Previews, the publication my twin brother and I used to call the “phone book” because of its thickness, is actually going strictly digital, and this will take place very soon!
Let’s be real—the moment Diamond declared bankruptcy a few months back, many of us just knew it was the end of an era… and for some people, it was the end of a way of life.
What’s happening? Well, here’s info from a newsfeed I follow on Facebook:
“July PREVIEWS to Be Free, Digital-Only Catalog
As part of ongoing operational transitions, the July 2025 edition of Diamond Comic Distributors’ PREVIEWS catalog will be digital-only and free via Joomag, with no printed catalog produced this month.
Links to the catalog will be provided in Diamond Daily and on PREVIEWSworld.com when the July 2025 data files go live on Friday, June 20.
While the format may look different, the core experience remains the same. You and your customers will still find full product listings, publisher features, and preorder tools — all accessible online at PREVIEWSworld.com via Joomag free of charge.
Additionally, titles solicited in the online catalog will carry live links that enable your customers to obtain ordering information via PREVIEWSworld.com before submitting their PREVIEWS Customer Order Forms your store.
PREVIEWS Customer Order Forms will also be digital-only and will continue to be available to your customers on PREVIEWSworld.com for download as both a PDF and a text file.”
Things, they are a-changing!
Literally for decades now, many of us comics fans looked forward to getting that new Previews at the end of the month. I would often plunk down on my bed or at my desk and pour through what was going to be coming our way in two months. This is how I discovered Mouse Guard, for instance. I came across David Petersen’s art for the first time there, and I immediately knew I wanted that comic!
This wasn’t the first or last time that happened to me. But I found the Previews a valuable resource even though the price would increase every so often. It still helped me keep ahead when it came to upcoming orders through my local comics shop.
Now, though, that ritual is going to change. Instead of reading a print version of the Previews, I will have to sit at my computer and look at what’s coming soon.
On some levels, that will be helpful because I often print out the page that contains something I want to be sure I get. Then I take printout with me to my LCS so I can give it to them to add to my pull list. I will not have to scan the page any longer, so that’ll be helpful.
However, comics are a habitual medium. By that, I mean we follow a pattern for our hobby. We expect things to happen at regular intervals and follow the familiar patterns.
Interestingly, my LCS has already stopped ordering the Previews. They let me know this a few weeks ago when I asked where it was. I knew things were upsetting the apple cart when she told me that. This store, like many others I had frequented, used to sell at least that every month!
Also, this may benefit comics websites like this one, MajorSpoilers.com. Previews are common here on the site, so maybe people will transition more to sites like this one! Make sure you have this site bookmarked today!
Several columns ago I talked about how I thought the Alliance Era of comics had begun. Silly me! I forgot that Diamond was involved, and NOTHING is ever simple or easy when that’s part of what is taking place! That’s why I have largely avoided the subject since then!
Sure enough—the Diamond Drama Brigade has been in full force, and nothing can be taken for granted as we try to move forward. The industry has really been up in the air the last few months, and I don’t think we’re done with the changes—yet! Some of my friends online are already talking about ways to bring Previews back to its former printed glory! Who knows? They may actually get that to happen!
That said, I truly appreciate all the good things Diamond has done over the years, but there are still a lot of improvements to made so we can all embark on the future!
So, I’ll make the transition to the digital Previews and see how that works. I just hope this isn’t foretelling what the entire industry may do—abandon print comics for digital ones. I doubt that will happen because the collectors simply won’t allow it. But we’ll keep our ears to the ground and hopefully move into a happier and brighter future for the comics industry!
What do you think? Will you use the digital Previews or stop using it altogether? What other improvements can they make now that we’re going digital? Will the company even still be called Diamond, or the publication still be named Previews? Whatever your opinion, be sure to share it in the space below!
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Wayne Hall creates the Wayne's Comics Podcast. He’s interviewed Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, John Layman, Kyle Higgins, Phil Hester, Jimmy Palmiotti & Justin Gray, David Petersen, Christos Gage, Mike Grell, and Matt Kindt. On this site each week, he writes his "Comics Portal" column (general comics comments and previews) and reviews comics.