Comic writer Mark Millar is pushing back against digital day and date; he believes that releasing comics digitally on the same day as print is destructive to sales of the print editions, and is delaying the digital window for his books as a result, according to an interview at CBR.  The interview and ad campaign, timed with the release of Kick-Ass 2 #5 and the Kapow! Guinness World Record Special issue of Superior, urge support for comic stores and a pull-back from day and date release.

“I really think day and date release is a disastrous idea and makes no economic sense at all to comics as a business,” Millar said, arguing that releasing comics digitally the same day as print would be equivalent to releasing a film on TV the same day as it’s released in theaters. In his analogy, release in comic stores is equivalent to the theatrical release of a film; a trade paperback collection is equivalent to the DVD; and digital distribution is equivalent to movies on television. 

“…[R]elease comics digitally on the same day as a higher price point print edition is basically sentencing the latter to death,” Millar said.  “It’s like a movie studio bringing out Avatar 2 on TV at the same time as a theatrical release.”

Millar expressed strong support for comic retailers, who he said have been the key to his success.  “Retailers are as big a part of comics now as the characters or the creators,” he said.  “They’re not just an outlet.  These are carefully crafted communities and owned and staffed by people with a genuine passion for what they’re doing in a way that ‘Amazon Also Recommends’ isn’t quite going to match.”

In line with his digital last windowing strategy, Millar said that he plans to wrap up Kick-Ass 2 in January with a double-sized #7, to release a hardcover collection in May, and the digital edition around the end of 2012.  

While Millar’s goals are laudable, there is disagreement over his core belief that digital sales will damage print. DC’s very strong sales of the print editions of the New 52, for example, thrived in the context of DC’s move to releasing digital versions on the same day as print. 

And the scale of day and date releases may have already reached a tipping point. When we asked “Day and Date Comics Hitting Tipping Point?” (see “Day and Date Comics Hitting Tipping Point?”) in early October, 40% of print releases were being released digitally on the same day as print.  Earlier this month, comiXology reported that it had passed the 50% mark. And Marvel has announced that it will have all of its books to day and date digital by March (see “Marvel to Complete Day and Date”).  Tom Spurgeon of Comics Reporter tweeted of Millar’s campaign, “I like that Mark Millar’s campaign to make digital comics come out so late they’re less effective is coming out too late to be effective.”

Regardless of whether retailers agree that day and date digital will damage print, or may feel that it’s already too late, Millar will certainly be seen as having his heart in the right place as a strong supporter of comic stores, and get kudos for urging that fans buy comics there.