Tommy, are those distrib still carrying comics? I didn’t know.

Even if those chain bookstores have occasionally sourced comics via Diamond Comic Distributors in the past, those that are carrying periodical comics are almost surely sourcing the majority of them through conventional magazine distributors–companies like Source Interlink or Anderson News or whomever else still exists in that business.

Good point on the exclusive bookstore editions, I’d forgotten about those, thanks. And an excellent reminder about the different retailer moods — some direct market retailers take things personally, while some bookstore retailers just make the best of selling what sells.

Borders, B&N, etc. get Marvel titles from Diamond BOOK Distributors, not Diamond COMICS.

Marvel produced the exclusive Masterwork volumes with B&N years ago, as well as that massive 6-volume Ultimate Spider-Man hardcover. We also had an exclusive cover of The Dark Tower.

As a comics retailer, I’d be more concerned about the online retailers with Diamond Comics accounts. The King fan looking for this title will go online, and find it 20-30% off.

If memory serves, B&N got copies of Marvel Zombies a few months after the DM did. Same with the MAD Archives. And when we did get Lost Girls, it was two months later, and it was the third printing. (No criticism for Top Shelf, as it was a big risk, and needed the Direct Market to pay the printer.)

The big box retailers won’t be that cheesed off about it. We’ll just continue to sell other titles.

How will Diamond keep copies away from the trade market? The same way they keep those DM-only Watchmen trade paperbacks away.

I suspect that this is the answer, and that the “mass market edition” will show up in bookstores a month or so after the release to specialty shops (though I’m sure the name won’t be “mass market edition”).

How, exactly, do you stop Borders or Barnes & Noble from ordering this book through their Diamond accounts?

Collude with Diamond to have them use their monopolistic position in this area to prevent Borders and Barnes and Noble (and probably Amazon as well) from ordering it through them? Diamond would seem to have a strong incentive to get as many “non-returnable” copies out into the market as they can before opening up the spigot for returnable merchandise.

Of course the big questions would then be “how cheesed off will the big booksellers be by this stunt?” and “will they do something about it?”

I wonder if the King books have been as successful as hoped for the comic market. Sometimes, these kinds of crossover items burn out quickly, and they don’t keep pulling non-comic shoppers into stores.