Penguin Random House will end its distribution arrangement with Diamond Comic Distributors, effective June 25. Diamond’s comics distribution business was recently acquired by pop culture distributor Ad Populum, which made a successful joint bid, along with Universal Distribution, for Diamond’s assets after it filed for bankruptcy. According to Diamond’s January bankruptcy filing, PRH is Diamond’s largest creditor, and is owed $9.2 million.
“Going forward, all Penguin Random House sales into the US Direct Market will be handled by our in-house sales team,” per an email from the PRH direct market sales team sent to partners and obtained by the Beat. The company added that PRH “would like to thank Diamond for their partnership and contributions to the marketplace.”
The move would affect titles from Boom! Studios, Dark Horse, Dstlry, IDW Publishing, Marvel, and TokyoPop, among other publishers, which are distributed by PRH and under the previous agreement could be sub-distributed by Diamond. The release said that Diamond will continue to fill all orders from PRH through June 25.
“It’s disappointing that after years of collaboration, Penguin Random House has abruptly cut off access to product for our loyal retailers and fans,” said a Diamond spokesperson, in a statement. “We’re focused on actively working with other publishers to remedy the situation and minimize disruption.”
