Press Release
Diamond is pleased to announce a new distribution agreement with comic book publisher TOON Books, making Diamond their international distributor outside the US and Canada within direct comic book and book markets. Throughout North America, Consortium Book Sales & Distribution will continue to distribute TOON Books’ publications to the trade, while Diamond will continue to handle direct comic retailers.
TOON’s comics are geared towards younger readers with publications that are easy enough for readers starting at ages three and up to be able to understand and follow along, helping kids read independently. “And now the new line of TOON Graphics is the perfect point of entry into comics for readers age 8 to 12.” According to Françoise Mouly, Publisher and Editorial Director of TOON Books, “That’s when we want kids to discover how great comics can be and that’s how we’ll develop life-long comics readers.” The publications are also seen as a teaching tool, designed to help children in other countries learn to speak English.
These innovative and educational publications have been approved by educators and parents, deeming TOON Books some of the best children’s publications available. The distribution agreement with Diamond will aid in TOON Books expansion into comic book and book markets, helping get great stories into the little hands of eager readers as TOON Book titles will be available for retailers to order and make available to the kids, parents and educators to discover.
“We are pleased to start this relationship with TOON Books as their publications are recognized as influential books among younger readers,” said Diamond’s Vice President of Purchasing, John Wurzer. “By working with TOON Books, we can offer retailers worldwide more choices of kid-friendly comics which we know will make parents, educators and kids happy to see their local comic book shop as a place for kids to want to go to for fun stories they will want to continue to read.”
Mouly added, “Diamond has played an integral role in growing TOON Books in comic books stores here in the United States and thus the ideal partner to leverage this success and bring our books to an international audience.”
“The success of TOON Books within the North American markets makes us certain that their publications will continue to thrive within direct and book markets worldwide.” Said Diamond Book Distributors VP of Sales and Marketing Kuo-Yu Liang.
Customers looking to pre-order Toon Books titles should contact their local retailer, or find a comic shop near them at www.comicshoplocator.com.
ABOUT TOON BOOKS- TOON Books is home to high-quality comics for kids ages three and up. Every book has been vetted by literacy experts to ensure that its language and narrative is appropriate for its reading level. But our goal in publishing “lovingly produced” books is to combine original stories, stunning artwork, and quality printing to inspire kids (and their parents) to explore the magic of comics. Our TOON Graphics line for visual readers ages eight and up includes both comics and visual narratives that bring the text to life in a way that captures young readers’ imaginations and makes them want to read on—and read more. TOON into Reading™ at www.TOON-Books.com.
ABOUT DIAMOND COMIC DISTRIBUTORS (DCD)—Diamond is at the nexus of comics and pop culture. Based in Baltimore, MD, DCD is the world’s largest distributor of English-language comic books, graphic novels, and related pop-culture merchandise, serving thousands of retailers worldwide. For more information, visit Diamond on the web at www.diamondcomics.com.
ABOUT DIAMOND BOOK DISTRIBUTORS (DBD)—DBD is a division of Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc., and is dedicated to making a wide selection of graphic novels and other pop culture merchandise available globally to bookstores, libraries, schools, online retailers, mass merchants and others. DBD is the home to a number of world class publishers including IDW Publishing, publisher of 30 Days of Night, Locke & Key, My Little Pony, G.I. Joe and Transformers; Image Comics, publisher The Walking Dead, Saga, Chew, and Morning Glories; Oni Press, Top Shelf Productions, and many others. For more information, visit Diamond Books on the web at www.diamondbookdistributors.com.
