DC has released an ad for its new Compact Comics line, a range of some of the company’s most popular titles, scaled to a portable 5.5′′ x 8.5′′ and going for just $9.
99 each. Have a look: See, look at that? I love how the ad suggests spending a cozy camping trip reading Batman: Hush by lantern light. Look how much fun they’re having together, reading and laughing to the story of Bruce Wayne’s jealous childhood friend becoming a vengeful serial killer.
“Relationship goals,” indeed! But seriously, this is a fantastic idea. Just one inch taller than the average manga volume, the new line eschews the unwieldiness of traditional graphic novels, which are typically printed around the size of a paper magazine you cannot fold. Better still, these small books contain the entirety of their story arcs, instead of the multi-volume format of trade paperbacks or even the average manga series.
Also unlike most manga, each volume will remain in full color, but printed on a paper stock slightly less glossy than the average $20+ graphic novel. At the reduced size, you can easily carry all 12 issues of Alan Moore’s Watchmen with you everywhere you go, giving you the ability to reference Rorschach and Dr. Manhattan’s misanthropic monologues in any social setting you please.
A day at the beach? “I abandoned my disguise and became myself, free from fear or weakness or lust!” Sunday church with the family? “They claim their labors are to build a heaven, yet their heaven is populated with horrors!” You’ll be so popular. These are the four titles currently available, followed by the line’s upcoming slate: Coming soon: If the volumes sell well, perhaps DC will be less squeamish about reviving its extensive backlog of out-of-print titles, or even finally publishing story arcs it hasn’t seen fit to previously collect. Or what about print-on-demand versions of its less crowd-pleasing arcs? Whatever the company decides, something needs to change in the distribution and publishing of comics and this looks like a step in the right direction.
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