Lunar and DC react to early sales of bagged Batman #1 – but it’s not over

As we reported yesterday, the release of Batman #1 this week was complicated by some retailers and What-Noters jumping the gun and breaking street dates.

The “Blind as a Bat” edition of the Matt Fraction/Jorge Jiménez team’s debut is a special polybagged version contained a random foil variant cover. “Common” covers were by Jiménez, Andy Kubert, David Aja, Frank Quitely, Gabriele Dell’Otto, J. Scott Campbell, Marc Silvestri, Julian Totino Tedesco, Jim Lee and a wraparound by Stanley “Artgerm” Lau. But there were also rare variants: 

• A 1-in-500 Jim Lee alternate foil version
• A 1-in-1000 Jorge Jiménez alternate foil version

So just like those blind box toys and figurines that are all over Miniso, for $9.99 a pop you get the thrill of opening a bagged comic in hopes of getting a super valuable and seeing if it’s the one you wanted – and at worst, you end up with a cool foil cover by a great artist. 

But this was not enough for some people. Several retailers went on Facebook Live and the hugely popular WhatNot auction app and streamed opening the blind bags last week, showing off the covers and, most importantly, selling them with a ship date before the street date. WhatNot requires shipping of auction items within two days, so for auctions held on Thursday, the books would have arrived before Wednesday. This behavior was described to me as unfair as it not only violated the street date but ruined the surprise of showing the covers for people – and of course pulled the rug out from retailers who played by the rules. 

And make no mistake: these variants were prized. Two copies of the Jorge Jimenez 1-in-500 foil variant have already sold for over $1000. Most other variants (even the Lee one) are currently going for much less, though. 

The early sale and shipping were possible because Lunar, DC’s distributor, actually ships comics to retailers late in the previous week, with comics typically arriving on Thursday or Friday. In this case, come eager beavers then went directly to their selfie camera and started filming away. 

“Street dates” have become more of an issue in comics retailers over the years. Not that long ago, comics arrived bright and early on New Comic Book Day Wednesday morning, necessitating a breakneck opening and racking that greatly taxed comic shop staffs. Eventually, Diamond started shipping comics earlier – arriving on Monday or Tuesday, giving retailers time to unpack in a more orderly fashion. Lunar has been getting comics out even earlier – something that retailers have repeatedly praised. But the temptation was too great for a few this time out. 

Wednesday street dates have been mostly enforced on the honor system, although a “secret shopper” program at Diamond randomly checked stores to make sure they were observing street dates. Obviously with Diamond going bye bye that program no longer exists, and the new distribution players – Lunar, PRH and now Universal – haven’t really had to deal with it. Until now. 

Blind bags – polybagged comics with a secret surprise inside – are the gimmick fad of the year as far as publishers go, as David Harper reported a few months back. And Batman #1 is not the first comic to have live-streamed early openings: the bling bagged copies of Invincible Universe: Battle Beast #1 also created a minor frenzy with people selling it early on WhatNot. 

Our previous story on the early sales was pieced together from social media reports. Christina Merkler, co-owner of Lunar and DCBS actually reached out to me to clarify some of what happened and also update The Beat with the statement that was sent to retailers from DC and Lunar  in response to the rule breaking.

 Street Date Reminder: Batman #1 Blind Bags

Street Date Reminder: Batman #1 Blind Bags

DC has been made aware that some retailers have made Batman #1 Blind Bags available ahead of the official street date. To ensure a fair and consistent experience across all sales channels, brick-and-mortar retailers and live-selling platforms are strictly prohibited from revealing, displaying, or shipping the contents of Batman #1 Blind Bags so they arrive in the hands of consumers before Wednesday, September 3, 2025.

Please note:

• • Blind Bags must not be in customers’ possession prior to the street date.
  • The contents of the Blind Bags may not be shown or disclosed before the street date.

Retailers who violate this policy may be restricted from participating in future Blind Bag programs.

We appreciate your cooperation in maintaining the integrity of this release.

To be clear, DC and Lunar will not be allowing any more pre-release auctions or sales for blind bags. Repeat offenders will start getting their comics on Wednesdays again, a harsh but just result. 

While the Battle Beast #1 issues got people talking, this Batman #1 boondoggle seems to have alerted publishers and distributors that they need to have firmer rules in place to prevent this kind of shady behavior. I’d expect more publishers to follow DC with with language that clarifies that this is a no-no. 

And they will definitely have more opportunities for it: blind bags will continue to be all the rage. In October, Keenspot will release Mark Spears Monsters: The Monster & The Wolf #1, a blind bagged comic with 75 different variants by Spears, with some much rarer than others. Apparently these are wildly popular, proving the eternal appeal of boldly rendered Halloween art. 

I’m told more publishers have yet more blind bagged campaigns in the works – some even earlier today! Keeping an eye on early sales will be yet another problem for already taxed industry personnel to be alert for – at least until the blind bag fad inevitably dies off. 

This story touches on many things: the return of sales gimmicks for comics; the continued popularity of opening packages in search of a rare collectible; and the rise of WhatNot as a force in comics retailing and collecting. And also, the current Wild West of comics retailing, with multiple platforms and some players bending or breaking the rules and the once unifying force of Diamond no longer presiding. The cat is out of the polybag on this one.