WandaVision's success leads to a run on related comics, leaving Marvel out of stock for months
Agatha Harkness.... what are you doing over there?!
If you're jonesing for more WandaVision-esque action and looking to comics for the answer, you might be limited if you want it in print.
Marvel Comics has informed retailers that its four primarily WandaVision-related comics collections sold out at the distributor level back in February, and new printings won't be ready until the end of April.
The Vision Complete Collection, Vision & Scarlet Witch: The Saga of Wanda and Vision, House of M, and Scarlet Witch by James Robinson: The Complete Collection are all on back-order, with whatever copies comic shops and bookstores have now to be it until April 21 at the earliest.
The first three have already sold out at Amazon, with copies available only on their second-hand Amazon Marketplace service for double the cover price (or more.)
Now, if you're able to read digitally they all remain available - that's how digital works.
That's without mentioning the planned Scarlet Witch/Doctor Doom event Darkhold which was originally scheduled for 2020. It was derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic, but there are signs it could arrive later this year.
Marvel has a general track record of being fairly conservative in printing collections for long-term sales, instead favoring smaller print runs that limit their financial risk.
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While this strategy has its benefits, it leaves a publisher open to shortages like this - which Marvel experienced previously with its Infinity Gauntlet collection during the timeframe of Avengers: Infinity War. Dark Horse experienced similar problems, with the success of Netflix's Umbrella Academy burning through their stock of the comics, leading to a period where the comics were unavailable for most retailers.
Read our in-depth review of the most recent of these, The Vision.
Chris Arrant covered comic book news for Newsarama from 2003 to 2022 (and as editor/senior editor from 2015 to 2022) and has also written for USA Today, Life, Entertainment Weekly, Publisher's Weekly, Marvel Entertainment, TOKYOPOP, AdHouse Books, Cartoon Brew, Bleeding Cool, Comic Shop News, and CBR. He is the author of the book Modern: Masters Cliff Chiang, co-authored Art of Spider-Man Classic, and contributed to Dark Horse/Bedside Press' anthology Pros and (Comic) Cons. He has acted as a judge for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the Harvey Awards, and the Stan Lee Awards. Chris is a member of the American Library Association's Graphic Novel & Comics Round Table. (He/him)