An Assortment of Comic-Book Biz News

A smattering of interesting news has occurred in comics. I'm not sure any of these are wild enough for me to make a full post about them, but a little overview of some comic-book news sounds like a nice way to catch up on some happenings!

BOOM! is integrating itself more within its distributor, Penguin Random House. Despite this restructuring, they are still their own publisher and, "Independent," to a degree, but PRH definitely has a lot more involvement in, ..."direct-to-consumer and business development efforts." Speaking of PRH, the publisher known as Drawn and Quarterly has partnered with them for distribution. We are seeing more and more consolidation with PRH and Lunar serving as the new home for a chunk of publishers (along with some other options emerging on the scene for smaller indies) who were impacted by the slow and painful death of Diamond.

In other news, I have been a longtime fan of (unfortunately) beleaguered publisher Silver Sprocket. They've had a store in San Fransciso for some time, but a sudden closure has now occurred of the shop, and I do worry about the publisher itself.

DC and Marvel are working on getting stores to order more of their comics lately through various methods. DC is offering packs of comics at discounts of up to 80% if a retailer orders extra copies of a series, and Marvel has added an extra 10% discount if orders on later issues of a comic match earlier orders.

DSTLRY to Pause Publishing

DSTLRY is taking a break. They're not shutting down or going bankrupt, they're just, "Pausing." Yes, the publisher of assorted fun comics that are generally magazine-sized is going to take a break and plot out hte best way to market, print, and distribute their comics for a maximum impact, as DSTLRY tells it. I understand the desire for a publisher to not only survive, but thrive. I mean, DSTLRY has been through the wringer. They were with Lunar, went exclusive with Diamond two months before they declared bankruptcy and proceeded to screw everyone over, then shift to Penguin Random House. That's a lot for a year or so for a known publisher, and DSTLRY had only splashed onto the scene in 2023.

The plan for DSTLRY is to, "..regroup, reset, and return with a more stable, consistent publishing rhythm.” I wish them the best and really hope we eventually get the third and final issue of, "White Boat," someday. That comic was really good.

Diamond Comic Distributors is Officially No More

One long National nightmare is over (out of many that still persist, but oh well). Yes, Diamond Comic Distributors ceased operations/existence on December 31st, 2025, serving as the last day. Heidi over at ComicsBeat has an article detailing the last days of Diamond. Within the span of 365 days they went from a struggling-but-still big comic distributor, to in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, to struggling to find a buyer, to screwing over publishers by selling inventory they didn't own against the publishers' will, to being more of a shuffling zombie than a real company, to getting a stake put in the heart (I am mixing metaphors) and being truly good and dead as 2025 concluded. What an insane year for Diamond, and clearly declaring them my comic-book-related fiasco of 2025 was undoubtedly on point.

Diamond did a lot of good for the comic industry while also often being a huge thorn in the side of publishers, stores, and so forth. People wanted Diamond to change, not die. That said, sometimes when you fail to evolve, extinction is inevitable. I feel awful for the people who worked hard at Diamond, even if Diamond as a company itself often received scorn. As the dust settles, we have Lunar and PRH distributing many comics, with some smaller companies trying to assist with indie books (such as Philbo) and other entities eyeing ways to get involved in the comic game (Universal Distribution is making moves on the United States after being a big player in Canada). I don't know what 2026 will hold for comic-book distribution, but I can say with 99% certainty it won't be as crazy as last year!

Comic-Book Fiasco of the Year: Diamond Comic Distributors' Bankruptcy--2025 in Review

It is hard to believe that Diamond only declared bankruptcy at the start of this year, back in January. It feels like we've been following this slow-motion trainwreck for a decade. At first, it was going to be restructuring and business as usual. Then Diamond was trying to sell itself, but who was going to buy it got confusing. Diamond was bought, but basically turned into a zombie of a company, trying to sell off warehouse stock it did not own in the name of paying debtors...some of whom they were selling the inventory of without permission. 

From the ashes of Diamond, we saw further growth of Lunar as well as Penguin Random House, further announcements of new distribution options, and as the year ends, things seem to have finally settled into a mostly stable groove...Free Comic Book Day/Comics Giveaway Day arguments aside. Still, it has been less than 365 days, and the landscape of comic distribution has changed to a remarkable degree, which I think few could have foreseen coming.

