On May 13th, Diamond Distribution unveiled its campaign to show support for comics retailers in a post-COVID-19 world. “Back The Comeback” is envisioned as a type of watermark that retailers, and eventually publishers, would attribute to their products and services in a bid to turn a global catastrophe into a net positive.
It’s fair to say that reaction to the campaign has been mixed, partly due to the logo design directly mimicking the Comics Code Authority stamp, which carries its own historical stigma.
In addition, it’s unclear exactly how the campaign is intended to help the Comics Industry beyond a simple show of supportive solidarity. Regardless, Diamond has aggressively pushed to get every link in the comics supply chain on board with the campaign. In a press release issued by Diamond and coming directly on the heels of Eric Stephenson’s open letter to Image staff, Image Comics has agreed to be the first major publisher to change their covers to include the new “Back The Comeback” logo. Full Pres Release and Image samples below:
Image Comics ‘Backs The Comeback’ With Comeback Logo Appearing on the Cover of June 17 Titles
(BALTIMORE, MD) — (June 15, 2020) — On May 13, 2020, Diamond Comic Distributors and Alliance Game Distributors partnered to launch the “Back The Comeback” campaign, a multi-part initiative designed to support local comic book and game stores as they began to safely reopen, restart, and rebuild following the easement of nationwide stay-at-home orders amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, as comic book and game stores across the country have resumed selling new weekly product, many publishers have rallied behind the campaign to support retailers by including the “Back The Comeback” logo on the cover of their newest titles. Image Comics is the latest publisher to support the initiative by including the logo on the cover of their June 17 on-sale titles.
Family Tree #6 and Gideon Falls #22 from Image Comics will be hitting shelves on June 17, complete with the “Back The Comeback” featured on the front cover. Family Tree #6 (FEB200178) continues the tale of an 8-year old girl who begins mysteriously transforming into a tree, and the journey of her dysfunctional family in their attempt to find the cause of the transformation and stop it. In Gideon Falls #22 (MAR200061; MAR200062), which features the logo on the main and variant covers, the Eisner-Awarding winning series reaches a tipping point as the heroes find themselves strewn across the Gideon Falls multiverse after the destruction of the Black Barn that contained. Our heroes are up against old West, cyberpunk, and 1984 versions of their reality.
Back the Comeback in-store promotions for game stores are in the works and will be announced shortly.
Fans can head to their local comic shop to purchase a copy of these Back The Comeback support titles from Image Comics. To find a comic shop near you, visit www.comicshoplocator.com. To stay up to date on Back the Comeback announcements visit the campaign’s social pages on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram or visit backthecomeback.com.
Retailers interested in placing wholesale orders for these items are encouraged to reach out to their Retailer Services Representative or contact Diamond’s New Accounts Department aT: newaccounts@diamondcomics.com.
Image is the first publisher to take the plunge with Diamond’s badge, but will they be the last? Is Image taking this step purely in support of the Comics Industry, or is this partly in reaction to DC’s move to cut ties with Diamond? Let us know in the comments section below and share this article with your friends.
