It’s new comic book day! What are you all getting? What are you excited for? Sound off in the comments below! While you wait for shops to open, here’s some comic news and a review from around the web.
ICv2 – PRHPS Gets Wattpad WEBTOON – Interesting.
Icv2 – Variant Covers Come to Manga – This will be intriguing. Will variants sink manga or keep it going?
Reviews
The Beat – What’s Wrong?
Dark Horse Comics and Penguin Random House Publisher Services (PRHPS) have announced an exclusive worldwide multi-year agreement for the sales and distribution of Dark Horse’s newly published and backlist comic book periodicals, graphic novels, and manga to the Direct Market comic shops. The new agreement, which begins June 1, 2023 expands its current partnership, in which PRHPS sells and distributes Dark Horse’s trade-book frontlist and backlist to bookstores.
Direct Market retailers can choose to order Dark Horse products direct from PRH, or alternatively, through Diamond, as a wholesaler, under terms established by Diamond in the US and the UK. These retailers now have 24/7 access to online ordering and can also visit www.prhcomics.com, a website for comics, graphic novels, manga, and more, designed specifically for US Direct Market comic shop retailers and consumers.
Penguin Random House Publisher Services continues to consolidate its control over distribution with publishers shifting from Diamond to PRHPS. One mega company to another. It’s hard to not see this as another blow against Diamond as it has lost many of the major publishers to PRHPS and other distributors. Marvel, IDW, and more have switched their primary distribution to Penguin Random House and others. But, federal sights have turned towards Penguin Random House as it attempts to merge with Simon & Schuster consolidating the book market. While distribution doesn’t seem to be the primary reason the federal government is opposing the merger, it is absolutely a factor as the publisher would control not just a large portion of the book market (what gets published, terms of those deals, etc.) but with a greater control of the market it could then abuse its power when it comes to distribution.
This week, Marvel Publishing and Penguin Random House Publisher Services (PRHPS), a division of Penguin Random House, announced an exclusive worldwide multi-year sales and distribution agreement for Marvel’s newly published and backlist collected editions and graphic novels to bookstores and major retailers across the Book Market. PRHPS officially begins its distribution to Book Market retailers for all Marvel titles beginning in Spring 2023.
Following the transition of Marvel’s Direct Market distribution to PRHPS in 2021, Marvel’s book distribution will now continue with PRHPS in the Book Market. PRHPS will begin distribution for books going on sale beginning April 1, 2023. Up to that date, books will continue to be distributed by Hachette Book Group.
April books will be available to order beginning later this summer.
It was new comic book day yesterday! What did you all get? What are you excited for? Sound off in the comments below! While you think about that, here’s some comic news and a review from around the web.
Kotaku – Report: Twitch Is Hacked And Its Source Code Is In The Wild [Update] – Wow!
Kotaku – Only Three Percent Of Twitch’s Top-Earning Streamers Are Women, Apparently – A lot of potentially interesting things coming out of this hack.
Deadline – ‘Moon Lake’: Heavy Metal Developing TV Adaptation Of Dan Fogler Graphic Novel Series, ‘Rick And Morty’ Studio Bardel Entertainment To Animate & Co-Produce – Any comics not being adapted?
ICv2 – The Harvey Awards Will Induct Five into its Hall of Fame – Congrats to all!
SKTCHD – Penguin Random House Swings and Misses in Week One at Marvel – Looks like the grass isn’t greener.
Review
Collected Editions – Superman: Action Comics Vol. 5: The House of Kent
IDW Publishing and Penguin Random House Publisher Services (PRHPS) have announced an exclusive worldwide multi-year sales and distribution agreement for IDW’s newly published and backlist comic book periodicals, trade collections, and graphic novels to the Direct Market comic shops beginning June 1, 2022. The new agreement complements and expands their current partnership, in which PRHPS sells and distributes IDW’s tradebook frontlist and backlist to bookstores.
Penguin Random House recently opened a new distribution facility focused on the Direct Market supply chain. The facility, a one-million square-foot warehouse located in Hampstead, Maryland was opened in tandem with the company’s fulfillment headquarters in nearby Westminster.
Direct Market retailers will be able to order IDW products directly from PRH or through Diamond as a wholesaler under Diamond’s terms.
IDW is the latest publisher to sign with PRHPS. Marvel is the most high-profile announcing the shift in March of this year. IDW signed with PRHPS to handle the trade bookstore market in 2016 and began distribution in 2017.
Earlier today shockwaves through the comic industry were felt as Marvel announced an exclusive deal with Penguin Random House to distribute their comics to the direct market (ie comic shops). This is a major hit to Diamond Comic Distributors, the current distributor, and comes about 9 months after DC left Diamond.
Diamond Comic Distributors Chairman, President & CEO Steve Geppi has released a statement regarding the change:
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.
