Comic Book Store Owners Revolt Against Penguin’s Last Ronin Street Date

As Bleeding Cool previously reported, when comic retailers ordered the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin hardcover by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, they knew they had mainstream success and also had a one-week sale date advantage over bookstore customers. But the book was late, and in the meantime IDW signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Penguin Random House, making Diamond a sub-distributor of PRH. Which means that this policy regarding Last Ronin has changed. So that comic book dealers, even if they still received the book this week in advance as expected, are not allowed to sell them in stores until Tuesday, July 5, when booksellers will have copies. . IDW told retailers they still receive their books through Diamond: “Please note that IDW Publishing’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin HC (APR221590) – billed to hit stores with the product on sale June 29 – Now carries a revised in-store date. Please do not list this title until the official in-store date of Tuesday, July 5, which is the new release date for the Direct Market and Book Market.”

Well, as a comic book retailer noticed yesterday, Books-A-Million bookstores weren’t meeting the street date that comic book stores were forced to comply with. And, as a result, many comic shops have decided not to either.

TMNT THE LAST RONIN HC
SDI PUBLICATION
APR221590
(W) Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird, Tom Waltz (A/CA) Kevin Eastman, Esau Escorza, Issac Escorza
Who is the Last Ronin? In a battle-torn future New York City, a lone surviving turtle embarks on a seemingly hopeless mission to seek justice for the family he lost. From legendary TMNT co-creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, prepare for the final story of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, three decades in the making! What terrible events destroyed his family and left New York in a post-apocalyptic nightmare? All will be revealed in this climactic turtle tale that sees old friends become enemies and new allies emerge in the most unexpected places. Can the surviving Turtle triumph? Collects the complete five-issue miniseries in a new graphic novel, an adventure as rewarding for longtime Turtles fans as it is accessible to readers barely discovering the heroes in half a shell.