Posted in: Comics, DC Comics, Dynamite, Image | Tagged: Alliance Gaming, diamond, Diamond UK, fcbd, free comic book day, lunar, Universal Distribution

Image Comics No Longer Exclusive, Coming To Universal Distribution?

Is Image Comics about to be no longer exclusive with Lunar Distribution and coming to Universal Distribution?

Last year, Bleeding Cool broke the news that Canadian comic book and gaming distribution company Universal Distribution had signed a deal to offer DC Comics titles to American comic book retailers. And that this would be part of a new push by Universal to start distributing comics to the USA direct market, as well as to Canada, where they currently dominate. And using the infrastructure of Alliance Gaming, the distribution company formerly owned by Diamond Comic Distributors, they bought out of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy auction. I reported that Universal had a structure and system more similar to that of Diamond Comic Distributors, so retailers who miss that at Lunar Distribution might find it at Universal. And indeed many former Diamond employees have found gainful employ at Universal.

I was also told that Universal would match the keenly negotiated DC Comics discounts that Lunar Distribution already offered to comic shops for DC purchases. I also noted that Image Comics, the second biggest Lunar-distributed comics publisher, was exclusive to Lunar for the USA. And that Universal Distribution already distributes Image Comics to the direct market in Canada. And that the Image Comics folk really like Universal Distribution's President Angelo Exarhakos.

But what has happened since last summer? Well, Dynamite Entertainment, the third-largest Lunar-distributed publisher, now has its books available in the USA through both Universal and Lunar. So does Zenescope Entertainment. And there are spots at Universal USA for Ablaze, AMP, Archie, Keenspot, Oni Press, and Udon, though only for Free Comic Book Day 2026 so far. I am also hearing murmurings that Antarctic Press, distributed by Lunar/Massive Indies, may be on the way to Universal as well.  But what of Image Comics? They are still exclusive to Lunar for the USA and Canada, as are only three other publishers: Titan Comics, Reckah, and TwoMorrows Publishing.

Previous to my early report. DC Comics offered a flat 50% discount to retailers through Universal Distribution, while Diamond and Lunar offered larger stores anything up to 57% discount on the cover price, depending on the size of the order. As I reported, that changed at DC Comics, but I now understand it was more a result of another publisher wanting to offer a similar Lunar/Diamond tiered discount system to American retailers through Universal, which prompted the change. And I don't mean Dynamite or Zenescope.

Now, as it stands, Universal Distribution buys Image Comics titles for Canada, through Lunar Distribution, just as Diamond did back in 2023 and 2024. Image does not have a direct deal with Universal in Canada, unlike some publishers. They are exclusive to Lunar, by the terms of their contract. However, all contracts have term limits. The Image/Lunar deal was announced in May 2023. And three years is a very acceptable exclusive contract term.

It is also notable, as we will see on Free Comic Book Day this year, also owned by Universal Distribution as a result of the Diamond bankruptcy, that Universal has utilised Alliance to get comic books not only into comic book stores but also into gaming and card-collecting stores in the USA. That market is growing and expanding, with DC and Dynamite titles. And other publishers are wondering if they can get a slice of that cake as well. Despite Diamond owning Alliance, they never pushed that link hard into such stores, despite wishes that they would. Well, the new owners of Alliance, Universal, are doing just that in the USA and have been doing so in Canada for ages, with everyone's comic books. Including Image Comics.

I recently wrote a piece for Publishers' Weekly about the London Book Fair. Much of which you could also have read in Bleeding Cool, but I also mentioned Image Comics representatives had flown over to the show, but spent much of that time in "nearby pubs, namely The Cumberland Arms and The Hand & Flower. That's where you could have found Dirk Wood and Jeff Boison, from stateside powerhouse Image Comics, meeting their British writers and artists. Image was also trying to bolster its relationship with Diamond UK after Diamond's U.S. arm filed for bankruptcy last year. Boison claims there's been a rise in the number of English-language-focused comic book stores opening across Europe, which would make Diamond UK ideally placed to supply them." Basically, Image Comics is looking for its distributors to expand the market for its comic books, away from the traditional English-speaking direct market, into stores across Europe and gaming/card stores across the USA. Also, they really like Diamond UK's Mike Holman. I don't blame them.

Universal now owns Alliance's warehouses and has retained its staff, as well as hiring Diamond's former highly respected Director of Retailer Services, Nance Romer, and Diamond's former Image Comics brand manager, now Universal VP of Purchasing and Publisher Relations, Tim Lenaghan. And I am told, as well liked at Image Comics as Universal's President. Universal Distribution was formed in 1992, the same year as Image Comics.

Am I covering the whiteboard with red string and thumbtacks here? Or am I onto something? Are we looking at an imminent move from Image Comics to Universal Distribution for the US and Canadian market, and Diamond UK for, erm, the UK? I guess we'll find out sometime between now… and September 2026.

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