"Free Comic Book Day," Will Go Up Against/With, "Comics Giveaway Day," Due to Trademark Disputes

Universal Distribution bought the rights to Free Comic Day from what was left of Diamond after Populum/Sparkle Pop ripped it to shreds. I mean, in the sense of owning the name and the general idea of how it is a day for stores to give away free comics from publishers to folks who stop by the shops. Many places do promotions, giveaways, and sales for FCBD, and now it is back, but wait, there are complications, as with anything that comes from the remains of Diamond!

Universal was going to just have DC and Dynamite (who they are set to distribute) as a part of theire Free Comic Book Day, but an agreement was made with Lunar and the companies they distribute, which also include DC and Dynamite, plus Archie Comics, Image Comics, Mad Cave Studios,  Oni Press, Titan Comics, Udon Entertainment as well as Vault Comics. The thing is, Penguin Random House could not reach an agreement with Universal and is the distributor for Marvel Comics, Boom, IDW, DSTLRY, Ignition, and more. Hence, PRH said, "Screw you guys, we'll do our own comic event!" As a result, we now have, "Comics Giveaway Day."

Both Free Comic Book Day and Comics Giveaway Day will happen on the first Saturday of May. That is when FCBD always occurs, and when the other event will just so happen to take place as well. People who go to a comic shop on May 2nd of 2026 won't be impacted per se, you'll just get your free comics regardless of the branding. Shops might have a slight headache filling out differing forms and such, however. Whatever the case, I look forward to Free Comic Book Day/Comics Giveaway Day/whatever, free stuff!

CRWN Studios Has Entered the Comic Distribution Field

When it comes to comic-book distribution within the United States, we've got Penguin Random House, Lunar, and Universal is entering further into the scene too with DC and Dynamite. Plus, Philbo is doing a lot of cool stuff with indie publishers, of course. Another player is entering the scene now as well, CRWN Studios. Staffed by a number of former Diamond employees (who jumped ship when things got bad or were laid off), a number of plans are in place to distribute to the U.S. and U.K., with CRWN Studios also planning a print as well as digital catalog of publishers who sign with them. Looks like the comic-book distribution field just got another player.

Dynamite Entertainment Signs to Also be Sold by Universal Distribution

The new landscape of comic distribution just got another interesting wrinkle. As of now, we have Penguin Random House with Marvel, Dark Horse, IDW, and so forth. There is Lunar with DC, Image, Dynamite, and more too. Philbo handles a lot of indie, and Universal Distribution does a lot with comics in Canada along with games and such in the U.S. Universal recently announced they were going to distribute DC comics in America (nonexclusively as DC would be Lunar still too), and the idea was maybe game stores would carry some DC comics if they otherwise didn't do much with floppies. Well, now Dynamite Entertainment is signed with Universal, again, non-exclusively.

If a big comic shop orders a lot from PRH and Lunar, they don't necessarily need to order books from Universal Distribution. Should it be a game shop that doesn't want to hit the hefty minimum orders for Lunar, however, getting some DC and Dynamite comics to toss up on the shelves from Universal Distribution might be appealing in terms of diversifying comic readership. Now, you could have a hobby shop with trading cards, miniatures, tabletop games, and some comics for fun as well. With the demise of Diamond Comic Distributors (and that was all in this year), the market is still figuring itself out, and it is fascinating to watch.

Philbo Distribution Has Launched With an Independent Publisher Focus

Diamond Comic Distributors is being broken down into nothing and has enraged everyone with plans to liquidate consigned inventory without paying the owners of said inventory (lawsuits have resulted). That has put a lot of indie publishers in a rough spot as they aren't always meaty enough to interest PRH or Lunar. Massive is a publisher at Lunar that has a sub-distribution option for indies, which is one option. A new distributor with an indie focus and some decent-sized (but still pretty independent-level) clients has emerged. As was previously announced, Phillip Russertt has taken Philbo Publishing and expanded to Philbo Distribution.

Philbo Distro--as I like to call it for short--has an online catalog for July that has an FOC (final order cutoff) of September 1st to receive product in October. Notable indies such as Zenescope, Fairsuqare, Antarctic Press, Devil's Due, and Advent are represented, along with smaller publishers I'm not as familiar with, but whose books look fun. Considering Diamond will most likely have completely folded by the end of this year, having three solid distributors of monthly comics (and Universal is entering the scene, but with more of a trade paperback focus) sounds pretty good to me. I wish Philbo Distro great success!

