Antarctic Press Owner Warns Diamond Comics Distribution Bankruptcy "Will Be Shattering To The Small Press Comic Industry"

This week, Diamond Comics Distribution announced its declaration of Chapter 11 bankruptcy. While the company owes big publishers like Marvel Comics millions, Antarctic Press owner Ben Dunn has posted saying this hurts small press more than anyone.

The comic industry was rocked with another indication of massive troubles this week as Diamond Comics Distribution announced its declaration of Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The CEO of the company put out a statement after months of trouble delivering on time following the closure of their Pittsburgh warehouse last year.

Many have speculated how this might hurt the comic book industry, especially smaller publishers, going forward, and Antarctic Press owner Ben Dunn has chimed in to state how it will impact companies like his.

In a post to Facebook, he said,

So the fallout of the DIAMOND bankruptcy is yet to be felt but I think it will be shattering to the small press comic industry. The bigger publishers will be fine (i.e. Marvel, DC, Image and the Japanese manga publishers) but even bigger independents may soon feel the pinch. If Diamond can claw its way out this then my hope they will realize what they did wrong and not repeat their mistakes. Already rats are already leaving the ship. Who can blame them though if the ship is sinking or at least perceived to be sinking.

Yes, it is true that Diamond had a lot of hubris when times were good but I think they were short sighted in not improving customer service, relying less on the bigger publishers, by promoting up and coming publishers and creators, expanding their customer base and streamlining their operation. Unfortunately, they may be too late. Do I hope that Diamond recovers? Yes I do. Will it? I dunno. I like to remain optimistic but considering that the market it in a weakened state the outlook is not looking good. The thing is greed, dishonesty and arrogance have long plagued the comics industry. It's been that way since the creation of comics and now we are reaping the whirlwind.

Will comics survive? Yes. Of course it will. With crowdfunding, direct to consumer, digital and other ways to get comics the industry will survive. Will comic stores survive? Well, the smart ones that adapt will. Will AP survive? Well, we are taking steps to assure we will continue to operate but we are preparing for a worst case scenerio. For now we will continue to get comics out and to continue to pay our creators. At the moment we are awaiting communication from Diamond who has remained silent during the ordeal. Which is not a good sign.

At least they should let us know what is going on in terms on what they are planning so that we can make preparations in case the other shoe drops. The thing is I am AP. You are AP. As long as we remain together and support each other we can survive. When AP started in 1985 we had one comic. If it comes down to that AP will continue to survive albeit in a altered form.

My love of comics and for our fans, readers, supporters and creators knows no bounds and i will continue to pop out comics under Antarctic Press no matter the circumstance. For now we are trying everything we can to get Diamond to respond and to make fall out shelters when the big one hits. And if it does hit we can re-build a new world from the shattered remains. Hopefully a better and more prosperous one!

In another post today, he said things are going well for Antartcic’s side of things in the short term, saying, “AP Update: The Diamond Situation. Well, we finally got word from Diamond and we are working things out. So far there will be no interruption in the shipping of new AP products and comics. They will be on your local comic store shelves as scheduled. If you are missing any back issues you can check out the AP website.”

Many small press may be hurt by this depending on how debts get paid and how the Chapter 11 bankruptcy shakes out.

The company owes at least 9 million to Penguin Random House, which is Marvel Comics’ distribution company as Marvel is subdistributed through the company. On top of it, Disney Consumer Products is owed $1,712,447.

Other companies like IDW Publishing are included in that Penguin Random House amount, which could be trouble for smaller companies that can’t absorb such losses if Diamond doesn’t pay.

What do you think is going to happen to the comic book industry? Leave a comment and let us know.

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