Diamond Select has released more information about its license with Marvel comics (see 'Marvel Inks Agreement With Diamond Select').  In addition to the already announced calendars, posters, and lithographs, Diamond Select will also create statues, busts, bookends, and snowglobes.  The first wave of the new products will be a series of busts and statues featuring heroes from Marvel's Ultimate line, while the second wave will include the Green Goblin, Cyclops and Wolverine. 

 

Diamond Select has engaged a number of first rate sculptors to work on the new Marvel statues, busts and bookends--Rudy Garcia, Same Greenwell, Gabriel Marquez, and David Carlos.  The agreement with Diamond Select will provide Marvel with a line of specific collector-oriented products that are clearly designed to duplicate what DC has done with DC Direct, which has become a very strong line for both DC Comics and a wide range of pop culture retailers (see 'DC Direct Has a Full Slate').

 

The news about the full extent of the Diamond Select Marvel line plus the recent announcement of a licensing agreement with Central Park Media (see 'Diamond Select Nabs CPM') as well as other recent deals for Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Peter Cottontail (see 'Rabbit Seasoning') demonstrate that Diamond Select is moving aggressively to diversify and upgrade its product lines.  The additional Marvel products that Diamond Select is slated to produce--statues, busts, bookends, and snowglobes--are all stellar performers for DC Comics' DC Direct line of comic-related items  (see 'DC Direct Has a Full Slate').  Marvel obviously wants to ape DC's success in this category, but interestingly enough, they have chosen to outsource the entire process to Diamond Select rather than attempt to do it in-house or with Toy Biz