Comics Distribution Gets Crazier as Dynamite Leaves Diamond and DC (Allegedly) Joins Universal

The New Ad Populum-owned Diamond Comic Distributors has been an utter hot mess that refuses to pay (or communicate) with vendors/stores and apparently feels like it is, "Playing chicken with idiots," in that regard, while still having time to sue other folks like Alliance Entertainment (who were orignally going to be the party that bought Diamond before that fell into disarray). Barely any publisher was still using Diamond, with Dynamite being the last bigger name still there (and suing them too). Even Dynamite has fled Diamond now, however, for Lunar. Diamond is going to quit doing a print publication, too--although what/who is even left for them to solicit? That settles almost everything outside of some lawsuits though, right? Diamond is most likely going to wither away as a company, and some other entities might emerge to compete with Lunar and Penguin Random House...no more big changes, yes? Oh, wait...

DC is going to sign with Universal (who distribute comics extensively in Canada) to deliver their comics in America, according to a self-declared scoop from Bleeding Cool. For those keeping track of this utter mess, Universal actually was partnered with Ad Populum when Diamond was purchased and acquired a chunk of assets not related to comic distribution--which puzzled folks. Perhaps this was a piece of that puzzle--Universal didn't want Diamond's comic branch for the U.S. because other plans were already in motion! Everything is just getting messier in these comic distribution wars, and I know many people are sick of reading/hearing about it, but I'm fascinated by how bizarre this is all getting. As soon as one element settles down, something else gets all unstable and unpredictable. I'm 100% sure there will be more on all of this as it develops.

Diamond Hemorrhaging Clients, Massive Taking on Indies, Dark Horse Laying off Staff, IDW's Future Uncertain, and More Comic Industry News

A lot is happening in the comic-book industry. I mean, a lot. Ever since Diamond announced its Chapter 11 bankruptcy it hasn't been able to reorganize so much as lose a ton of clients to PRH or Lunar. If Diamond can't find someone to help take on their debt/purchase them then they could shut down as soon as April 1st. Will there even be much left to buy at this rate, however? Everyone seems to be jumping ship who is able and one interesting note is the publisher known as Massive is joining Lunar and adding a sub-distribution program known as, "Massive Indies." Designed to help smaller publishers who are currently stuck with Diamond (PRH or Lunar can be selective in who they take on, after all) it will allow them to have titles distributed with assistance from Massive as a bit of a workaround. It is an interesting idea for publishers struggling to survive--and it seems even bigger ones are feeling a crunch.

Dark Horse used to be privately owned, was bought by Embracer (a company that focused more on video-games), and had been chugging along. However, they just started implementing sweeping layoffs related to, "market conditions, economic factors," redundancies, and other corporate-speak for positions that basically cost more than Embracder thinks they make/are worth. A decline in sales, the ongoing threat of tariffs (that comes and goes at Trump's whim), and Embracer's own business issues have apparently made it necessary for Dark Horse to cut a lot of staff to survive. At least it looks like Dark Horse will survive, as some publishers have a grimmer possible future.

IDW has pushed back on a recent auditor's report that expressed, "Substantial doubt," about the publisher's future. Apparently, some of this relates to who owes money to whom from back when IDW was with Diamond and how PRH is like Rhianna in her song, "Bitch Better Have My Money," and wants its funds from anybody who can pay them--and Diamond can't, so IDW's gotta put some cash forth. IDW has claimed they are working things out with PRH and all will be fine, but whether that's true or its a case of a ship sinking and the captain trying to keep everyone calm while he/she sneaks off to a private escape craft remains to be seen. Clearly, a lot of is happening in the comic-book biz, much of it worrisome. I sincerely hope that everyone will be able to remain in business and that as few jobs as possible will be lost from bankruptcies, layoffs, etc. Optimism can only carry us so far, however.

Diamond's Bankruptcy is Quickly Having Ramifications on Smaller Publishers

Diamond Comic Distributors kicked off the New Year by declaring Chapter 11 bankruptcy. This does not mean they are going out of business at the moment but they will need to reorganize a lot of assets, get money in order, and so forth. Diamond doing this has had a lot of impact already, much of it bad. Publishers who are distributed via PRH (Marvel) or Lunar (DC and some others) aren't impacted as heavily as those who only release their comics via Diamond--they have new problems arising. While a company like Image can just drop Diamond and stick with other distributors, other companies cannot. Diamond basically won't be paying a number of publishers or their comics and smaller publishers can rely on the smallest of margins to stay profitable. American Mythology Productions is one publisher who has now publicly stated how much of a risk Diamond's bankruptcy is for their survival.

