Earlier today we reported that Image Comics and Diamond Comic Distributors settled when it came to the question as to Image’s consigned goods. Currently, Diamond has a motion to sell the consigned goods it still possesses to pay off its debts which is being argued before the court this week. In the agreement, there was this nugget:

Image asserts that the Image Agreement differs in certain aspects as compared to other consignment agreements to which the Debtors are a party.

(Hat tip to Heidi with The Beat for pointing that out while we chatted about the settlement)

So, of course we had to go look and compare and there are some interesting differences.

Image submitted their agreement in a few different motions and you can see a whole bunch of agreements for other publishers here.

Right away, it’s clear there’s a difference between the two. Image’s agreement looks like it was signed in April 2024. Image Comics announced they were moving exclusively to Lunar Distribution in May 2023 with orders beginning on June 2023.

Diamond continued to act as Image’s exclusive “agent” to book market retailers worldwide, but it’s the next bit that’s interesting.

From Image’s agreement:

WHEREAS, Diamond desires to use consigned Products to facilitate sales to non-exclusive  (i.e., comic book specialty retail customers, “direct market” or “direct sales” of the Products) US customers of Image that Diamond would otherwise purchase from Image’s exclusive US distributor.

Compare that to an agreement to another publisher. In the same section:

WHEREAS, Seller desires to appoint Buyer to distribute English language versions of the Products in the markets set forth below; and

WHEREAS, Buyer desires to accept such appointment as distributor for Seller.

As stated elsewhere, I’m not a lawyer, and definitely not a contract lawyer, but that absolutely is a difference.

Now, in agreements with other publishers, there are still references to “consignment.” An example in the section “Supply and Purchase Orders”:

(b) Buyer shall place consignment orders for Products…

(c) Buyer will warehouse Products on consignment in a clear, dry, secure, and fire-protected facility.

There’s numerous other references to consignment goods in the non-Image agreements and there’s far more to the differences between the agreements, but we wanted to focus on the topic at hand. It might be small details that lead to this settlement… We’ll have more coverage of the hearings this week as decisions are made.