Dustin Gebel
Marvel Publishing and Penguin Random House Publisher Services have announced that they have reached a multi-year deal that will see Penguin distributing Marvel’s collected editions and graphic novels to bookstores and major retailers. This deal follows after Penguin began to distribute periodical issues to the direct market back in March of 2021. Marvel is also working with Penguin to bring classic stories back to print.
In the statement released by Marvel, bookstores will begin accepting orders for Marvel products beginning this summer, with an expected start of releases in April of 2023.
The move is another shift away from Diamond Comic Distributors as the major distributor in the industry. After DC Comics moved from Diamond back in 2021, they began distributing their periodical releases through Lunar Distribution and UCS Comic Distributors, and their graphic novels and collected editions are distributed by Penguin as well.
This announcement also signals a serious attempt for the company to expand their reach beyond the comic book store, as sales for graphic novels have reached all time highs in the last few years. By working with a distribution house that already have a firm foot in the door of the major retailers, Marvel could potentially leverage this into an increase in sales.
For additional details, the full press release can be read below:
New York, NY – June 8, 2022 – Marvel Publishing and Penguin Random House Publisher Services (PRHPS), a division of Penguin Random House, today 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 successful 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.
