Publishers Weekly is reporting that Marvel Comics is moving its book distribution from Diamond to Hachette. Specifically, beginning in September, the Hachette Book Group will take over distribution of all of Marvel’s hardcover and paperback titles for the domestic and international book trade market. Diamond Comic Distributors, however, will continue to distribute Marvel’s traditional comic books.
Marvel Vice President of Book Sales David Grabriel, in talking about the switch, credited Diamond with “nearly tripling our sales in the book market over the last five years.” But he also pointed to “Hachette’s overwhelming success in the book market” as the reason for the switch. “Teaming with Hachette allows us to even more aggressively grow our presence in the book market, exposing new readers to Marvel’s great library of characters and stories. We can’t imagine a better partner as Marvel looks to expand its presence in the book market.”
Last year, Marvel published more than 500 books, and the loss of that business will be significant to Diamond, but Diamond’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing Kuo-Yu Liang said the company had been “preparing for it.” He also said the company has more than 50 clients, and has just extended its contracts with Image Comics and IDW Publishing. Liang said “We’ll be fine even without Marvel. We expect to have a very good year.”