Thread:Spencerz/@comment-3048593-20130125205857/@comment-1713281-20130126005852

So this stems from a practice that started back in the 60s and 70s. When comics were a huge commodity, and sold on news stands, comic publishers started putting a future date, usually 1-2 months ahead of the actual release date, on the cover. That way, if a comic issue sat on the shelf for a month, it still seems fresh and new because of the date on the cover.

They never really changed it, so comics still have a published cover date that's set in the future. The release date is in fact the release date of the comic issue to the direct market.