News

Things From Another World Comics Retail Site to Shut Down on April 30

Comics retailer Things From Another World announced on April 2 that its retail website will close on April 30. The company stated that its three physical stores (two in Oregon at Milwaukie and Beaverton, and one in California at Universal CityWalk) will remain open.

As of the announcement, future pre-orders are being removed on the site. Last subscription and pre-order processing day is on April 9, and last day for in-stock orders on the site is on April 21. The site will go offline on April 30.

Mike Richardson opened the first Things From Another World store on January 1, 1980. It has then expanded to a chain of stores in the 1990s, and the TFAW.com website launched in the early days of e-commerce. The company bills itself as the "third-largest comic book retailer in the nation."

Richardson founded Dark Horse Comics in 1986 as an offshoot of Things From Another World. The company published its first manga, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, in 1987.

Embracer Group began acquiring Dark Horse Comics in December 2021, and completed the acquisition in March 2022. The acquisiton was part of the company's spree of acquisitions of media and game companies beginning in 2019. After a planned US$2 billion investment from Savvy Games Group (a company owned by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund) did not go through as planned in May 2023, the company found itself in debt, with the company soon planning restructuring, leading to mass layoffs, the sale of properties and subsidiary companies, and a three-company split from April last year.

Dark Horse is part of the split by conglomerate Embracer Group in April last year into three companies: Asmodee Group, Coffee Stain & Friends, and Middle-earth Enterprises & Friends. Middle-earth Enterprises & Friends currently owns Dark Horse Comics.

Dark Horse Comics revealed in February that it had begun laying off staff positions, but did not comment on how many positions or who it has laid off. Dark Horse stated that it was responding to "increasing overhead, changing market conditions, and external economic factors." Dark Horse made the statement after Konner Knudsen, one of its associate editors, announced on their Bluesky account that they were laid off.

Dark Horse Comics closed its Dark Horse Digital (DHD) service on February 24. The Dark Horse Comics and Plants vs. Zombies Comics apps for iOS devices also ended on March 31.

Sources: Things From Another World X/Twitter account and website, Comics Beat (Heidi MacDonald)