Moulsinart S.A., the company established to promote and protect the works of Hergé, has signed a deal for Diamond Comic Distributors to exclusively distribute The Adventures of Tintin merchandise in specialty stores in North America and the Philippines.

The announcement is characterized as "a key step in Moulinsart’s first ongoing and comprehensive program of Tintin collectibles, comics, and limited availability products in North America." A primary goal of the initiative is to expand the sales and brand awareness of Tintin in North America.

Hergé's beloved series, which chronicles the adventures of a globe-trotting young Belgian reporter and his faithful dog Snowy, has been been translated into more than 50 languages and sold more than 200 million copies worldwide. Although the books have experienced limited popularity in the United States, Steven Spielberg's 2011 motion-capture film adaptation raised awareness of the character.

Tintin merchandise has been listed in Diamond's Previews catalog since June, and will be spotlighted in dedicated pages.

“Although many U.S. fans became aware of Tintin with the Steven Spielberg/Peter Jackson film released in 2011, the international Adventures of Tintin have been known worldwide for many years,” John Parker, Diamond's vice president of business development, said in a statement. “We at Diamond are ecstatic to be involved in the expanded introduction of Tintin’s stories and awesome collectible and novelty products to the thousands of stores in our network.”

News of the Moulsinart deal comes just a week after Diamond announced it had inked a deal with Tezuka Productions to distribute Osamu Tezuka comics, toys and other products outside of Japan.