Solicitation

A solicitation is a term mostly used in American comic book publishing for the blurbs about upcoming issues that appear in industry trade publications. A solicitation is roughly equivalent to the publisher-written summary that is seen on book jackets in order to entice — or solicit — purchase. They regularly appear in magazines like , which is one of the de facto "bibles" of the comic book industry. From there, they are widely reprinted across the web, and serve to give an indication of what future issues are going to be like. Solicitations come out two months in advance of when the comics actually arrive in stores, so as to give comic book retailers a chance to order and stock them. This two month "gap" between ordering and delivery explains why many American comics have historically had a cover date two months out of sync with when the average buyer could have obtained the issue.
Because solicitations are written by the publisher, they are often wildly inaccurate. Their job is to get both the customer and the retailer excited about an issue. It is not to truthfully describe the contents of the book. Because of this, they are sometimes the subject of ridicule by people knowledgeable about the industry. Solicitations are particularly criticised because they are, of necessity, comprised of hyperbole,Cosby, Nate. "The State of Comic Book Solicitations". Comics Alliance. 17 November 2010.
== Use on this wiki ==
We use comic book solicitations with some regularity, particularly with respect to IDW and Titan Comics storylines. However, their inclusion is a part of the "historical record" about these stories, and shouldn't be seen as a reasonable plot summary.
== Footnotes ==
Category:Terminology