Posted in: Batman, Comics, DC Comics | Tagged: absolute, Absolute Batman, Absolute Green Arrow
Responses To DC Comics’ Absolute Batman “Anti-Price Gouging” T&Cs
Response to DC Comics’ Absolute Batman exclusive retailer variant covers — anti-price gouging terms and conditions
Published Mon, 13 Jul 2026 15:57:10 -0500
by Rich Johnston
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Last updated Mon, 13 Jul 2026 17:17:57 -0500
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Article Summary
- DC Comics’ new Absolute Batman retailer terms target price gouging, blind bags, and mystery-pack variant sales.
- Felix Comic Art’s Absolute Batman blind bag and high-priced exclusives are cited as likely examples now barred by DC.
- Retailers are set to receive the Absolute Batman policy via DC mailers, with more discussion expected at SDCC events.
- Collectors are split on Absolute Batman caps, with some warning scalpers benefit while others welcome anti-flipping rules.
This weekend, Bleeding Cool broke the news about DC Comics’ new anti-price gouging terms and conditions for exclusive retailer variant covers, in light of the pocket industry that has set up around the success and collectibility of Absolute Batman. Some pointed to the recent massive Comic Sketch Art crerator signing Whatnot streaming event, others to creators’ own studios being able to charge more money than comic stores, others to blind bags that some retailers had set up using Absolute Batman and if this was what tipped DC Comics into action, and others looked at the $50-60 standard cover prices that some retailers had been charging and how much higher than the “five times cover price” guideline that DC Comics had set.
It came as comic book artist agent/dealer Felix Comics Art announced “our first ever BLIND BAG! Each includes TWO exclusive variants! Including ONE of our ABSOLUTE BATMAN foils…guaranteed! 300 blind bags to be dropped tomorrow! The remainder will be for SDCC attendees in 2 weeks…. The blind bag is $100, and each will include TWO Felix Comic Art exclusives! Including GUARANTEED one of the following ABSOLUTE BATMAN exclusive foils!” adding “The Harren and DWJ foils are exclusive to this blind bag!”
This would now be against DC Comics retailer exclusive variant policy, which states “Retailer may only sell or give away the Variant(s) as clearly identifiable comics. Without limiting the foregoing, Retailer shall not include the Variant(s), the Art, or any of DC characters, logos, artwork, symbols, or trade dress as part of, or in promotion for, a blind bag, mystery pack, sealed surprise bundle, or similar promotions.” In fact, some people seem to think the new policy was specifically aimed at Felix Comic Art, as they were the only ones doing Absolute Batman blind bags – and Scott Snyder has specifically stated that DC is not doing blind bags for Absolute titles. But it looks to be wider ranging.
Felix Comic Art’s recent price points through Third Eye for Absolute Batman Exclusive Retailer Variants would also be too high for DC Comics variants, selling James Harren and Daniel Warren Johnson exclusive non-foil variants of Absolute Batman #20 for $50 each rather than the recommended maximum of $30, as well as Absolute Batman #19 Nick Dragotta foil variants for $60 rather than the maximum of $50. Mark Brooks Art Store charged even more. And famously Heavy Mental went a lot higher
Some asked where the hell Bleeding Cool had come across the terms and conditions, as retailers hadn’t received them yet. I understand there will be a reference and a link in the DC Direct Retailer Mailer going out later this week, and it will come up at the Lunar and ComicsPRO events at San Diego Comic-Con next week
But some collectors saw this as a bad thing, predicting that certain buyers would buy every single copy and then, freed from any DC Comics contract, would do the price gouging anyway. This Reddit thread provided a good mixture of comments and opinions from readers and collectors;
ThickSourGod posted “This is objectively bad. Comic shops charge what people are willing to pay. If DC forces them to charge significantly less for variants, scalpers will buy them all up. We won’t actually end up paying less. Variant covers aren’t expensive because comic shop owners are greedy. They’re expensive because the number that DC prints is lower than the number of people who want them. They are intentionally creating scarcity to increase the perceived value of their comics, then acting like it’s someone else’s fault when shit gets expensive. If DC wants to lower the price of variants, they can easily do so by printing more copies.”
Cyclops concurred saying “This just means that instead of stores getting that money, a speculator who sells it on eBay will get it. If you actually want to stop this, stop making variants.”
Pornflakes asked, “Is there a time factor involved here? If a shop gets a hold of a rare variant 2 years after it’s published, is the shop obligated to sell it for a maximum of 10x the cover price? At what point does a variant go from sought-after new item to hot back issue? If the publisher can set prices for a back issue, shops are cooked. If there is a time factor, I can see shops just sitting on variants until that time period is over and selling for a higher price anyway.”
While Johnny Strange had a different take, saying, “I really love these price-gouging terms. It’s a reputational issue for all parties involved. Would definitely love to see some other businesses adopt terms like these, since the collapse of the NFT market and social media seem to have led to crypto bros flooding hobby markets with tons of (laundered) cash and inflating prices to try and make a quick buck. Definitely think that some of the trading card businesses could look at this to curb scalping.” If it sounds like the arguments that some people have been making around New York Mayor’s policy regarding price capping rents, well, it’s the same argument, same cause, same effects…
While over on an Absolute Batman Collectors forum on Facebook, Nelson Chau posted “The Absolute Batman community is strong enough to take a stand against price gouging. First, much respect to Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta for creating the incredible Absolute Universe. This isn’t about the creators, it’s about protecting the fans who keep this hobby alive. Retailers deserve to make a profit, but in today’s economy, excessive markups only push collectors away. That hurts the entire comic community in the long run. Comic Fam, if you believe there’s price gouging, respectfully call it out. In my opinion, fair pricing should be: -Trade Dress: $15–20 -Virgin: $30–40 -Foil: $40–50”
Fellow collector Rex Digler added, “To me, if they really want to make a difference in this exclusive craziness, is to do what they just did with Quintana. Make these ‘hot’ artists commit to doing 3 or 4 open order variants at the rate they’re getting from the retailer if they do a retailer exclusive for a retailer variant for a title they’re doing. If retailers can afford to pay them a certain amount for their exclusives, then DC definitely should be able to. This will allow fans to acquire some of these in-demand artists’ work at affordable prices.”
So… where do you stand? To cap ot not to cap?
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