Barnes and Noble To Stop Selling Marvel Comics

[The Ultimate Nullifier]

A reader writes to say:

Hi unsure if this has been reported on yet, or news worthy per se, but, was informed by Barnes & Noble staff (in Union Square location, NYC) that they will no longer be selling Marvel comics in their newsstand area (DC, Dark Horse, and Archie’s still reside amongst the periodicals); they will still sell their TPBs and Graphic Novels.

When asked why, it seems that Marvel decided to pull out, but that’s all they knew.

Last week’s article on Barnes & Noble selling Justice League #26 a week early showed Marvel titles in a Brooklyn store.

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[The Ultimate Nullifier]

Barnes & Noble and Books-a Million have stopped carrying new issues of Marvel Comics in their stores, according to the Good E Reader blog, which says it has confirmed the action with the headquarters of both chains. The boycott does not apply to Marvel graphic novels, it appears.

The two largest U.S. book chains have previously not been shy about using their clout in the brick and mortar world to pressure publishers who do not give them access to digital content for the Nook, which is Barnes & Noble's e-reader platform which Books-a-Million supports. Both Barnes & Noble and Books-a-Million dropped 100 DC graphic novel titles for from their stores for six months when DC made an exclusive deal with Amazon to offer those titles on the Kindle.

We assume this new boycott is due to Marvel’s exclusive deal for periodical comics with comiXology, although since that deal was inked in May of 2012, it’s unclear why the companies are just getting around to showing their displeasure now.

While it's unlikely that the dollar sales of Marvel comics are important to either the chains or to Marvel, the new issues are an important way for the book chains to brand themselves as sources for more comics than just graphic novels, and as exposure to a broader market for Marvel.

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