The second printing of Batman #608, which was about 30% of the size of the first printing, has sold out at the distributor level less than a week after it hit stores.  And that's after selling through an overprint that was about 17% of the initial orders.  The initial orders were the top piece orders for any book in October (see 'Lee's Batman Tops Piece Sales'), and the first time in years that a regularly-priced DC comic has taken the #1 slot in advance orders in pieces.  The book was also the #1 dollar book in actual sales by comic retailers in October (see 'Huge Price Range in Top October Products').  DC's announcement quoted Vince Letterio, DC Manager -- Direct Sales, 'I don't recall ever running out of a second printing so quickly.'

 

One reason why the second printing sold quickly was the incorporation of new cover art into the second printing.  We couldn't remember DC ever having done that before so we asked DC spokesperson Patty Jeres if it had.  She told us that DC had changed the logo color or added a Roman numeral to the cover of a second printing in the past, but that no-one there could remember the cover art ever having been changed before.

 

We asked why DC had taken this unprecedented step.  'A number of factors went into making the decision,' Jeres replied.  'We had the art in-house because we had had it done as a promo image and were looking for some other reason to use it.  We also wanted to give a little extra incentive for sell-through... just in case it needed it.'

 

Since the question of overprints, reprints, and 'collectors vs. readers' is an extremely hot topic in the comics business these days (see 'Marvel's Bill Jemas Tells the 'Truth' about Over-production' for the Marvel view on the topic), we asked the logical question -- 'Was any thought given to maintaining the 'collectability' of the first printing as a reason to change the cover image?'

 

Jeres responded, 'Actually it was more the other way around... we worried that people would jump to the conclusion that we were deliberately promoting collectibility, contrary to our philosophy that we publish comics for readers.  Since many of us here (all the way up to Paul) are collectors, we certainly have nothing against collecting comics but manufacturing comics as investment collectibles is not what we do.'

 

Regardless of the intention, the effect for now has been that there is considerable collectable value to the first printing; auctions closing today on eBay are running around $7.00 for the $2.25 comic. 

 

We also asked whether there would be a third printing and were told that no decision had been made yet, and that it would be based on the perceived demand for more copies.