Marvel’s deal with Penguin Random House will begin on October 1. Diamond will remain as a distributor as well but Diamond would be getting their product from Penguin Random House as to re-distribute.
Marvel Comics and Penguin Random House Publisher Services (PRHPS), a division of Penguin Random House, have announced an exclusive worldwide multi-year sales and distribution agreement for Marvel’s newly published and backlist comic books, trade collections, and graphic novels to comics shops, known as the Direct Market. PRHPS officially begins its distribution to Direct Market retailers for all Marvel titles starting October 1.
Marvel has chosen PRHPS as its distribution partner to create a sustainable, productive supply chain and enhanced infrastructure for Marvel publications that will benefit comics retailers. Penguin Random House is known for its state-of-the-art multi-ranging services that enable independent booksellers to increase efficiency and profitability.
Penguin Random House has long been committed to physical retail in order to foster and grow their market. Independently owned brick-and-mortar bookstores are local community builders, advocates for books, and passionate influencers for the industry.
After seeing a double-digit percentage in closures of physical bookstores from 2001 to 2011, and notwithstanding an anticipated rise in e-books, PRH significantly extended and expanded its outreach to physical retail. Through its robust supply chain of rapid direct shipping, greater access to data, and premier customer service, PRH helped support healthier margins that led to a market turnaround. These past experiences and learnings will be invaluable when adapting for today’s physical retailers in the Direct Market.
Penguin Random House is a free-freight company, allowing retailers to simplify their business models while alleviating the volatility and complexity of reducing freight costs and planning. Through many of PRH’s standard offerings, like its rapid replenishment program for graphic novels and advanced supply chain, Direct Market retailers will experience more flexibility to manage inventory and stock their stores to best serve their customers.
Direct Market retailers can choose to order Marvel products direct from PRH, or alternatively, through Diamond as a wholesaler under terms established by Diamond in the US and the UK. Hachette Book Group will continue to manage distribution of Marvel’s graphic novels and trade collections to the book market.
Marvel’s full print and online October Marvel Previews catalog and comic book solicits will be available in July and distributed by PRHPS to active accounts. All comic book and trade orders for titles going on sale this October should be made through PRHPS. Early solicit titles will be available for order starting on May 26. Retailers can open PRHPS accounts now to register for Marvel’s monthly title catalogs and solicits, which will continue to be available to retailers approximately three months ahead of on sale.
The last year has been a rough when it comes to distribution. COVID forced Diamond to shut down for an extended time period resulting in DC Comics to pull their deal and go to two other distributors (which is now consolidated back to one). Other publishers have also pulled their distribution from Diamond often choosing to sell directly to stores and/or consumers instead.
With yet another distributor to contend with, comic shops will likely suffer by the decision. A third ordering system will increase time to order and manage purchases, labor costs will increase and it’s unknown how margins will be impacted for them. Overall, this sounds like a decision that’s good for Marvel but the impact on stores is a big unknown.
Seven Seas Entertainment has announced a multi-year sales and distribution agreement with Penguin Random House Publisher Services (PRHPS). PRHPS will sell and distribute Seven Seas’ “entire frontlist and backlist across all sales channels worldwide.”
Seven Seas Entertainment publishes hundreds of manga, light novels, original comics and more annually across the company’s four distinct imprints—Seven Seas, Ghost Ship, Waves of Color, and Airship.
Seven Seas publishes both manga and light novels and some of its notable releases include Afro Samurai, Devilman, and Space Battleship Yamato.
The deal begins on July 1, 2021.
IDW Publishing, a subsidiary of IDW Media Holdings, today announced a multi-year book sales and distribution partnership with Penguin Random House Publisher Services (PRHPS) exclusively for the trade bookstore market. The agreement takes effect April 2017.
Celebrated for its diverse catalog of licensed and creator-driven titles, IDW publishes some of the most successful titles in the industry, including: Hasbro’s Transformers, G.I. Joe, My Little Pony, and Jem and the Holograms; Paramount/CBS’s Star Trek; Nickelodeon’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; Twentieth Century Fox’s The X-Files; Sony’s Ghostbusters, Disney Classics, Temple Street Productions’ Orphan Black, and many more. In addition, from IDW’s Top Shelf Productions imprint, the March trilogy is both a critical darling and commercial smash hit, currently holding the top three positions on the New York Times Bestseller List for five consecutive weeks. The award-winning trilogy of books is Congressman John Lewis’ autobiographical account of the civil rights movement with co-writer Andrew Aydin and artist Nate Powell.
Diamond Comics Distributors will continue to sell and distribute graphic novels and comics exclusively to the comic book specialty market. Diamond will also continue to handle distribution of graphic novels, books, and other merchandise to the mass market in the UK.
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