Posted in: Comics | Tagged: bankruptcy, diamond, humanoids

Comics Publisher Humanoids Files For Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

Comics publisher Humanoids files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, ahead of plans to liquidate the company

Comic book publisher Humanoids Corporation, the American arm of the renowned French comic book publisher Les Humanoïdes Associés, has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in the US, renaming itself the HC Wind Down Corporation, signalling plans for the future. Unlike Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, which Diamond Comic Distributors is undergoing, with an attempt to keep the business going, Chapter 7 seeks liquidation of assets, and the business typically ceases operations. For HC Wind Down Corporation, the filing indicates that no property or assets are currently available to pay creditors. An earlier Chapter 11 reorganisation was attempted in January, but the Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing halts most creditor collection activities, including lawsuits, repossessions, or demands for repayment.

The filing also states that HC Wind Down Corporation is 79.5% owned by Humanoids Holding Sarl, based in Luxembourg, and the remaining 20.5% is held by Primer Entertainment, a West Hollywood-based firm involved in entertainment and media. Judge Thomas M. Horan has been assigned to the case.

Humanoids, founded in 1974, has been a staple in the science fiction, fantasy, and adult-oriented comics space, especially publishing European comics in the North American market. The company expanded its U.S. operations in the 1990s, establishing a presence in Los Angeles. Mark Waid was named Publisher in 2020, but left in 2022. Recently, the American side of the company was severely impacted by the Diamond Comics Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Earlier this summer, Bleeding Cool reported that the French side of Humanoids was placed into administration under "judicial liquidation" indicating a state of cessation of payments, when existing assets cannot meet current liabilities. Owner Fabrice Giger told Livres Hebdo that the restructuring, which only concerns French teams, should allow Humanoids to "adapt the overall structure to the realities of the market" and that new projects, around thirty a year, will continue to be published. However, there was a need for "several layoffs" and he said "we are restructuring, we are looking for a different way to operate". But that was then.

A meeting of creditors is scheduled for the 7th of November at 11am ET. The appointed bankruptcy trustee is George L. Miller of Miller Coffey Tate in Philadelphia, and the debtor's counsel is David M. Klauder of Bielli & Klauder in Wilmington, Delaware. Key creditors and stakeholders include:

• City National Bank (Los Angeles, CA).
• Department of Labor, Division of Unemployment Insurance (Wilmington, DE).
• Fabrice Giger (Los Angeles, CA, owener and who founded the US branch of Humanoids.
• Humanoids Holding Sarl (Luxembourg).
• John V. Berlinski (Los Angeles, CA), Humanoids' lawyer.
• Primer Entertainment, LLC (West Hollywood, CA).
• State of Delaware, Division of Revenue (Wilmington, DE).

Les Humanoïdes Associés, or Humanoids, was founded in 1974 by comic artists Mœbius, Jean-Pierre Dionnet, Philippe Druillet, and Bernard Farkas, the financial director. Its initial goal was to publish the magazine Métal Hurlant, which focused on science fiction, a concept that would later inspire the US magazine Heavy Metal. Humanoids was bought out in 1988 by Fabrice Giger, who founded a US offshoot, before moving the headquarters from Paris to Los Angeles in an attempt to secure Hollywood investment and productions, but still maintained a sizeable French operation.

Primer Entertainment launched in 2018 as a partnership between former IM Global executive David Jourdan and AG Studios' Alex Garcia to develop and produce film and TV content, and partnered with Humanoids Publishing to develop and produce a slate of projects based on intellectual properties from its catalogue. They announced in 2021 that Taika Waititi would direct an adaptation of Moebius and Alejandro Jodorowsky's The Incal, co-written with Jemaine Clement and Peter Warren. However, there has been no update on the film in some time.

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