Ahoy is the latest publisher to jump from Diamond to Simon & Schuster for bookstore distribution

Ahoy Comics
(Image credit: Ahoy Comics)

Ahoy Comics is the latest comic book publisher to change its booktrade distribution away from Diamond and over to the publisher/distributor Simon & Schuster. Ahoy publisher Hart Seely frames this as a significant expansion of their booktrade footprint.

(Image credit: Ahoy Comics)

"We're pleased as punch to be partnering with Simon & Schuster with a deal that will allow us to expand our distribution in such a significant way," Seely says. "We can't wait to foist our stable of oddball titles onto the unsuspecting masses and introduce a whole new audience of folks to Dragonfly and Dragonflyman, Jesus and Sunstar, and the staggeringly drunken Edgar Allan Poe."

As part of this announcement, Ahoy have announced their formalized fall collections schedule, which is as follows: 

  • Happy Hour by Peter Milligan and Michael Montenat (August 25 in comic shops/digital, September 7 in bookstores)
  • The Wrong Earth: Night and Day by Tom Peyer, Jamal Igle, and Juan Castro (September 8 in comic shops/digital, September 21 in bookstores)
  • Edgar Allan Poe's Snifter of Blood by Paul Cornell, Dean Motter, and Russ Brain (September 22 in comic shops/digital, October 5 in bookstores)
  • Second Coming; Only Begotten Son by Mark Russell, Richard Pace, and Leonard Kirk (November 3 in comic shops/digital, November 16 in bookstores)

(Image credit: Ahoy Comics)

The first volumes of both The Wrong Earth and Second Coming are available now, as are all of Ahoy's backlist.

"As our president has said, there's finally light at the end of the tunnel," said Ahoy editor-in-chief Tom Peyer. "I'm of course referring to the blindingly bright light cast by our stellar line of fall titles, which I know the entire nation is anticipating with bated (and masked) breath."

Ahoy Comics signed a booktrade distribution deal with Diamond just 12 months ago, but have made the decision to move after what's been a unique year for publishers, comic distributors, and, well, everyone with the pandemic. For its part, Diamond suspended distribution for two months, and took the surprising step of delaying payments owed to publishers due to what it described as cash-flow problems of its own.

(Image credit: Ahoy Comics)

Ahoy is the seventh publisher to switch from Diamond to Simon & Schuster for bookstore distribution in the past few months. The others are Vault Comics, AWA Studios, Red 5 Comics, Behemoth, Z2 Comics, and Scout Comics. Diamond's two largest publishers for booktrade distribution remain Image Comics and Dynamite Entertainment.

Ahoy remains partnered with Diamond for its direct market (i.e. comic book store) distribution, as do all major comic publishers with the exception of DC.

Of course, all these comics are available digitally the same day they debut in print. Check out our list of the best digital comics readers for Android and iOS devices.

Chris Arrant

Chris Arrant covered comic book news for Newsarama from 2003 to 2022 (and as editor/senior editor from 2015 to 2022) and has also written for USA Today, Life, Entertainment Weekly, Publisher's Weekly, Marvel Entertainment, TOKYOPOP, AdHouse Books, Cartoon Brew, Bleeding Cool, Comic Shop News, and CBR. He is the author of the book Modern: Masters Cliff Chiang, co-authored Art of Spider-Man Classic, and contributed to Dark Horse/Bedside Press' anthology Pros and (Comic) Cons. He has acted as a judge for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the Harvey Awards, and the Stan Lee Awards. Chris is a member of the American Library Association's Graphic Novel & Comics Round Table. (He/him)

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