Comic publisher Dark Horse has partnered with Random House to distribute titles. Given that both houses have the rights to Star Wars, this could certainly prove to be an interesting and beneficial agreement. Press release below the cut.

DARK HORSE BOOKS ENTERS SALES AND DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT

FOR TRADE BOOKSTORES WITH RANDOM HOUSE PUBLISHER SERVICES

(Milwaukie, OR) – Dark Horse Books has announced a multi-year sales and distribution partnership with Random House Publisher Services (RHPS), a division of Random House LLC for the bookstore market. Dark Horse, a leading independent publisher of best-selling graphic novels, manga, and art books, will begin its partnership with RHPS effective June 1, 2014. All newly published and backlist Dark Horse titles will be sold to bookstores worldwide by Random House Publishers Services, who also will be responsible for distribution and fulfillment for the titles.

Coming off an incredibly strong 2013 which saw the Dark Horse title, The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia, rocket to New York Times Bestseller status and the top spot on Amazon’s bestsellers list for all books, Dark Horse is poised to expand its award-winning line to include more of the authors and properties that consumers are looking for.

“When I started Dark Horse Comics in 1986, the plan was to create the highest-quality books, comics, and graphic novels and get them into the hands of as many readers as possible,” said Dark Horse founder and Publisher Mike Richardson. “The decision to move the book market portion of our business was very difficult. Diamond Book Distributors, our current book market distributor, has been a great partner for us for nearly a decade, but it’s now time for a new approach, one we think helps us as we expand our prose and general book categories in traditional bookstores. While we are moving a portion of our business, we know that Diamond will continue to be a strong and valuable partner in the comics specialty market.”

Diamond president and CEO Steve Geppi commented, “Everyone at Diamond has the highest respect for Mike Richardson and Dark Horse, and we’re proud of the success we have helped them achieve. We will continue to grow our business with Dark Horse and all of the publishers we represent, in every possible way.” Diamond will continue to distribute Dark Horse comics, graphic novels, books, and other merchandise to the comics specialty market.

Jeff Abraham, President of Random House Publisher Services added, “Dark Horse has shown great resilience and impressive growth in the graphic novel and manga market over the last several years. We are thrilled with the opportunity to use the same capabilities and expertise that we apply to our current roster of clients and to contribute meaningfully to Dark Horse’s expanded reach into bookstores”.

About Dark Horse

Founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson, Dark Horse Comics has proven to be a solid example of how integrity and innovation can help broaden a unique storytelling medium and establish a small, homegrown company as an industry giant. The company is known for the progressive and creator-friendly atmosphere it provides for writers and artists. In addition to publishing comics from top talent such as Frank Miller, Mike Mignola, Neil Gaiman, Brian Wood, Gerard Way, Geof Darrow, and Guillermo del Toro, and comics legends such as Will Eisner, Neal Adams, and Jim Steranko, Dark Horse has developed its own successful properties such as The Mask, Ghost, Timecop, and SpyBoy. Its successful line of comics, books, and products based on popular properties includes Star Wars, Mass Effect, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Aliens, Conan, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Halo, Serenity, The Legend of Zelda, Game of Thrones and Domo. Today Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent comic book publisher in the US and is recognized as one of the world’s leading publishers of both creator-owned content and licensed comics material.

About Random House Publisher Services

Random House Publisher Services, a division of Random House LLC, is the book industry’s leading provider of sales and distribution services to premium third-party publishers. Its wide range of service offerings includes sales, warehousing, physical and digital distribution, credit and collection, marketing, and information technology. In addition to Dark Horse, its portfolio of clients includes National Geographic Society, Beacon Press, DC Comics, Rizzoli, Melville House, New York Review Books, Candlewick Press, and many others. http://www.rhpublisherservices.com