Boasting characters such as Batman, Superman and the Flash, DC Comics are rivalled only by Marvel in terms of recognisable comic book heroes that we all know about from an early age. In fact, there is an argument that the Marvel film franchise helped to propel an otherwise much less-loved series of characters into the public conscience. Before Iron Man hit our screens, who would’ve picked Hulk over Superman, Captain America instead of Spider-Man or Wolverine rather than Wonder Woman? DC Comics were the comic books of choice for many in years gone by.
Now the DC NFT collection is trying to put the comics back on top, offering not only your chance to own some exclusive non-fungible tokens from the world of the comics but even some digital Collectible Comics from the DC library. You can collect the covers and unlock the issues, promising users a comic collecting process for the 21st century. The more that you collect, the more likely it is that you’ll end up unlocking exclusive fan experiences that are linked to the unique digital collectibles themselves. They are all bought and sold via the DC NFT marketplace.
DC Enters the NFT Marketplace
In the latter part of the summer of 2021, both Marvel and DC decided to enter the world of NFTs. For fans that signed up to the DC FanDome, a fan convention that was the first release of information about the company’s foray into non-fungible tokens, there were codes that allowed them to get one of 15 different NFT collectibles that aimed the celebrate 50 years of covers for the comics. Iconic characters like Batman, Superman, Harley Quinn and Wonder Woman were featured, but DC promised that that was only the beginning and more was to come.
The FanDome collection had been supported by Palm, which is a sustainable blockchain ecosystem that had been involved in other high-profile projects. The ‘sustainable’ nature of Palm’s enterprise is key, with artists like Damien Hirst and corporations, such as Major League Baseball, working with the company. The partnership was one that worked, with DC then using Palm in order to launch their wider initiative in the world of digital collectibles. That became the DC Comic Marketplace, which remains the place to go to buy your numerous DC-themed NFTs and other collectibles.
The DC Comic Marketplace Explained
When the DC Comic Marketplace launched, it did so with the Bat Cowl Collection. Using the slogan ‘Heed the call. Join a faction.’, it encouraged fans to sign up in order to collect Batman-themed non-fungible tokens. The comic book organisation promised collectibles that were tied into events of comics, with a two-year journey into the DC Universe being the catalyst for it all. The Bat Cowl Collection offered 200,000 3D Bat Cowl NFTs that were unique, initially available on a pre-sale basis to people that had attended FanDome in order to reward their loyalty.
The Bat Cowl NFTs were all unique, with the likes of lighting, material and background differing on each one. There were also some features that were updated regularly. Not only that, but those that bought a Bat Cowl NFT gained access to the Bat Faction HQ, with Snapchat AR lenses becoming available to them. As an addition to that, Bat Cowl owners were promised the ability to have an influence on future comics, with a vote seeing the owners of the NFTs choose the cover for the comic Batman: The Legacy Cowl #1.
The Bat Cowl collection was, of course, just the start. DC scheduled in a host of new NFTs that would be launched in the future, allowing fans to build their DC NFT collection as a result. The likes of the GCDK Sigil Collection, the Harley Quinn Freakin Awesome Boxes of Mayhem and a The Batman collection all followed. One of the most interesting was the DC Collectible Comics Commotion, which launched in October 2022 and offered a series of NFT-minted DC comics, including digital versions that were fully readable, with the first one released being Superman #1 from 1939.
The whole point of the marketplace, of course, is that it allows fans to trade their NFTs to other collectors. The fact that there are limited quantities of each NFT and that they are unique means that they can sell for all sorts of prices. As a point of fact, one was listed on the marketplace for $9,999,999,999, which suggests that the owners either doesn’t really want to sell it or else is looking to build their own Batcave. The comics tend to sell for much more reasonable prices, which might be far more appealing to people that are more interested in learning about the DC Universe than buying and selling NFTs.
The Secondary Marketplace
The key thing about DC NFTs is that they are eligible to be listed on the DC NFT Secondary Marketplace. A 10% royalty fee is dedicated from the sales that take place on the Secondary Marketplace, in addition to some items being taxable depending on where you’re based. If you use another NFT wallet, such as MetaMask, you might well wonder whether you’ll be able to moe your DC Collectible Comics over to that wallet. The short answer is that you can’t do at the time of writing, with all DC NFTs remaining in the custody of Palm NFT Studio owned blockchain wallets.
What you can do is sell your NFT to someone else via the DC NFT Secondary Marketplace, as well as buy NFTs of your own. For some, the fact that they can’t put the NFTs that they’ve bought into an external wallet is something that will be disappointing and might even put them off. Whether that is the bracket that you fall into will probably depend on whether you’re someone who wants to spend your time on the DC Secondary Marketplace, buying and selling NFTs in order to try to make a profit, or you’re someone who just likes to own exclusive NFTs or read DC comics in digital form.
