Comics Distributor Diamond Is Filing For Bankruptcy (theverge.com) 18
Diamond Comic Distributors, the world's biggest English language comic book distributor, is filing for bankruptcy and scaling its business back in order to survive. The Verge reports: In a letter sent to comics retailers and publishers today, Diamond president Chuck Parker announced that the company has filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy and plans to sell off its Alliance Game Distributors arm to Universal in order to "protect the most vital aspects of our business."
Founded in 1982 by Stephen A. Geppi (who still serves as CEO), Diamond became a heavyweight in the comics business by securing a number of exclusive distribution agreements with various publishing houses like DC, Marvel, and Image. For decades, Diamond -- which also publishes its Previews magazine showcasing upcoming titles -- was instrumental in bringing comics to market and played a huge role in determining a book's success because of how Previews influenced retailer orders. "This decision was not made lightly, and I understand that this news may be as difficult to hear as it is for me to share," Parker said. "The Diamond leadership team and I have worked tirelessly to avoid this outcome but the financial challenges we face have left us with no other viable option."
Founded in 1982 by Stephen A. Geppi (who still serves as CEO), Diamond became a heavyweight in the comics business by securing a number of exclusive distribution agreements with various publishing houses like DC, Marvel, and Image. For decades, Diamond -- which also publishes its Previews magazine showcasing upcoming titles -- was instrumental in bringing comics to market and played a huge role in determining a book's success because of how Previews influenced retailer orders. "This decision was not made lightly, and I understand that this news may be as difficult to hear as it is for me to share," Parker said. "The Diamond leadership team and I have worked tirelessly to avoid this outcome but the financial challenges we face have left us with no other viable option."
Know your audience. (Score:3, Informative)
Comic book consumers aren't interested in political indoctrination.
They want a good story that intrigues, excites, and motivates them.
The industry has nothing but itself to blame for this.
Re: (Score:1)
Comic book consumers aren't interested in political indoctrination.
Yeah, they hated X-Men, Superman, Captain America, etc.
Re: (Score:3)
Comic book consumers aren't interested in political indoctrination.
Yeah, they hated X-Men, Superman, Captain America, etc.
The difference between a writer/director using politics to enhance a story vs. a writer/director abusing politics to try and indoctrinate the audience, is the difference between a chef seasoning your prime steak with a touch of salt vs. the chef who hits you over the head with a salt block wondering why you’re not asking for nacho cheese sauce.
Not everyone’s taste is the same. Hollywood is paying the price trying to figure that out.
Re:Know your audience. (Score:4, Insightful)
To be honest I don't think it's the content they're souring on, it's the "dead-trees" distribution method. Kids would much rather have DRM-free PDF files or something like that, something they can read on their phone... but then that puts the whole entertainment format directly in the line of fire of much more addictive offerings, like motherfucking Candy Crush Saga or whatever they're punching like a monkey punching a pleasure button for a treat these days.
Re: (Score:2)
LOL - you know who doesn't like that stuff. Older white men. Every time comics do something to bring in newer reader, who actually want new things, the "old guard" do nothing but scream about it and refuse to even give it a chance. That is why comics are slowly dying. The old guard doesn't want anything new, but they are all dying out and trying to kill anything that would appeal to anyone but them. Unless it is a character that was created 50 years ago, they don't want anything to do with it. Instead, they
Re: (Score:3)
There's more to comics than Marvel and DC, you know. There's an entire world of indie comics, and the problem is Diamond is one of the largest distributors of those comics.
And FYI, DC went with their own distributor in 2020 (AT&T and other fun stuff), so comic shops have to deal with them as well. (It doesn't help said
Floppies are dead (Score:2)
Time to try anthologies again?
CEO Not Known for his Business Acumen (Score:3)
I looked around online (Score:3, Informative)
Marvel and DC though still wanted to publish comics so they went looking for other distributors and penguin books took up some of the business. That broke the Monopoly diamond has had for a long time and more and more stuff has been moved over to penguin.
Basically a short-sided attempt to cut corners seems to have bit them in the ass. Covid was a tough time though so it's possible that was all they could do to survive. Nobody seems sure about how their books shook out
Re: (Score:2)
My favorite community-ish services are non-commercial and don't advertise. One is invite-only, one is some things I run for my family, one is just a mailing list that started out as some friends from an old job that took on a life of its own. I think the only w
Re: (Score:2)
I want to try this out.
Elon Musk is such a failure. I mean sure he rode on other people's decisions for a while but thinks he's SO great but couldn't do the simple task of getting a cheaper EV out the door because the design that HE APPROVED and worked on turned out to be a long-term dud. Cylindrical battery cells instead of blades that fit better, are cheaper, and easier to replace? Come on, really?
All this talk about efficiency and smarts just amounts to chest-puffing and hoping not too many people realiz
Comic Bags and Boards (Score:3)
So the original article overstates what Diamond means for the comic industry. Marvel, DC, Image, Boom, and more have moved from Diamond to either Lunar or Penguin Random House for their primary distribution and Diamond a secondary distributor, with DC going as far as not even being possible as a back-up.
I am more worried about bags and boards as Diamond was the best quality/price for bags and boards. Competition does exist for that as well but that is the part that will hurt fandom the most.