Starting Monday, subscribers to the DC Universe Infinite digital comics library will be able to upgrade to a new “Ultra” tier, and read new DC comics a mere month after they hit physical shelves. It’s the shortest release-to-digital-library window DC Comics (or Marvel Comics) have offered yet.
“We’re excited to introduce the industry leading one-month windowing of digital comics with DC Universe Infinite’s Ultra tier,” DC Comics’ Senior Vice President and General Manager Anne DePies said in a news release. Marvel Comics’ own subscription-based library, Marvel Unlimited, currently makes new comics available on the app three months after they hit store shelves, a window that was already shortened from six months in 2020.
“This new offering is part of DC’s vision of being everywhere our fans are — online and at comic shops,” DePies said. “With a shorter digital release window, fans can enjoy our fantastic new stories, anywhere, anytime — while continuing to find the latest issues at comic shops.”
The Ultra tier will be available at a discounted introductory price of $99 USD for a year’s subscription — about $25 more than DC Universe Infinite’s standard year subscription price — until Nov. 28. DC’s press release did not indicate what the non-discounted price would be after that date, but according to DC’s press release, that intro price “remains valid as long as your Ultra Annual subscription is in good standing and you do not cancel.”
But Ultra subscribers won’t just get their new comics faster: Starting in November, five thousand graphic novels from DC’s library will be made available on the app exclusively on the Ultra tier. And subscribers who upgrade will also become eligible to receive a physical copy of an upcoming comic collection “while supplies last,” beginning with a version of The Death of Superman 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition adorned with an Ultra-tier-exclusive variant cover by Ivan Reis.
Image: Ivan Reis/DC Comics
Basic subscribers at the $75 tier will still gain access to new comics six months after release, and DC has plans to add titles from its all-ages graphic novel line, including books like Kami Garcia and Gabriel Picolo’s YA Teen Titans series and the Harvey Award-nominated Nubia: Real One, and over 100 classic issues of Mad Magazine, to all subscriber tiers.