Big(ish) news from the business side of things today, as Marvel Comics has announced that as of September 1, 2010, Diamond Books will no longer distribute Marvel's books (i.e. trade paperbacks, collections, etc.), their worldwide distribution will instead be handled by the Hachette Book Group.
This news is not totally unexpected. When Disney acquired Marvel Comics, it was speculated by many (including us) that Marvel might leave Diamond and utilize Disney's book distribution system via HarperCollins. Well, Marvel did leave Diamond, they just didn't go to HarperCollins, they went to Hachette, who is the second largest book publisher in the world. That's an interesting development.
It is important to note that this does not effect Marvel's deal with Diamond to distribute their single issue comics books. If Marvel had pulled their single issues from Diamond, you would have felt the seismic waves before you actually heard the news. In fact, Marvel and Diamond have announced today that they are extending their deal for comic book distribution.
Check back here on Thursday for more in-depth analysis on this news from our very own Jason Wood.
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I was going to make a joke about "pulling out" but couldn’t come up with anything that was PG-13.
I patiently await Mr. Wood’s analysis on the subject. 🙂
Is this going to affect places like DCBS and In-stock Trades? That would be a bummer, as that’s where I get most of my trades.
Yowza!
There goes Wood!
See? It works on a few levels…
I wonder if this means that Marvel trades will go on sale earlier on Amazon and other online bookstores (as well as bookstores themselves), than they do now. Kind of like how DC’s books are on the book shelves about a week after they hit the direct market because of their deal with Random House, whereas Marvel and other Diamond books take about a month to get off of Amazon and other bookstores?
@CGPO: Ooooh, good question!
Yes, Diamond was doing a terrible job distributing Marvel’s trades. This is good.
CGPO;
I think it’ll get them to bookstores faster. I know many bookstores (like the one where I work) don’t buy from Diamond, so we have to wait for the books to arrive at our wholesalers before we can get our hands on them. And you’re right – with the DC/Random House books, we can get them almost as soon as they release. I assume it will the the same with Hachette/Marvel.
@flakbait – I’m no expert on this, but I don’t think it would affect places like DCBS. Marvel will still work with Diamond to get comics to the comics retailers. And although it’s not really mentioned above, I assume that would include getting graphic novels and trades into comic shops (i.e., the "direct market"). The only thing that changes is that Marvel isn’t relying on Diamond to ALSO get their books into BOOKSTORES. Using Hachette presumably means that they think they can get into a better, deeper relationship with bookstores worldwide.
Does this mean new printings of popular out of print omnibuses, hard covers etc?
Someone please say yes. : )
I don’t want to pre-empt my own article, but I hope to answer all the questions coming to people’s minds. Stay tuned; but as Conor astutely points out…the main takeaway for you, the fans, is that the direct market stays as you know it currently and the book stores have some changes; which will lead to some noticeable changes for Marvel collected editions in other venues, like conventions, too.
direct market stays the same? meaning comic shops that only order through Diamond will still be able to get Marvel trades?
@ABirdseysView yes, nothing changes in the direct market.
Oh my. This is a big deal… right?
@Steen Sure looks like it, but I defer to Mr. Wooood.
Very interesting… I’m in favor of anything that weakens Diamond’s monopolistic hold on distribution.
This will affect the shop owners more then the buyers. Shops get a % discount on their total order that is tiered to the total, so order $500.00 get 30% off, order $1000.00 get 40% off, and the like. If you take away Marvel trades from the pool of available books to order it lowers the shops % discount tier. This in turn narrows the stores profit margin, which you can be sure is not so good to begin with.
Interesting.
This could open the floodgates to something much more. Like maybe Diamond will slowly (very slowly) lose their stranglehold on the industry? Or trade will now be easier to get and afford? Definitely need to keep a closer eye on this.
@stuclach: Exactly. Yay Capitalism!
@JackAcid – it doesn’t take trades and graphic novels away from the direct market. Shops will still be able to order trades from Diamond, so it shouldn’t affect their orders or discounts (unless Diamond changes something). This is just a different option for regular bookstores.
@JesTr – Or, more specifically, Yay competition. Best example of competition increasing quality:
http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2009/08/the-benefits-of-competition.html
This example cannot be summarized. It MUST be read to be believed.
@JesTr – You may also need to read this one to get the full story:
http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2009/08/insurance-markets-in-everything-1.html
This is because of the "Amazon Price Glitch?" Is that the case? Seems like a factor, definitely.
@stuclach: Healthy competition is what we need to stimulate the economy. I was hoping that Marvel comics would be released by Hachette as well. That way If there are problems with Diamond one week, or they are off on holiday, we might still have some comics released.
I’m definitely pro this move and as others have mentioned, anything to destroy or weaken Diamond.
I just hope that months down the road this doesn’t prove to be a big mistake. I’d hate for my favorite publisher to be in another rut.
taht is crazy