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APRIL 13, MILWAUKIE, OR -- Dark Horse officially announces participation in the Diamond "Final Order Cutoff" program, or "FOC" for short. Dark Horse first announced the intent to participate in this program at last fall's Diamond Retailers summit in Las Vegas, Nevada to a roar of applause heard throughout the casino.

Dark Horse's final FOC dates will be tied to the calendar day twenty days before the Diamond on-sale date for comics, and approximately three months for graphic novels. Dark Horse will begin including FOC dates for some of our line as early as the May 2009 edition of Diamond's Previews catalog.

"We are pleased to announce this move to the FOC," Dark Horse President, Mike Richardson stated. "As every comics retailer knows, times are tough. It is important that Dark Horse not only support them with great product, but with our best efforts to make their ordering decisions as easy as possible. This system will help every retailer who orders Dark Horse product and should lead to better business for all of us."

Dark Horse hopes that participation in the program will help to further instill confidence in the publisher's consistently strong lineup of releases and continued commitment to the direct sales market in an ever-changing economy.

Dark Horse's FOC program will begin on Monday, April 20.

Dark Horse Comics proudly dominated the twenty-first annual Eisner Awards in San Diego, bringing home eight prestigious awards. Having been nominated for sixteen different projects (four of which were shared), accounting for nearly half of the total awards, Dark Horse often found itself with two nominations in the same category fighting for the top spot. The 2008 Eisners awarded to Dark Horse are as follows:

• Best Painter -- Eric Powell for Chinatown
• Best Cover Artist -- James Jean for Umbrella Academy (and Fables for DC and Process Recess 2 for AdHouse)
• Best Coloring -- Dave Stewart for B.P.R.D., Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Cut, Hellboy, Lobster Johnson, The Umbrella Academy (and The Spirit for DC)
• Best Limited Series -- The Umbrella Academy by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá
• Best Humor Publication -- Perry Bible Fellowship by Nicholas Gurewitch
• Best Writer/Artist (Humor) -- Eric Powell for The Goon
• Best Online Comic -- Sugarshock on MySpace Dark Horse Presents by Joss Whedon and Fábio Moon
• Best New Series -- Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 by Joss Whedon and Georges Jeanty

With eight of these awards in tow this year alone, Dark Horse continues to shake up the comics world by outshining industry giants DC and Marvel combined (DC took six Eisners, topping Marvel with one).

"Our performance this year at the Eisners is another indication of the level of talent now working with Dark Horse," said Dark Horse President Mike Richardson. "It is particularly rewarding to see these committed creators, who have invested so much of themselves into their work, being recognized by our entire industry."

Dark Horse would also like to extend a special congratulation to Gabriel Bá and Fábio Moon's award for Best Anthology for their work on 5.