And then there were…five. Diamond has just announced that IDW will join Marvel, DC, Image, and Dark Horse as a “premier publisher,” the first company to rise to that rank since the whole system was set up in 1996. Diamond will continue to act as IDW’s exclusive distributor to comics shops, and also to the book trade via Diamond Book Distributors. The cover of their Previews section in the next issue is shown above.

As a premier publisher, IDW will have access to Previews covers and get a slot in the front of the monthly catalog — a spot that gives them prime access to retailers making their monthly orders. Some of the deal points are laid out in the press release, but perhaps most importantly, they will retain their traditional “buy/sell” status, rather than changing to the brokered status which Marvel and DC have. IDW will also move to the “final order cut-off” system that allows retailers to adjust orders close to print date.

It’s a huge step for IDW, and a recognition of their growing status and continued quality of their line. In 2009, IDW was Diamond’s #4 publisher with a 3.49 percent unit share and 4.17 percent dollar share, just behind Dark Horse and ahead of Image. In 2008, they were the #5 publisher with 2.92 percent and 3.08 percent in those categories.

IDW’s growth has obviously been spurred by their smart handling of huge licensed franchises such as Star Trek, G.I. Joe, and Transformers, but in recent years, they’ve hugely expanded their publishing line with art books, children’s books, literary adaptations (The Last Unicorn) and they’ve increasingly picked up entire lines of books, such as Dean Mullaney’s Library of American Comics, Craig Yoe’s historical books, ComicMix’s webcomic collections, EA’s comics video game adaptations, and many more.

Diamond Comic Distributors and IDW Publishing announced today that IDW has become the first publisher to advance to “premier” status since the classification was implemented in 1996. Diamond and IDW have signed a new, multi-year agreement that features a number of fresh initiatives, including premier status, in recognition of IDW’s success as a top tier comic book and graphic novel publisher. Under the agreement, Diamond will continue to be the exclusive distributor of IDW comic books and graphic novels to the comic book specialty market, and to the bookstore market through its Diamond Book Distributors division.

“This change recognizes the growth and importance of IDW Publishing,” said Diamond President and CEO, Steve Geppi, “and we look forward to working with them for many years to come.”

Diamond VP Purchasing Bill Schanes added, “Since IDW began publishing, they have grown consistently each and every year, while at the same time establishing one of the best editorial, marketing, and business teams in our industry. They’re easy to work with, understand our market, and are forging ahead with new strategies and plans to grow the consumer appetite for comics and graphic novels.”

In April, Diamond’s PREVIEWS catalog and PREVIEWSworld.com website will showcase IDW’s new vendor status as the company moves to the “Premier Comics” section. IDW will have an exclusive section in the front of the catalog each month, highlighting their new offerings to comic shop retailers and customers.

“We are very pleased to have completed this groundbreaking agreement with Diamond,” said Ted Adams, CEO of IDW Publishing. “By combining Diamond’s leadership in distribution with IDW’s ten-plus years in developing, creating and marketing comic books and graphic novels, we have created an ideal relationship for each of our companies. The comic book medium is trending upward in all parts of consumer awareness and we are proud to be a partner with Diamond for the future.”

Key points to the agreement include:

Premier Publisher
Under the new agreement and as a result of the company’s consistently strong market share, IDW will have premier status within Diamond and Diamond’s PREVIEWS, including an exclusive section at the front of the monthly catalog.

Discount and Terms of Sales
IDW Publishing will remain in a traditional buy/sell relationship with Diamond, with their books continuing to be sold to comic shops under Diamond’s Terms of Sale (unlike Diamond’s brokerage arrangement with publishers like Marvel and DC Comics where Diamond acts as a sales agent). Discounts will remain unchanged at this time.

Final Order Cut-Off
IDW will be added to Diamond’s Final Order Cut-Off Program sometime in the near future. “Since IDW is a traditional buy/sell vendor, we have some programming work to do, but we expect to have that finalized later this year,” said Schanes.

Book Market Distribution
Diamond remains the exclusive book market distributor of IDW’s publishing efforts. “We’re extremely proud of the progress we’ve made in helping IDW grow its sales in the book store market over the last five years,” said Diamond Book Distributors VP Sales & Marketing, Kuo-Yu Liang. “From their strong licensed properties to their successful launch last year of the Worthwhile Books line for kids, IDW has adeptly shown what products will sell into the book market channel.”