Comics’ publisher DC Comics is reportedly considering entering the non-fungible tokens (NFT) market and wants independent artists to stay away from its action figures
Reports over the weekend suggest that comics publisher DC Comics is currently considering venturing into the NFT marketplace. According to a report from Gizmodo’s i09, DC Comics’ legal affairs office has issued a letter indicating the company’s intent to enter the NFT space.
The letter revealed that DC is exploring opportunities to venture into the market for the distribution and sale of unique DC digital art with non-fungible tokens. This will include new art created solely for the NFT market and original digital art designed for DC’s comic book publications.
Non-fungible tokens are becoming popular in the world of arts and collectibles. NFTs are digital certificates connected to a piece of art, with the data stored as a unique token on a blockchain network like Ethereum. The primary idea behind NFTs is that they serve as the digital renditions of the non-divisible, scarce nature of artworks in the physical world.
The report further highlighted that DC Comics had also issued a warning to its staff and freelancers about issuing NFTs similar to the company’s licensed characters. According to Decrypt, comic book artist, José Delgo led the creation and sale of a Wonder Woman-themed NFT collection that brought in $1.85 million last week.
“Please note that the offering for sale of any digital images featuring DC’s intellectual property with or without NFTs, whether rendered for DC’s publications or rendered outside the scope of one’s contractual engagement with DC, is not permitted”, the letter added.
DC Comics advised its staff to notify Lawrence Ganem, DC’s VP of Talent Services if they were approached by anyone interested in adding any of their DC art in an NFT program.
While DC Comics is looking to enter the NFT market, but the letter didn’t indicate when the company will make the move. However, the company expects the participation of its freelance talent team to be a crucial component of the NFT program they intend to put in place. The company will share further information as soon as it becomes available.
The NFT market has been gaining traction in recent months. Last week’s sale of the Beeple NFT by auction house Christie’s generated $69.3 million, making it the most expensive NFT sold so far.