Diamond Might Not Distribute Comics Until August

[ben6543]

We've now been without new comics for two weeks and should things stay the course, it could be months until new comics are available at your local comic shop. Last month, Diamond Comic Distributors — the lone such business in the world of comics, mind you — announced it wouldn't be accepting any new books from publishers for distribution. ComicBook.com has now learned Diamond is letting publishers resolicit some previous material for the August catalog.

The root cause for the August timeline has been a new policy Diamond has handed down that allows publishers to delay any books that had previously been solicited for release in July. Some have taken this to mean that they're able to push those solicitations back to August — or another time that fits best with the publisher's schedule — while others suggest it's still completely unclear when Diamond will be back open for business. The one crystal clear thing in this scenario is the fact things are still very fluid and will likely remain that way for weeks to come.

Days after Diamond announced it would stop accepting new products to distribute, news also broke the distributor would temporarily be withholding payments to said publishers as cash flow issues had started to surface.


"Besides the industry’s most immediate needs, we have been and will continue looking toward the future, when we see stores reopening, bringing staff back onboard, and getting customers in the door," Diamond's Steve Geppi said in a statement last month. "We are looking at issues like debt accrued due to this crisis, what reduced ordering means for your discount tiers, and the availability of credit to help stores through and after this difficult time. We don’t have all those answers today, but we understand the many issues you are facing and look forward to addressing them as partners who all have an interest in the long-term health of the industry we love so much."

https://comicbook.com/comics/2020/04...irus-shutdown/

[InuYashaCrusade]

Wow. I can't imagine they'll delay digital comics until August.

[ben6543]

Originally Posted by InuYashaCrusade

Wow. I can't imagine they'll delay digital comics until August.

same stores will be dead by than. hence why it says might. I hope its sooner than August

[mwynn]

DC is firing the first shot in the Distro war.

But the biggest bombshell of this: DC will be using two new distributors, Lunar Distribution and UCS Comic Distributors to distribute weekly periodical comics. Retailers can sign up with either on a regional basis.

They have canceled their books at Diamond.

[ben6543]

Originally Posted by mwynn

DC is firing the first shot in the Distro war.

But the biggest bombshell of this: DC will be using two new distributors, Lunar Distribution and UCS Comic Distributors to distribute weekly periodical comics. Retailers can sign up with either on a regional basis.

They have canceled their books at Diamond.

interesting hope Marvel does the same thing. Seems Diamond is not worth dealing with

[ben6543]

Geek Elite Media
@GeekEliteMedia
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Diamond Comic Distributors plans to resume shipments in mid-to-late-May following the shutdown stemming from COVID-19.

[InuYashaCrusade]

Originally Posted by mwynn

DC is firing the first shot in the Distro war.

But the biggest bombshell of this: DC will be using two new distributors, Lunar Distribution and UCS Comic Distributors to distribute weekly periodical comics. Retailers can sign up with either on a regional basis.

They have canceled their books at Diamond.

Shops will be able to receive new issues through this then, right? Sounds like a good thing to me.

[scampbylt]

Originally Posted by mwynn

DC is firing the first shot in the Distro war.

But the biggest bombshell of this: DC will be using two new distributors, Lunar Distribution and UCS Comic Distributors to distribute weekly periodical comics. Retailers can sign up with either on a regional basis.

They have canceled their books at Diamond.

Guess my question as an active subscriber, do these new distributors provide monthly catalogs for ordering? I placed orders monthly using Diamonds catalog.

[Comicfan]

The owner of my comic shop was just quoted last night at Newsarama about the news from DC Comics about the new distributors.

https://www.newsarama.com/49879-init...-is-mixed.html

Updated 10:30pm: Newsarama continues to receive more reaction from comic book retailers about DC's plan to publish new comics beginning April 28 via two new distributors (see below).

The latest comes from Marc Nathan of Cards Comics & Collectibles in Reisterstown, MD and founder and proprietor of the Baltimore Comic-Con. Here is his written reaction in its entirety:

"DC Comics stopped being the direct market's favorite publisher when they began the Walmart deal. This is just more of the same. Public safety for our extended families should be our first thought, not selling the next issue of Batman. My store is a Diamond Comic Distributors store. I dealt with Heroes World and others in the 1990’s. It went poorly for everyone. Clearly, DC did not learn from history. Nor do they seem to care for the orders of my state or Governor. Do they believe my shut down is not for the safety of my great state of Maryland or do the simply don’t care? Their actions suggest the worst of their motives.

"I will NOT be signing up for this. I will wait for Diamond to reopen. A company run by people who love comics, it’s history and it’s passionate fans. There will be a time for the next issue of Batman, and it will be needed then. Not when it’s release puts people future in danger.

I've known Marc and been dealing at his store since I was 12(I'm 41 now).This answered some of my questions in regards to this whole situation relating to my comic shop, for the immediate future anyway.

[InuYashaCrusade]

Comics will start shipping to shops again on May 20

https://www.polygon.com/comics/2020/...c-distributors

Diamond Comic Distributors, America’s largest comics distributor, is opening back up

[mwynn]

DC is trying to movie New Comic Day to Tuesday.

[InuYashaCrusade]

Why though?

[mwynn]

Originally Posted by InuYashaCrusade

Why though?

They want to avoid books coming out through Diamond.

Both DC and Marvel have fumbled the ball during this crisis.

I hope everyone has been able to find an indie book to enjoy.

Hint hint.

[mwynn]

DC now has their own catalog.

https://www.dccomics.com/comics/dc-c...zwgitt9GiyqVfU

[InuYashaCrusade]

My local shop still hasn't reopened despite the mall opening back up last week. I don't know if they're still receiving shipments or not, so I went ahead and ordered Marauders #10 on eBay. I was going to wait and let issues pile up but this is the last issue until August. Three month wait is nuts.

[mwynn]

Originally Posted by InuYashaCrusade

My local shop still hasn't reopened despite the mall opening back up last week. I don't know if they're still receiving shipments or not, so I went ahead and ordered Marauders #10 on eBay. I was going to wait and let issues pile up but this is the last issue until August. Three month wait is nuts.

They do not have an online presence? What is the name of the story?

[mwynn]

Looks like DC is going to do new comics Tuesday from now on.