AWA Studios will join Lunar Distribution starting in January, the publisher just announced. They will continue to work with Diamond for the DM and Simon and Schuster for bookstores.
They join a loose confederation of smaller publishers and DC at Lunar, including AHOY, Oni, Scout, and more.
The PR notes that, over the summer, a survey of thoughts about the various distributors among more than 230 retailers sponsored by ComicsPRO found that Lunar received the highest grade in five out of nine categories, including overall grade.
The PR also notes that “Valued at $9.21B in 2021, the global comic book market is expected to reach a valuation of $12.81B by 2028 (Fortune Business Insights).”
Alrighty then!
And more from the news release:
The first AWA title to be distributed through Lunar will be TROJAN, a 4-issue original story from best-selling writer Daniel Kraus (YEAR ZERO VOL. 0, George Romero’s The Living Dead) and acclaimed Serbian artist Laci (SHERLOCK HOLMES, GHOSTED). With both the main cover and a variant cover available through Lunar, TROJAN #1 has an FOC date of 12/12 and a release date of 1/4/2023. Lunar will distribute all AWA Studios’ titles, including its back catalog.
“As the comics industry continues to boom, we are readying to release an incredible slate of titles in 2023 and are eager to broaden our distribution options to provide more flexibility for our retail partners and readers,” said Michael Cotton, Executive Editor and Head of Publishing Operations, AWA Studios. “Lunar’s approach to data, use of technology and overall responsiveness is quickly building their reputation as one of the top distribution partners in the business for both publishers and retailers and we are excited to begin working together in the New Year.”
Lunar Distribution co-founder Christina Merkler added, “AWA has become a publisher the industry can count on for quality stories by the top creators in the field. We are thrilled to add them to the Lunar family and look forward to offering their titles to our accounts.”
And here’s our updated Distributor Scorecard!
| Publisher | Comics Shops | Bookstores |
| Ablaze | Diamond | ? |
| Ahoy | Diamond, Lunar | S&S |
| Andrews McMeel | ? | S&S |
| Aftershock | Diamond | ? |
| Archie | Diamond | PRH |
| AWA | Diamond, Lunar | S&S |
| Behemoth | Diamond | S&S |
| Black Mask | Diamond | S&S |
| Boom | Diamond | S&S |
| Dark Horse | PRH | PRH |
| DC | Lunar, Universal | PRH |
| Devil’s Due | Diamond | S&S |
| Dynamite | Diamond | Diamond |
| Heavy Metal | Diamond | S&S |
| Hiveworks | ? | S&S |
| Humanoids | Diamond | S&S |
| IDW | PRH | PRH |
| Image | Diamond | Diamond |
| Keenspot | Diamond | S&S |
| Kodansha | Diamond | PRH |
| Legendary | Diamond | S&S |
| Mad Cave | Diamond | S&S |
| Marvel | PRH | PRH |
| Oni | Diamond, Lunar | S&S |
| Rebellion | Diamond | S&S |
| Red 5 | Diamond | S&S |
| Rocketship | Diamond | S&S |
| Scout | Diamond, Lunar | ? |
| Seven Seas | Diamond | PRH |
| Source Point | Diamond | S&S |
| Titan | Diamond | PRH |
| TKO | ? | S&S |
| Valiant | Diamond | ? |
| Vault | Diamond | S&S |
| Viz | Diamond | S&S |
| Yen Press | Diamond | Hachette |
| Z2 | Diamond, Lunar | S&S |
| Zenescope | Diamond | ? |
