Diamond is the publisher of Previews, a monthly catalog/magazine showcasing upcoming comic books, graphic novels, toys, and other pop-culture merchandise.
"[1] One of the "last loyal customers" when New Media began having fiscal difficulties, Geppi made a deal: "[t]he owner was going into retail," so Geppi agreed to provide New Media/Irjax with "free books for a period of time in return for his account list," buying parts of the company, and founding Diamond Comic Distribution.
[2] In what Mile High Comics' Chuck Rozanski describes as an "incredibly risky and gutsy move," Geppi took over New Media/Irjax's "office and warehouse space" and, recalled Rozanski, had to "sort out the good customers from the bad overnight" negotiating with creditors to continue Shuster's distribution business as Diamond Comic Distribution.
[1] In 1994, Diamond employee Mark Herr noted that this move was Geppi's "best decision", as Parker "cares nothing about the comics.
Many fans "with little experience" started rival distribution companies only to "find they were in over their heads," allowing Geppi to "[buy] out the smart ones or pick... up the pieces after the stupid ones went out of business," according to Herr.
[6] Plant had, since 1970, been selling underground comics (a field which Geppi and fellow distributor Buddy Saunders had tended to steer clear of).
[6] After making $19m in sales in 1987, Diamond bought West Coast distributor Plant's business[7] in 1988 "and went national"[1] thereby assuming control of "40 percent of the direct-sales market.
[4] By this point, Diamond had "27 warehouses in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K., employ[ing] between 750 and 900 people;" operated its own trucking line; and controlled 45% of the market, making $222 million in sales.
[14] Capital City's response saw it sign exclusive deals with Kitchen Sink Press and Viz Comics, but a year later faced the choice between bankruptcy and selling out.
In addition to having cornered the American comics distribution market, Diamond includes a number of subsidiary and affiliated companies.
While acknowledging how huge the decision was, DC reiterated that the move was intended to fortify and increase the viability of the comic book direct market while also widening its fan base.
The deal is non-exclusive, allowing retailers to choose ordering from Penguin Random House directly or from Diamond as a wholesaler rather than a distributor in the US and the UK.
[27] In 1983, Diamond was criticized for taking exception to certain "adult"-themed titles and scenes, effectively causing the cancellation of a series called Void Indigo for its excessive violence.
[citation needed] In 1987, Geppi responded to "a graphic childbirth scene in Miracleman #9 [written by Alan Moore]."
"[3]This call for retailers to refuse to stock Miracleman[28] led to accusations of censorship,[29] charges the company was forced to address when it criticized or refused to carry other titles, including books by Kitchen Sink Press,[30] and Dave Sim in 1988,[30][31][32][33] Jon Lewis in 1994,[34] and Mike Diana in 1996.
These charges first surfaced in 1988 when Diamond rejected Matt Feazell's comic Ant Boy,[38][39] and in 1989 when it similarly decided not to carry Allen Freeman's Slam Bang anthology.
[40] After the industry consolidation of 1996, Diamond faced similar charges in 1996,[35] 1999,[41] and 2000 (when smaller publishers like Fantagraphics and Drawn & Quarterly lodged complaints).
Cochran, like Geppi, was a particular fan of Carl Barks' Disney comics, and had previously-published EC reprints in association with Disney-reprinter Gladstone Publishing.
[48] In 2006, Gemstone began producing a more durable and luxurious series of hardback reprint collections; the EC Archives — similar to the DC Archives and Marvel Masterworks volumes — which reprint in full-color hardback ('archival') format sequential compilations of the EC Comics titles.
In early 2009, the future of Gemstone Publishing was unclear, after reports of unpaid printing bills, particularly from the EC Archives.
"[56] In 2008, Diamond introduced ComicSuite, an add-on application for Microsoft Dynamics’ Retail Management System (RMS) software.
Together, ComicSuite & RMS give specialty storeowners a point-of-sale (POS) system specifically geared towards their unique business model, offering a host of exclusive features that grant you direct communication with Diamond databases, making it easier than ever before to place orders, track inventory and maintain “pull-and-hold” subscriptions for your customers."
[21] Alliance was acquired by Diamond in August 2000,[21] two years after being formed by the merger of game distributors Chessex and The Armory.
[58] Envisioned to create collectibles for children and adults, DST was founded in 1999 and has since licensed a variety of pop culture properties, including Marvel Comics, Transformers, G.I.
[20] Geppi's galleries showcase much of his private collection, including comics, movie posters, toys, original artwork by individuals including "Carl Barks, Gustav Tengren (sic), Alex Ross, Murphy Anderson, Joe Shuster, Joe Simon and Charles Schulz.
"[20] Diamond International Galleries has assisted "in such projects as DC's Archive series," as well as hosting industry events.
Its collections included comic books, magazines, movies, newspapers, television, radio and video game memorabilia, including comic books, movie posters, toys, buttons, badges, cereal boxes, trading cards, dolls and figurines.