteriously disappeared from Diamond’s retailer-access website. Diamond also included that “there is no intended restart date for the program.”
The “First Look” initiative by Diamond Comics and Marvel launched earlier this year in March. “First Look” replaced the “Marvel Retailer Resource Center” as go-to place for retailers to preview titles. With no announced date to restart the program, retailers will have no advanced look at products, aside from the publisher solicits, usually consisting of 100 words or less per issue.
When the program was announced, David Gabriel, Marvel’s Senior VP of Print, Sales & Marketing saw the benefit for retailers, “They can adjust their reorders quickly… We encourage retailers to review the titles and check their orders on titles that will be in demand at their stores.”
At this time there is no intended restart date for the program. Marvel apologizes for the inconvenience.
Perhaps the damage done from “one internet site misusing access and posting story elements” has been greater than any amount of good a retailer knowing what product they are selling can do.
This decision to cut the “First Look” program was made as Marvel sits on the launching point of almost its entire roster of titles. This is a bold move. Since retailers are now in the dark while the wholesale cost of comic books continues to rise, coupled with the no-return policy that Diamond Comics employs, Marvel will probably see a drop in wholesale orders.
Most small local comic shops can’t afford a shot-gun approach to ordering new titles. Without being able to pre-read upcoming issues, retailers will have no choice but to leave it to the customer to figure out what to buy and preorder – at least a month before its on the rack date.
Sadly, Marvel and Diamond Comics Distributors have removed the one incentive that local comic shops were able to provide to customers over online competitors: an advanced, educated opinion on what’s coming out.
Trent Hunsaker is the owner/opperator of Death Ray Comics in Logan, Ut. He is the program director for the A Part of Him Podcast Network and cohost on NetHeads – a live, weekly geek/pop culture show, on Kevin Smith’s SModcast Internet Radio.