Marvel has reportedly sent a letter to Russian publishers, informing them that they will be suspending the sale of licenses for new comics in Russia, according to the owner of one of comic-book stores in Moscow who had spoken to several Russian publishers on Thursday.
The terms laid out by Marvel seem to vary slightly from publisher to publisher but the general gist is that the sale and renewal of licenses will reportedly be suspended from the middle of summer 2022 for an indefinite period, meaning that Russian publishers will not be allowed to print additional runs of older titles or release new ones. It is mentioned, however, that licenses which have already been purchased will not be revoked and publishers will be allowed to sell previously announced titles.
It is possible that Marvel may also demand that Russian publishers sell all of their print runs by Autumn. If this does not happen, the company could seek to suspend all shipments of existing circulations to stores and destroy the remaining copies.
“Not everyone knows, but this is happening now – if a publishing house contract expires for a particular book, the unsold circulation must be disposed of and proof must be provided to the copyright holders. Whether or not Marvel requires it to do so in the fall of 2022 with all of its current publishing inventory remains to be seen,” said the owner of a comic-book store chain in Moscow, Ivan Chernyavskiy, who initially reported Marvel’s announcement to Russian publishers.
While the licenses are still valid, it’s expected that Russian publishers will now try to print as many issues as possible, as long as there is enough paper. However, the “avalanche of new products” will likely come to a halt in Autumn, says Chernyavskiy, so Russian Marvel fans will have a limited time to purchase any titles they might have missed or decided to put off buying.