Release Date
A comic's 'Release Date' (or on-sale date) is the date it becomes available at comic shops and begins secondary market price discovery. Panel Profits uses the release date as the fixed reference point for calculating an issue's age, for sequencing its position within a broader event or run, and for distinguishing genuine first-printing activity from later reprint or anniversary-edition activity.
The date on which a security is first made available to investors is a fixed, permanently recorded attribute of that security, used as the reference point for calculating maturity, holding periods, and other date-dependent terms.
Real-World Comic Market Application
An issue's original 1963 release date is the fixed reference used to identify a modern reprint edition of the same story as a distinct, separately-valued printing rather than the original first printing.
Domain Guardrails & Anti-Patterns
Do not confuse a solicitation or announced date with the actual on-sale release date -- publishers frequently push release dates, and the actual on-sale date is the one that matters for first-printing verification.
Trade or Inspect Related Assets
Explore comic equity issues governed by this valuation standard.