American Mythology Productions/AMP is a smaller publisher with some licensed properties and an assortment of original creations. They also are only distributed via Diamond and have a chunk of money Diamond owes them for some recently shipped books which they won't be getting any time soon (due to the bankruptcy announcement). AMP sent an email to people who bought directly from them, discussing how they face a real danger of going out of business. This is probably the first of many publishers telling the public how Diamond's bankruptcy is bad news for them. I sincerely hope that Diamond can get everything figured out as quickly as possible and that publishers who utilize Diamond can weather this storm. Every big storm leaves some damage, however, and the metaphorical winds just started blowing in this case.

Diamond Comic Distributors Has Declared Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

Diamond Comic Distributors had been having a bad go of things lately from losing publishers to competitors and warehouse delays, but I didn't realize it was this dreary. Yes, Diamond just declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy. This is not Chapter 13, which is where you're totally out of business and shut down. This is the kind intended to help an organization reorganize and recover, but it is still clearly bad.

People are worried. The folk Diamond owes money to are concerned, smaller publishers who distribute their comics exclusively via Diamond as opposed to PRH or Lunar are upset and this is going to be incredibly messy before it gets better. Everyone always liked to grumble about Diamond--with good reason--but if they suddenly exit the distribution market (and it isn't just comics as they handle a lot of toys and such too) it leaves a major crater that drastically impacts many publishers, comic stores, and so forth. This is bad, and anyone cheering for the possible downfall of Diamond (as some are doing) is immensely short-sighted. Regardless of Diamond's many faults, it is an important player in the comic business. Hopefully, assets can be sold/acquired in a manner that will help keep everything humming along with little to no disruption. At least, not much more than there already has been at Diamond.

BOOM! Studios Has a Timeline on Going PRH Exclusive as Diamond Suffers Increasing Woes

A bit earlier on in 2024, the company known as BOOM! Studios was acquired by Penguin Random House. Strangely enough, the company kept distribution with Diamond despite PRH being its own distributor of comics for a growing number of publishers (including Marvel). However, a timeline is now in place for BOOM! to go PRH exclusive. It'll be around July 2025. Diamond will still be able to distribute BOOM! titles to comic stores as a third-party wholesaler for shops that don't want to juggle between those two and Lunar (who distributes DC as well as other companies). Diamond is having some problems, though.

Diamond isn't making itself look particularly appealing as a company for retailers to want to keep working with lately due to a downsizing of warehouses, thereby making comics late at some stores for 3 weeks now. That is three weeks a store could be missing a big chunk of inventory to put on the shelves or tuck away for those with a pullbox. Three weeks where an already thin margin of profit with comic-books is gone. Seeing as how Diamond has had more competition in the last half-decade than before you'd think the company would be on its best behavior and working extra hard to please retailers. Apparently, you would be thinking in an incorrect manner. BOOM! leaving Diamond is another chip away at the company and before too long there may be nothing left for Diamond to lose and still have an impact/matter at all in the comic-book biz. We shall see if Diamond will course-correct in time, I suppose.

Image Comics is Pretty Much Totally Done With Diamond

Back in May of this year, it was announced Image Comics would distribute all their individual comics/floppies via Lunar Distribution. This was a hit for Diamond but their trade paperbacks (a significant source of sales for Image) would still be distributed to bookstores by Diamond while could do wholesale of the comics--a slight saving grace for Diamond as it continued to hemorrhage publishers. Well, that's no longer the case as Simon & Schuster shall now get all of Image's graphic novels to bookstores. Ouch, that's gotta sting for Diamond as they now will only help with Image's distribution outside America (for now).

It is strange to think as recently as 2019 Diamond was the sole distributor of floppy comics and had a significant market presence in regard to distributing graphic novels. Then in 2020 at the height of COVID, we saw DC partner with the newly-formed Lunar. After that it was a bunch of dominos up to the present day as DC later become solely aligned with Lunar, Marvel partnered with Penguin Random House, and other publishers joined exclusively with Lunar & PRH (or partnered with multiple distributors) leaving Diamond taking a lot of hits. For years upon years, comic stores expressed to customers/online/to anyone who'd listen how much they hated dealing with Diamond and wished there were better options. There was trepidation as Lunar and PRH entered the scene, but now the market is quite diversified and it is doing great things for everyone...except Diamond, of course.

