Posted in: Comics | Tagged: diamond, Diamond UK, EU, lunar, uk

Diamond UK And Image Comics Sign A Three-Year Deal Until 2029

Diamond UK and Image Comics sign a three-year comic book distribution deal until 2029, across the UK, Europe and International territories

Published Fri, 19 Jun 2026 14:47:10 -0500

by Rich Johnston

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You may have read a piece I wrote for Publishers' Weekly about a closer relationship between Image Comics and Diamond UK established in the surrounding pubs of the London Book Fair earlier this year. Well, it seems to have borne fruit.

Diamond Comic Distributors UK, formerly the UK side of Diamond Comic Distributors, but bought out by management after the bankruptcy of the American operation, with a little help from Rachel Reeves, has announced a new three-year deal to continue distributing Image Comics directly to the UK and the European Union and other related International book and comic markets, beginning on the 1st of August, 2026, for both comic shops and bookstore market sales. Previous arrangements were made through Diamond US but ceased after their Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in January 2025. At the time, and after a few false starts, Diamond UK and Image Comics continued to work together via Lunar Distribution to maintain supply to customers last year. Now they are agreeing on a direct trading relationship for all markets outside of Lunar, as Image Comics also signed a non-exclusive distribution deal for the USA with Universal Distribution.

Mike Holman, General Manager/Director at DUK told Bleeding Cool "Here at Diamond UK we were all very aware of the extremely difficult situation that Image (and almost all US publishers) were faced with regarding the UK market when Diamond US filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and we were determined to continue working together to maintain supply to our UK and International markets without any publisher facing further losses or complications and with as little disruption as possible to our UK accounts. We remain very grateful for the faith placed in us by those publishers. This new direct deal with Image Comics will give us back the extra time needed to return our working week back to as close as it was before January 2025 which will undoubtedly improve all aspects of our business." Eric Stephenson, Chief Creative Officer and Publisher at Image Comics, also said, "It's exciting to continue our relationship with Mike Holman and his team as they chart a new course for their company. We always had a great working relationship with Diamond UK when it was part of the greater Diamond network of companies, and we're confident that will continue as we move forward." The pubs near the London Book Fair will be most grateful, I am sure.

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