DC Hikes Prices for Rebirth Second Printing, Forgets Promise Not to Do So

Most of the comic-reading world—us included—got caught up in Marvel’s big reveal regarding Captain America this past weekend and the fallout thereof. So preoccupied, in fact, that we almost didn’t notice DC going back on its promise to keep all its comics at $2.99. The same promise that was heavily emphasized in DC Rebirth’s initial promotions, Dan DiDio himself publicly addressed the fans at Wondercon 2015, assuring them of the affordable price lock, saying:

“This is our commitment to you. We’re bringing the price of our books down. We’re bringing the line down to $2.99. Okay? You guys are out there buying comic books. We want to make sure you’re gonna be able to afford the comics and enjoy the comics. This is about making great stories and making them a way that you can buy them. So we’re bringing the line down to $2.99. Okay? So that’s it.

And again, we’re putting our money where our mouth is. We’re gonna show you that we believe in our books more, we’re gonna bring more people in. This isn’t about selling less books at higher prices to less people. This is about selling more books to more people/ We want the biggest fanbase as possible because we have the greatest fans of all.”

He also specifically noted that the Rebirth Special AKA DC Rebirth #1 as holding to this promise, stating further:

“And also, very important to say about this, as Geoff said, it’s an 80 page book, but we made our commitment to the fans, we made our commitment to price, and this will be out there for $2.99 as well. Big book. Great price. Okay? That’s one way to make sure we do it.”

It may have been naive of us to believe DC would keep their word, but after the flicker of hope that was the Rebirth Special, this feels like a slap in the face while the other reaches into our wallets. But in case you feel as betrayed and irritated as we do, here’s the fully revealed two-page cover for DC Rebirth #1, in which Superman appears to lead the entire DC Universe in pointing and making fun of Dr. Manhattan’s dick. We guarantee it will make your day better, and we won’t charge you $5.99 for the privilege, either.