Barnes & Noble pulls 100 comic titles in retaliation for Amazon deal with DC

By Jeff Hughes Updated October 7, 2011

DC Comics has been somewhat banned by Barnes & Noble. The bookstore chain stated it will be pulling 100 graphic novel titles from shelves, including Neil Gaiman’s Sandman series and Alan Moore’s vaunted Watchmen graphic novel. Neil Gaiman tweeted about the news earlier today; he didn’t seem too happy.

The book retailer’s actions were apparently prompted by DC Comic’s recent exclusivity agreement with Amazon. Last week, the comic publisher handed Amazon a 4-month deal granting exclusive distribution rights of its digital comics to the Kindle platform; a smart marketing boost for the Kindle Fire as well as DC’s foray into digital publishing.

According to Bleeding Cool, Barnes & Noble in retaliation sent out an email to to its 1,341 stores with instructions pull the physical versions of the 100 titles exclusive to the Kindle Fire. The list of titles that are saved from the squalid life of broken spines and coffee stains (in Barnes & Noble) includes: Watchmen, Fables, The Dark Knight Returns, Sandman, Y The Last Man, V for Vendetta and many other cornerstones for DC sales. Barnes & Noble cites a policy violation for justification.

“We will not stock physical books in our stores if we are not offered the available digital format,” Jaime Carey, B&N’s chief merchant, said in a statement. “To sell and promote the physical book in our store showrooms and not have the e-book available for sale would undermine our promise to Barnes & Noble customers to make available any book, anywhere, anytime.”

Don’t worry, if you’re deadset on buying your graphic novels from Barnes & Noble you can still order them off the site. DC Entertainment released a statement of its own in reply to B&N, pointing out that any device with the Kindle app, including the iPad, will have access to the comics. The Warner Brothers -owned comic publisher hasn’t budged in its deal with Amazon despite B&N’s measure, most likely believing the Kindle Fire route is the one paved with more profits.

DC Comics did a universe reboot and huge digital launch in September, hoping that the digital market would boost ailing comic sales.

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I'm a SF Bay Area-based writer/ninja that loves anything geek, tech, comic, social media or gaming-related.

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