BREAKING NEWS.
So I know I was going to start my 2024 prediction review today, but some stuff has turned up that takes some precedence, I think.
First off, Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. In short, that’s allowing Diamond to reorganize and sell off assets to stabilize its business. Those assets include Alliance, the gaming distribution company, and Diamond UK.
And, as noted in the press release quoted at that link, their “main comic, toy, and collectible distribution lines” are also up for sale. Which sounds a whole lot like the company trying to keep things going until they can sell off everything and close its doors.
Or maybe they’ll get their act together and go back to business as usual. I have no idea.
Now, when there was a major collapse of comic distributors in the 1980s, a number of publishers were left being owed payments by said distributors. I imagine if Diamond goes away, the same may happen now, hurting especially the smaller publishers and possibly taking them down with them. Which is the main reason I’m hoping Diamond pulls through, not leaving those vendors holding the bag.
According to Diamond, business will continue as usual while they’re going through this process, including the weekly shipments, reorders, damage replacements, etc. Amusingly they emphasized the fact that yes, retailers with Diamond accounts are expected to keep paying their invoices, in case anyone thought they didn’t need to keep exchanging money for goods from a company in Chapter 11.
Diamond also informed retailers that they’re still supporting Free Comic Book Day for the year, at least as far as things look now. That leaves me to wondering, of course, who would take over the FCBD event should Diamond eschew the responsibility.
And that leads me to wondering just how Diamond can survive, and what may rise up in its place. I’m picturing a much pared down Diamond, carrying only comics, supplies, and maybe some comic related merchandise. No nudie books, no Japanese schoolgirl statues, no tchotchkes that have nothing to do with comics. Catalogs are 32 pages long, shipments all come from a single warehouse. It all depends on whatever comic publishers are left over, and if they get enough orders to keep Diamond’s doors open even at this minimal level. I feel like Dynamite and its multiple covers for everything would be doing the heavy lifting here.
If the comic distribution end does get sold to another company, then I guess I’d have to apply for an account there if the old accounts simply don’t transfer over. Would there be a gap in shipments caused by this? Possibly. The most convenient solution would be for one of the other existing distributors to the Direct Market (Lunar or Penguin Random House) were to take over the comics end of Diamond.
Otherwise, if Diamond just closes up shop, leaving publishers high and dry, then…well, I’m picturing the ’80s again, with a half-dozen distributors all carrying their own selection of items. Which is fine, if increasing the “paperwork” (or computer work, rather) at my end.
The very small press books are the ones that’ll be hardest hit, as a weird one-off book that’s easy for me to say “yes” to as a line item with everything else in the Diamond catalog, may get missed or overlooked entirely if they’re only available from some tiny distributor with not enough for me to bother opening an account.
Ideally, whatever happens my customers don’t see any problems from their end, that the comics continue coming out, regardless from where I get them. We’ll see how things shake out over the next few month.
Now, I’ve long ago transferred as much of my business as I could away from Diamond to other distributors. Diamond had just too many problems over the years…poor packing resulting in damaged comics, items being shorted entirely and not having the stock to replace them, getting a single copy of Comic Shop News instead of the full bundle (the most baffling shipping error). Getting alternative distributors was an outright relief, where (aside from a disastrous damage-ridden initial shipment from Penguin Random House) my shipments have been relatively damage-and-shortage free.
Since the advent of distribution competition, Diamond actually fixed most of these problems. Too little too late, I’m afraid. The vast bulk of my orders come from the other two distributors, with Diamond’s shipments being only a fraction of the size they used to be. The weekly payments to Diamond are so much smaller now than before, and I’d wonder “if everyone’s invoices shrunk this much, I wonder how Diamond is able to survive?” And, well…I guess I have that answer.
This is just a smattering of thoughts I’ve had on the topic. I’m sure I’ll throw more at you when I’ve had more time to process the situation, and as we experince the continuing ramifications.
The other big news of the week is this article (may be paywalled, but you can find other articles covering its contents) with its in-depth look at the sexual assault claims against Neil Gaiman. WARNING: the descriptions therein are very explicit and upsetting, so you may be better off finding someone else’s summary.
This situation is very disappointing and disillusioning, to hear that such a talented force admired by so many is an alleged creep credibly accused by multiple victims. And it doesn’t help that Gaiman’s own statement, posted on his official site just yesterday, smacks of the same meaningless platitudes that Warren Ellis threw out there when he was outed as a sex pest.
“Innocent until proven guilty,” I know, and Gaiman claims his relationships with all these women were consensual. But…man, this doesn’t look good for him. Even Scott McCloud, who had a longtime friendly relationship with the man, is like “hoo boy.”
I’ve written before about the possible impact on the comics publishing end, which now seems like an inevitability. DC’s challenge is divorcing the Sandman franchise from its creator, and Marvel’s challenge of wrapping up Miracleman, while on a much smaller and less impactful scale, is still one they have to face.
But like I said then, this is the least of the issues at stake here. It’s an ugly situation, leaving some very hurt women in its wake, and one hopes some justice may be found here.