New Comic Book Day is now Tuesday... and Wednesday?! How it works

(Image credit: Arena Comics & Gaming)

For almost 25 years, the weekly release of new comic books has been on Wednesday in most comic shops across North America, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere. But now that's changing.

Back on April 28, DC's comic book titles began going on sale on Tuesdays - both digitally and in print (with participating comic book shops). Comic books from other publishers remain scheduled for a Wednesday on-sale date.

So effectively, Tuesday and Wednesday are now New Comic Book Day. Welcome to a new paradigm.

DC has explained their reasoning to diverge from Wednesdays as to align with their bookstore releases which are on Tuesdays. 

Newsarama has confirmed that now asDiamond has resumed distribution, their customers - the comic book stores which order from them - are allowed to put DC titles on-sale Tuesday, ahead of the Wednesday releases from all the other publishers. It's up to the retailers if they will sell DC's on Tuesdays or hold them to go on-sale concurrent with the non-DC titles.

So what does this mean for those who rush out to buy comics each Wednesday?

Well, those comics will still be there Wednesday if the place you buy comics from is up-and-operational. But if you want to read DC comic books first or have concerns about sell-outs or spoilers, they will be available Tuesdays in print and digitally. You'll just need to make a trip back to wherever you by comics from on Wednesday (or after) to pick up any new non-DC titles.

Marvel and other Direct Market-focused publishers have not stated if they plan to switch to a Tuesday release schedule, however their recently released solicitations adhere to their traditional Wednesday on-sale dates.

Chris Arrant

Chris Arrant covered comic book news for Newsarama from 2003 to 2022 (and as editor/senior editor from 2015 to 2022) and has also written for USA Today, Life, Entertainment Weekly, Publisher's Weekly, Marvel Entertainment, TOKYOPOP, AdHouse Books, Cartoon Brew, Bleeding Cool, Comic Shop News, and CBR. He is the author of the book Modern: Masters Cliff Chiang, co-authored Art of Spider-Man Classic, and contributed to Dark Horse/Bedside Press' anthology Pros and (Comic) Cons. He has acted as a judge for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the Harvey Awards, and the Stan Lee Awards. Chris is a member of the American Library Association's Graphic Novel & Comics Round Table. (He/him)