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 Wizard, 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. "It's perfectly normal to have no fewer than 5 or 6 "events" launching the same month, all promising NEW DIRECTIONS, BOLD STORYTELLING, taking you PLACES YOU'D NEVER BEEN, showing THINGS YOU'VE NEVER SEEN!!!! That is, of course, not really possible. Unless the comics are going to be printed on bread instead of paper, you'll see what you've seen before."

- Nate Cosby, former Marvel Comics editor

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,

Use on this wiki
We use comic book solicitations with some regularity, particularly with respect to IDW storylines. However, their inclusion is a part of the "historical record" about these stories, and shouldn't be seen as a reasonable plot summary.