Until 2020, Diamond Comic Distributors held a near-monopoly on getting comic books to retailers in the US. Publishers like Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, Image, Viz, Boom, and Udon all sold their comics exclusively through Diamond, though hearing retailers grumble about them—often claiming books arrived damaged, late, or not at all, especially in small-town shops—was common.
When Diamond announced it would cease shipments during the Covid-19 pandemic in March of 2020, DC took it as an opportunity to jump ship, switching to Lunar Distribution and UCS Comic Distributors for its monthly releases and Penguin Random House for book-sized releases. One by one other publishers followed, including Marvel, until Diamond declared bankruptcy in January of 2025.
Udon was one of the last publishers to remain with Diamond (alongside Dynamite, which would rather like to retrieve half a million dollars it claims Diamond owes), but now Udon has declared it’s found an alternative as well. Udon has halted all shipments to Diamond in favor of Lunar Distribution, with its Manga Classics imprint now being distributed by Simon & Schuster.
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“With the current state of uncertainty and lack of communication from the new owners to both retailers as well as many publishers, we have to do what is best to serve our customers,” Udon chief of operations Erik Ko said. “We realize this is a deep inconvenience for many retailers, but we’re trying to do our best to serve our partners and fans, while minimizing risk and moving forward in an uncertain time.”
This has affected the first issue of Udon’s new series Mega Man Timelines, which has been pushed back a month to a June 25 release. Udon’s future comics, manga, and art books will be distributed though Lunar, which presumably includes any more of the Capcom-licensed books it’s famous for—like Street Fighter, Darkstalkers, and Final Fight—as well as its books based on games like Elden Ring and Persona.