Posted in: Comics, Current News | Tagged: diamond, lunar

Diamond UK Will Not Distribute Mad Cave Studios Or TwoMorrows To UK

Diamond UK will no longer distribute Mad Cave Studios or TwoMorrows to UK... so what other choice is there?

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 12:57:06 -0600

Article Summary

Diamond UK will no longer distribute Mad Cave Studios or TwoMorrows titles in the UK and Ireland.
Image Comics shifts UK distribution to Lunar after Diamond's US bankruptcy, affecting shipping timelines.
Shipping costs from US to UK remain a challenge for smaller publishers without a local warehouse.
Larger UK comic stores explore direct orders from Lunar for better discounts, despite high shipping rates.

The fallout from the Diamond Comic Distributors bankruptcy continued to play out. In a letter to British and Irish comic book retailers, Diamond UK has stated;

"Following on from my email earlier this week I can confirm that we have received our Image product for 29th Jan and 5th February, and this will be included in your shipments next week, we hope to also include Image titles due for release 12th February and will provide a further update on this tomorrow."

Image Comics had pulled out from any subdistribution deals via Diamond Comic Distributors in the USA, going exclusive with Lunar Distributors as a result of Diamond going into Chapter 11 bankruptcy. However, Diamond UK was still very much a going concern and Image Comics will now ship to Diamond UK via Lunar. Even if all the comics are coming in a little later now. But not everyone is so accommodating, however. The e-mail continues;

"Unfortunately, we have been unable to agree on terms for continuing to supply Diamond UK customers with Mad Cave or TwoMorrows titles and due to this, all-outstanding orders for their titles will be cancelled, you will find a record of these cancelled orders at the top of your future UK invoices. Thank you all once again for the continued support you've shown during these past few weeks

This means that UK comic stores will not be stocking Mad Cave titles such as Gatchaman, Flash Gordon, or Defenders Of The Earth. Or any of the TwoMorrows titles, such as Alter Ego or The Jack Kirby Collector. Or are they? The problem with Lunar Distribution and the UK was down to shipping prices. Because they don't have a UK-based warehouse for dropshipping, each package to each store had to be sent out individually from the USA. When DC left Diamond to go exclusive with Lunar and UCS, shipping to Britain often saw the cost of postage exceed the value of the comics, doubling the cost to UK stores. A deal with Diamond UK was negotiated, and normal service was mostly resumed. But now?

I am told that some stores have gone back to distribution for all the DC Comics and Image Comics titles, as well as Oni, Ahoy, and other titles available through Lunar. And because better shipping deals have been negotiated – and the price of comics has gone up – they have found it more economical with the full Lunar discount on top to order directly from Lunar in the USA. This is an option reserved more for the bigger stores; however, if British stores still have some die-hard TwoMorrows or Mad Cave fans, it might be worth experimenting with.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!