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Udon Entertainment Signs Deal With Lunar Distribution After Diamond's Bankruptcy Filing
posted on by Joanna Cayanan
Udon stated to retailers that orders for the two titles made through Diamond Comic Distributors will be canceled, and retailers are asked to reorder the books from Lunar Distribution.
Udon Entertainment's Chief of Operations Erik Ko stated regarding the decision:
It's a rocky time for the entire comic industry right now. Diamond has been a very supportive partner of UDON since we started publishing over 20 years ago, and we respect that support a great deal. We are very hopeful that Diamond can come back strong from Chapter 11 restructuring, but with the uncertainty ahead it makes the most sense for us and for the retailers who carry our books to open up our distribution options and make our materials available through additional partners like Lunar Distribution.
Udon Entertainment also assured that with the exception of the two Free Comic Book Day titles, almost all orders placed with Diamond will still be filled. Udon listed Street Fighter Prime #0, Final Fight #4, and Street Fighter Masters: Guile #1 comics as products "shipping exclusively through Diamond before May 2025."
This year's Free Comic Book Day is scheduled on May 3. Udon's titles Street Fighter vs. Rival Schools #1 and Mega Man #0 will lead into new mini-series and other products for 2025.
Diamond announced on January 14 that it has filed a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court in the District of Maryland. Companies who file under Chapter 11 are able to maintain business assets, which may or may not include licenses, in order to attempt to reorganize. Diamond cited that the decreased consumer activity, rising operating costs, and declining sales in the comic book industry post-COVID-19 led to its decision.
Diamond will continue to operate business during this time. Orders will continue to process as usual. The company plans to continue running Free Comic Book Day.
Diamond's two largest unsecured creditors are Penguin Random House (a publishing company and distributor for other publishers, including manga ones such as Dark Horse) and Bandai. Diamond owes these two companies US$9,202,181 and US$4,348,743, respectively. Diamond also owes money to companies such as Viz Media, Square Enix, The Pokémon Company International, Hasbro, and more. Bankruptcy filings stated the company owed Udon Entertainment US$202,694.
Source: Press release
