DC Direct, DC’s line of…collectible figures, statues and tchotkes, is getting rebranded as…DC Collectibles. Sort of on the nose, but you get the picture. The entire line of cool stuff will now be available from the website, starting in May, and a new line of exclusive web-only merchandise, including prints, will also be for sale. However, if you want to touch it before your buy, the website will include a list of retail outlets where the stuff that you can buy in a store will be sold.
To kick things off, two new exclusive items will be released: a Flashpoint Action Figure Box Set and a Heroes of the DC Universe: Blackest Night Green Lantern and Sinestro Bust. Details below:
We’ll be curious to see what retailers think of DC going into the exclusive merch business for themselves at tomorrow’s Diamond Retailer Summit!
DC Entertainment announced today that its collectibles product line, previously known as DC Direct, has been re-launched with a new brand – DC Collectibles. Additionally, in early May 2012 DC Collectibles will expand its online store (www.DCComics.com/Collectibles) to offer its entire product line for sale on the web, in addition to the line’s primary availability in comic book retail locations. For those fans who prefer to purchase a product in-store, the website will also provide information on the closest retail location that carries a particular DC Collectibles product.
“We’ve taken the past year or so to become laser focused on what makes the products in this line special, and what has emerged from that process is DC Collectibles,” stated Geoff Johns, chief creative officer for DC Entertainment. “We’re extremely proud of our line of unique, high-end collectibles, and feel that it caters to fans looking for limited edition, authentic products based on our characters and stories, created by the same artists who work directly on those characters and stories.”
As part of DC Collectibles online sales expansion, two “online exclusive” products will be offered in May and a new line of custom prints will be available for sale only on the web. The first online exclusive is a Flashpoint Action Figure Box Set including: Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash and a previously unreleased Emperor Aquaman. The set also include a $500 Wayne Casino Poker Chip. The second online exclusive is a Heroes of the DC Universe: Blackest Night Green Lantern and Sinestro Bust. The new online prints will represent different graphical and artistic themes, branching out beyond comic book artwork. Twenty different designs will be available for sale, all printed on thick, archival paper that is perfect for framing.
“Not all of our fans have access to comic book retail locations, so by expanding our website to offer the entire product line, we’re adding an element of convenience and the ability for fans to collect every single product they’re interested in,” stated Hank Kanalz, senior vice president of digital, DC Entertainment.
For fans attending C2E2 in Chicago this weekend (April 13-15) Geoff Johns will moderate a DC Collectibles panel that will showcase the new website and brand logo, and offer an exclusive sneak peak of never announced DC Collectibles products coming later in 2012. The panel is on Friday, April 13 at 2:30pm CT.
Having this available on the website is waaaay past due. Good move.
They call ’em “collectibles” because that’s all they will ever do: collect in your home.
We’ll be curious to see what retailers think of DC going into the exclusive merch business for themselves at tomorrow’s Diamond Retailer Summit!
Gee, I wonder.
Ugh. I’ve been pestering DC to produce posters for sale for almost 5 years now, and when they finally do, they’re online exclusives?
!@#$ that.
Prints aren’t the same as posters. The “online exclusive” prints mentioned in the article are printed on archival paper, which leads me to believe they will be priced in the $50+ range.
The age of retail comics is drawing to a close.
^LOL, that’s a bit dramatic, and I don’t see how DC selling action figures and expensive busts through their website means that comics are no longer viable at LCS’s. They clearly are, and as the New 52 proved, there is the potential for increased sales there.
I don’t see why this is such a big deal anyway. It isn’t like there weren’t ALREADY many places online to order this stuff, on discount, as soon as it came out. The same people who buy the stuff at LCS’s could always have just gone online and found a better deal. Now there’s just the option of purchasing direct from DC–at full retail price probably. And then you have to pay shipping. So I don’t see how that undercuts LCS’s. LCS’s have already, for years, been steeply undercut in this regard by other online outlets that offer deep discounts.
Yeah this isnt’t earth shattering you can get a lot of the DC Direct stuff on Amazon for a lot cheaper than your local shop for statues etc.
Its getting quite tiresome. I know people out there are anxious regarding the Mattel situation with DC. DC basically shit all over their fan base and now some how expect them to buy into this. Well they are buying the comics. SOMEONE is out there. Harras’s buddies?
There search function is terrible.