Universal Distribution, a Canadian firm that has been selling comic books, tabletop games, and more for more than 30 years, has been named as DC’s official new distributor for the speciality comic book Direct Market. A new global agreement between the two businesses was inked on 1 September and will take effect in October.
As a result of this new deal, retailers will be able to order DC periodicals, collected editions, and graphic novels starting in October for release in January 2023 and later through Universal Distribution.
Universal Distribution won’t be DC’s only distributor for the Direct Market, though. The publisher will also maintain its connections with Penguin Random House for the global distribution of graphic novels and collected editions, as well as its connections with Lunar Distribution and Diamond UK for Direct Market sales of periodicals and graphic novels.
In an announcement, Universal Distribution CEO Angelo Exarhakos said, “This agreement enables us to provide retailers with the tools they need to grow their DC business. Our primary focus has always been to work closely with our key partners to help retailers provide a great experience for their customers. We are huge fans of DC and are extremely excited with this new relationship between our companies.”
In 2020, DC broke ties with Diamond Comic Distributors, ending a 25+ year partnership during which Diamond served as DC’s sole distributor. At the time, DC declared that it will collaborate with UCS Distributors and Lunar Distribution, albeit the latter partnership ended in 2021.