Diamond most likely will never totally fold. They still have some exclusive publishers, can distribute other stuff wholesale, and sell a lot of other collectible items to stores (toys, Funko Pops, board games, and the like). However, it wouldn't surprise me to see Diamond have to downsize operations more and more as they see their influence in the market shrink. It's been a rough three years for Diamond.

Image Comics to Distribute Exclusively With Lunar

I've got too many posts over the years to link to so I'll summarize things quickly. Diamond Comics Distributors was the only game in town for distributing comics, then COVID hit and they shut everything down. Lunar was created and became the main (and eventually sole) distributor of DC Comics. After a while, Marvel partnered with Penguin Random House to be their distributor. Various other publishers started partnering more with PRH or Lunar (IDW and Dark Horse left) and Diamond continued to lose companies that utilized them for comics due to being--by all accounts--miserable to work with for a comic store. They didn't change much or evolve and while they still do well with toys, board games, model kits, and so forth, they just lost Image as their biggest remaining partner. That's right, Image Comics shall be partnering with Lunar starting this September, and Diamond shall be stuck as a wholesaler just like with other companies that left.

This is a huge deal and while it doesn't mean Diamond is going to utterly wither and die, this is quite the hit they are taking in terms of their comic business. Diamond is going to have to change to some degree how they operate. I'm sure there will be more as this develops.

Mad Cave Studios Has Expanded to Lunar For Distribution; The Trend Continues

I wrote earlier this month about how AWA was expanding their comic distribution beyond Diamond to also work with Lunar. I discussed how it seemed like there was a trend where--if I may quote myself--"I'm pretty sure these publishers who are sticking with Diamond but also willing to work with Lunar and/or PRH are hedging their bets on Diamond's comic division folding or otherwise not being used by a chunk of stores." Now, Mad Cave Studios will be working with Lunar as well as Diamond. More publishers expanding to other distributors. Bets are getting hedged.

I honestly think that even if folks hate Diamond, they do need them for the distribution of a chunk of stuff, but ever since 2020 (which seems like eons ago) Diamond has lost its once firm grip on the comic distribution market as the sole entity. As long as Image and a variety of other publishers stick with Diamond as their sole distributor their comic division will struggle along. Plus, many comic and comic/collectible stores will need Diamond for a variety of items besides comics. Still, times are rapidly changing.

AWA to Expand Distribution to Lunar and I See a Trend

In these new comic-book distribution wars, you've got three major parties. Diamond once was the sole monopoly, but now finds itself, "On the ropes," as it were with Image and a few smaller publishers solely using it. Meanwhile, Lunar has DC and some small publishers who utilize it with Diamond. Then, there is Penguin Random House and its immense growth in the comic-book space (they already were known for their book distribution) thanks to taking on Marvel as a client and now soon having IDW and Dark Horse within its fold. This makes the news that another little publisher known as Artists, Writers, and Artisans (AWA) is going to be distributing with Lunar now but still sticking with Diamond too at first blush seem like small news. However, it makes me feel like I can sniff out a plan of some sort being enacted by a number of publishers.

I'm pretty sure these publishers who are sticking with Diamond but also willing to work with Lunar and/or PRH are hedging their bets on Diamond's comic division folding or otherwise not being used by a chunk of stores. I have my own anecdotal evidence that comic shops hate Diamond and you can find most folks who sell comics saying they despise Diamond on the internet or such. When stores have the option to buy from a publisher via a method other than Diamond they will often take it. Many a shop has told me if Image dumped Diamond they'd probably not bother with it at all outside of specific customer orders from any small publishers that happen to only use Diamond.

If Image leaves Diamond...hoo boy.

Comic-book publishers want to be sure if Diamond's comic division folds or more shops outright quit using Diamond that they can still get distributed in shops. Making sure you have a deal cut with another distributor that releases comics stores basically have to sell (DC and Marvel) ensures you'll at least be an option when the time comes for a store to place an order. I could be reading into all this too much, but the way everything is going with comic-book distribution I feel like this is less of me having a hunch and more of me noticing a subtle trend. Time will tell.