The latest on when one of the year’s most anticipated books will be released…
Just a quick post to update you on the status of the much-ballyhooed 1982 DC Comics Style Guide reprint hardcover, coming from Standards Manual under license from DC Comics.
The book’s latest street date of Sept. 25 has been pushed back for roughly five weeks. This is the second official delay, but again the reason remains a good one: final, quality control tweaking. The publishers, knowing full well what fans are expecting, want to make things just so.
“The last part of the production has been printing the cover, which has had us stuck in a holding pattern while we try and get it perfect,” said Standards Manual co-founder Hamish Smyth. “The image processing and using a custom ink on the cover was itself a much more difficult process than expected, and caused the first delay.
“The cover was then printed, but we had to reject it,” he added. “The color of the cover prints did not match the proofs or meet our quality standards.”
They did more testing, hit the mark and now the book is scheduled to go to press as early as Friday.
Lunar Distribution, which is handling the book for comics shops, has a street date of Oct. 2 listed but that’s just a placeholder.
“The new print looks fantastic and worth the extra delay,” Smyth said. “Once the printing is complete we will have an updated schedule. I would expect another five weeks at least. We know it’s frustrating but we can’t deliver a subpar product.”
The decades-awaited 1982 DC Comics Style Guide famously features the art of Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, Dick Giordano and others. There is an introduction by former DC chief Paul Levitz and an EXCLUSIVE interview with Garcia-Lopez, conducted by yours truly.
If you haven’t ordered yours yet — get it on it! Or get it on your holiday list! The high-end, coffee-table book lists for $95 and you can click here to order.
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MORE
— EXTREME CLOSE-UP: Dig the Incredible Detail of the Upcoming DC COMICS STYLE GUIDE Release. Click here.
— OUTSTANDING! 1982 DC STYLE GUIDE Reprint Will Include Pages From Later Editions. Click here.
October 21, 2024
Hey there…curious if there are any further updates regarding the shipment of this Guide?
October 21, 2024
Yes, there will be shortly. Hang loose!
October 22, 2024
Awesome! thanks! Been waiting on this like it’s Christmas lol
October 23, 2024
Just was told by my LCS that the new release date is 11/6/24. I think this is now the third date they’ve given? something like that. This should be a lesson on how not to maintain momentum with a fan base.
October 23, 2024
So true. I do like the reasons for the delay – the best product possible is for sure the way to go – but don’t you wish they ironed out all these details BEFORE they started the pre-order process? Cuz I hate bugging the online CS I bought this from – as they really don’t know when this will come out either. Hope your LCS is correct and that the date they gave you is accurate…cheers
October 23, 2024
I wish the publisher would say something. They have an email with the purchase so they could easily let folks know about a delay. In fairness to them, maybe the expectations of this particular fan base is not what they are used to dealing with on delays of this nature. For myself, I’ve a number of pre-purchase items out there I’m waiting on to close and deliver. So my frustration is cumulative I’m thinking. Certainly not their fault if others are also delayed. My only fear is a collapse of the product and nothing ships. (Ala Kickstarter)
October 23, 2024
Guys, take a deeeeeeeeep breath. All will be well — and an update is coming. I have direct knowledge of the situation and can tell you that you will be happy. Delays happen in publishing all the time. Comics fans are the least patient fans I know! You will not be disappointed.
October 23, 2024
>> Guys, take a deeeeeeeeep breath>>
I think I was giving them the benefit of the doubt in my comments. At the least that was my intention…
October 29, 2024
Will these be available for pre-order again? Is there a limited amount? I missed out on pre-ordering it, and I’ve searched on comic shops online and Amazon and there’s nothing. I do not want to miss out on this.
October 29, 2024
There’s a link right there in the story.
November 9, 2024
Curious…do you know if it actually shipped out last week?
November 9, 2024
Not yet. Here’s the latest: https://13thdimension.com/here-it-is-your-exclusive-first-look-at-the-1982-dc-comics-style-guide-hardcover/