What Will Be the Fallout Of Marvel Moving Away From Diamond Distributors?

From 1997 to 2020, Diamond Comic Distributors has been the primary distributor of comic books to comic shops everywhere. After a COVID-19 shutdown of their distribution back in March of 2020, DC broke away from Diamond and partnered with new distributors for comic shops.

Now Marvel Comics has announced that they have found a new distributor to get its comics into comic shops, Penguin Random House.

Marvel has signed an exclusive multi-year deal with Penguin Random House’s distribution arm to deliver its comic books, trade collections, and graphic novels to the direct market starting on October 1.

“After a thorough analysis of the market environment, Marvel has chosen Penguin Random House Publisher Services (PRHPS) as its distribution partner to create a sustainable, productive supply chain and enhanced infrastructure for Marvel publications that will benefit comics retailers and fans alike for years to come,” reads Marvel’s announcement. “Penguin Random House is known for its state-of-the-art multi-ranging services that enable independent booksellers to increase efficiency and profitability.”

What does this mean for Diamond?

Diamond’s chairman, president & CEO Steve Geppi has released a statement responding to the news. “We value our almost 40-year relationship with Marvel and are pleased that we will continue selling Marvel products to the Direct Market and other channels,” the statement reads.

“The change Marvel announced today represents a behind-the-scenes shift in how Diamond interacts with Marvel for certain products, but does not impact our ability to supply our customers with Marvel comics, trades, and graphic novels. I expect the discount terms under which our retail partners order these Marvel products to change, and Diamond will communicate that information to our customers well in advance of any adjustments. While there are still details of this new arrangement to work through, my leadership team and I are committed to making this supply change as operationally seamless as possible for our retail partners and we look forward to our continued distribution of Marvel products.”

In essence, Diamond becomes a middle-man in the equation. 

“Comics are the core of the Marvel Universe, and we are confident this new partnership will continue to grow and evolve this resilient industry,” Marvel Entertainment president Dan Buckley says in the announcement. “We look forward to advancing our capabilities with PRHPS to serve our fans and the Direct Market,” Buckley says. “We thank Diamond for their many years of support and partnership as we continue our relationship with them in other areas.”

Marvel will continue its partnership with Hachette Book Group for distribution of its trade collections and graphic novels to the booktrade market.

“Marvel’s entire history is built on telling great stories. And as we’ve seen for decades, those stories go hand in hand with equipping the comic shops who share them. Marvel and Penguin Random House stand by that vision, and we are excited to build and expand those opportunities for our talent, retailers, and fans,” says Buckley.

“This is an exciting time for comics, and we’re thrilled to partner with Marvel in taking the next steps to support the growth of the marketplace, together with our Direct Market retail partners,” says PRHPS’s president Jeff Abraham. “Based on the foundation of our relationships with physical retailers, we’re confident in the significant growth of the comic book industry and welcome the opportunity to further collaborate with and invest PRHPS’ resources in the Direct Market.

“Combining the standard-setting supply chain and sales capabilities of PRH with Marvel’s renowned universe of stories and characters, we expect to reach even more fans of its artists and writers throughout the world.”

So where does this leave things?

While Diamond is spinning it, the distributor finds itself on the outside after decades of controlling the product. I’m not making any judgements as articles like this tend to get comments from those who worked at comic book shops and share their feelings about Diamond pretty clearly. 

For Marvel, this isn’t a big surprise and was expected even before DC did it last year. Times are a-changin and when it comes to print materials, every penny counts. 

What about comic book shops? Multiple outlets to order from can open the door to issues like higher shipping costs. Also, independent comic book titles have to fight harder to get noticed as the Big Two take attention away from Diamond, where most still have a home. 

What does this mean to you?