DC Comics Announces New Strategy To License And Distribute Pop Culture Characters

DC Comics announced plans today to license and distribute collectibles based on the world's greatest pop culture characters and stories under a new brand name, DC Unlimited. The first series of DC Unlimited products will be unveiled this month at New York's American International Toy Fair, and will be distributed to all retail outlets, including mass market and specialty channels.

DC Unlimited, the new brand launched by DC Comics to license and promote the world> '> s greatest pop culture characters and stories, is proud to announce the release of a line of action figures based on World of Warcraft, the popular Blizzard Entertainment Massively-Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG). The collectibles will be unveiled next month at New York's American International Toy Fair and will be distributed worldwide in both mass market and specialty channels.

The Warcraft franchise has been a pillar of gaming culture for over a decade and remains the world's largest-selling strategy video game with over 19 million copies sold. With over 7.5 million subscribers worldwide, the game creates a unique and interactive environment, allowing for thousands of simultaneous player adventures. World of Warcraft has also been America's top-selling PC game since its release in November of 2004.

"Blizzard has created an impressive and interactive universe for World of Warcraft," said Cheryl Rubin, Senior Vice President -Brand Management at DC Comics. "We are proud to be able to deliver DC Direct's expertise in creating and distributing authentic collectibles to World of Warcraft under our new DC Unlimited brand."

DC Unlimited's World of Warcraft collectibles will include PVC vinyl, scaled and articulated figures varying in size. The initial launch will feature a four-figure assortment of 5-8-inch figures, with an additional two-figure set of two 10-12-inch deluxe figures covering the larger characters.

The initial set of figures will include a Blood Elf Rogue, Orc Shaman, Undead Warlock and Dwarf Warrior. The deluxe figures will include a Draenei Paladin and Illidan Stormrage. The first wave of figures is slated to hit comic book, pop culture, mass market, specialty and toy retailers in Fall 2007.