Marvel Enterprises, Inc. has announced that Peter Cuneo, President and CEO of the company since July 1999, will retire at the end of this year and be replaced as CEO by Allen Lipson, who has been Marvel's EVP Business and Legal Affairs since November 1999.

With sales of graphic novels in mainstream bookstores on the rise, and book distributors vying to sign comic publishers, one of the first questions to arise is -- which graphic novel publisher is number one in bookstores?

Mike Boze of HawgHead Comics in Fort Smith Arkansas was prompted by Marvel's recent decision to take returns on over 100 late books and Brian Hibbs' comments on the action in the context of his class action suit against Marvel to send us this succinct comment.

Jerry Ringi of Amazing Fantasy Comics in Chesapeake, Virginia was prompted by Marvel's recent decision to take returns on over 100 late books and Brian Hibbs' comments on the action in the context of his class action suit against Marvel to send us these comments not only on that issue but on others.

Image Comics, including Top Cow and Todd McFarlane Productions, has signed with Diamond Book Distributors for distribution to the book, warehouse club, and mass merchant channels.

Brian Hibbs was prompted by Marvel's recent decision to accept returns on over 100 issues from the past to issue this statement on the topic. '..[T]his is a major step in the right direction.... Nonetheless, the action by Marvel hardly 'solves' the issues between retailers and Marvel.'

Diamond Comic Distributors has posted a list of 110 Marvel comics on its Website which retailers can return for full credit starting on 9/11/02. Since Diamond as a distributor can't authorize returns without Marvel's OK, the decision to allow returns represents a complete turnaround for Marvel.

Slave Labor Graphics and Diamond Book Distribution have reached an agreement naming Diamond as the exclusive U.S. distributor of SLG's English language graphic novels to the bookstore, library, warehouse club, and mass merchandise markets.

Checker Book Publishing of Centerville, Ohio has announced that it will publish a graphic novel version of Clive Barker's short story collection, Tapping the Vein .

In its first two weeks of release the MechWarrior: Dark Age Collectible Miniatures Game has sold more than 500,000 Booster Packs and 100,000 Starter Sets .