Even while they seem reluctant to embrace it in full, comic book publishers are seeming to understand more and more that digital distribution will soon be necessary for success in the industry. The latest company to try digital distribution is DC Comics. On Wednesday, the publisher announced that they are partnering with comiXology and the PlayStation Network to offer select titles for paid download. However, even though they are taking a more decisive step forward than Marvel, they are still demonstrating fear of this uncharted territory.

Starting this Wednesday, DC has made around 100 comics available on comiXology, including titles from Vertigo and Wildstorm. The selection, though, is rather sporadic. About the only fully collected story available is Green Lantern: Rebirth, and the comics are sold only individually (not collected). Other comics that are available are half of the Batman: Hush arc, and single, occasionally random, issues of a couple dozen other titles that were released years ago. Does anyone happen to be looking for a 2007 copy of Action Comics #844? If so you’re in luck because that’s the only Action Comics issue you can digitally get.

However, the company is marginally surpassing one aspect of Marvel’s foray into digital: day-and-date digital releases alongside the printed versions. Whereas Marvel is soon going to offer a single issue of one digital comic (Invincible Iron Man Annual) day-and-date at a higher price than the printed release, DC is going day-and-date digital/print with the full, twenty-six-issue Justice League: Generation Lost series at the same price for each format. This still doesn’t make much sense -- digital comics are infinitely cheaper to distribute than printed comics, and this day-and-date offering is still extremely limited -- but at least it’s a step forward. For other comics, the pricing point will range from $0.99 to $2.99. From the looks of things now, most of the comics being offered are priced at $1.99. Hopefully as the companies try to outdo one another, they will approach a more reasonable pricing point. Naturally, this is what should eventually happen.

The most interesting part of their press release, though, is the following statement: “Staying true to comiXology’s support of comic retailers, DC’s partnership with comiXology also includes a first-of-its-kind Retailer Affiliate Program, which will collect a portion of digital revenues to be invested back to and on behalf of comic book retailers in a variety of initiatives.” In other words, DC is going to use some of their digital revenues to subsidize comic shops. This is nice for the comic shops, but it suggests something important: comic shops may be in trouble, and DC is afraid of losing them. Ultimately, it seems like DC realizes they have to enter the digital market, but they don’t fully understand why or how. It is clear that others are starting to do it, and DC doesn’t want to be left behind, but they also don’t want to have to abandon their old comic shop-oriented business model.

This is typical behavior of a big corporation. The current state of things has worked well for them over the past decades, and they want it to keep working for them. Of course comic shops are still a big part of the comics industry – for now – but DC, as opposed to smaller companies, has enough power in the market that they don’t face any danger of, say, comic shops boycotting them, if they make the decision to embrace digital distribution more fully. So, instead of using this opportunity to get a huge leap on the competition, they are giving smaller competitors, like BOOM!, a chance to catch up.

Furthermore, I don’t think DC’s digital distribution program, as is, will be successful in significantly accomplishing their goal of boosting comic shop sales. Too many of the comics they are offering lack relevance to the current state of things. Sure, some of the first issues might get readers interested and nudge them into purchasing a trade paperback, but what about Batman #656, the most recent Batman issue they’re offering digitally? That comic is almost four years old. No one could possibly expect to read that and expect to be able to jump in and totally understand what is going on with the character (especially right now, considering Batman is going through a Grant Morrison-mapped rebirth). It seems that DC’s plan for some of these titles is to offer a few issues that you’re unlikely to find in a store, hope you happen to find it interesting enough to download, and earn a few extra bucks. For these non-first issues, this is not a particularly well mapped strategy.

Of course, DC will probably find some people who don’t want to be seen in a comic shop but don’t mind perusing a few from the privacy of a home computer. But this presents yet another problem: What do they do if they find something they like? These particular potential customers are those who don’t want to go to comic shops. Their only recourse then is to order some trades, which is good (if it works), but if they do so, they will more than likely be ordering them from a place like Amazon, which then contradicts DC’s goal of fueling sales in comic shops. And if these people do head out to the local shop to pick up an issue or two of Action Comics, Green Lantern, or whatever, those consumers still face an uphill battle of becoming familiar enough with the state of things in the title and in the DC universe to be able to fully comprehend what is going on. Wouldn’t it make more sense to offer more recent issues so that buyers feel somewhat caught-up with things, and thus more likely to stick around, if they do decide to go out and buy the current issue?

Overall, this is not so much a smart move by DC as it is a baby step toward a much bigger, necessary move. And more than anything, it is another sign of the direction comic distribution is headed. DC really seems to be scared of digital distribution. That is certainly understandable, but part of competing in any sort of industry entails anticipating what is best in the long run and occasionally taking a firm step into unexplored territory. Right now, DC is too set on preserving the old way of doing things.