Comic and graphic novel orders (dollars) were up 5% in July vs. 2001, continuing the trend that began in the second half of last year. July orders were up 1% over June, with almost all the gains coming from comics,

Initial piece orders from comic stores on the top comic titles in July were buoyed by the addition of two first issues that both sold well over 100,000 copies, Transformers Armada #1 and Battle of the Planets #1, at the number one and number three positions respectively.

Diamond Comic Distributors announced today the formation of a new division, Diamond Book Distributors, the goal of which will be to make a wide selection of graphic novels, anime, gaming, collectible toys, and other pop-culture merchandise available to the mainstream retail book market.

Estimated quantities for initial orders on comics shipping in July 2002 from pop culture stores ordering from Diamond US.

There is a definite 'blast from the past' aspect to the top 10 list of comic books these days, and that trend is also seen in movies, DVDs, and toys.

Kevin Smith's appearance on the Tonight Show , originally scheduled for June 24, has been moved up one day to Tuesday, June 25.

A Paid Advertisement. The action figure experts at Diamond Select Toys and Toy Biz are back with their second collaborative project based on the House of Ideas' most popular tenants -- the Marvel Select: Punisher Action Figure!

The ABC Family Channel will start airing the anime series Beyblade on July 6 in a 'kids block' along with the latest Power Rangers series and three different Spider-Man animated series.

Tim Marks of Friendly Frank's first raised the issue of Marvel's new policy on (not) distributing info on upcoming titles. Gabriel Hagmann, the owner of DreamStrands Comics in Seattle, Washington feels that the damage will be localized, but substantial.

Warner Brothers' live action version of the Scooby Doo animated series earned an estimated $56.4 million at the box office in its debut weekend.