Posted in: Comics, Current News | Tagged: Ad Populum, diamond, diamond previews

The Future Of The Diamond Previews Catalog

The future of the Diamond Previews catalog, after bankrutpcy and acquisition by Ad Populum

Diamond Previews is, depending on who you talk to, an unwieldy, impenetrable catalogue of comic books and comic-related ephemera that takes up way too much space, and in a digital age, a fossil of the direct comic book industry. Or a vital beating heart of modern comics, exciting, involving, inviting, and sometimes better than the comic books it features, reflecting the mores of modern society every month, allowing you to see trends or hits emerge, as and when they happen. I tend towards the latter. Diamond Previews provides a wealth of historical and cultural context for the comic book industry over its thirty-plus years of publication. Copies even become collectable when someone decides that this counts as the first appearance of a character.

But there has also been a wide expectation that the Diamond Previews could not survive the current Diamond Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, especially given the money owed to TransContinental Printing and the large cost of shipping the book nationally and internationally every month. Well, don't count it out quite yet. But when it comes to Previews, we're definitely getting one out a week on Wednesday. And the one after that is (potentially) on its way as well.

For eighteen years, Allyn Gibson has written the Diamond Previews catalogue. On BlueSky, in the wake of a large number of layoffs across Diamond in the wake of its purchase by Ad Populum, Allyn Gibson says, "I continue to be employed, and we are deep into the production of July's issue of PREVIEWS." That's the one that would be out in a month's time. And adding "I've written a blog post about what happened yesterday at Diamond. For right now, it's private. I may, at some point, make it public. It begins: "Today marks my anniversary date at Diamond. Eighteen years." And ends: "I sat with my survivor's guilt last night. I'm sitting with the guilt today."

We'll keep an eye… good luck out there, everyone. You can use these Diamond, Ad Populum and bankruptcy tags to keep up with the latest on Bleeding Cool. Here's a timeline if you want to catch up…

• On the announcement of Chapter 11 on the 14th of January, Diamond started a 13-week bankruptcy process run by financial firm Raymond James, got financing to operate, and announced an auction for its assets.
• Those assets included Diamond Comic Distribution, Alliance Gaming Distribution, Diamond Select Toys, CGA and Diamond UK
• Universal Distribution was named the Stalking Horse bidder for Alliance Games and Diamond UK, which required a purchase commitment of thirty-nine million dollars, but with certain discounts and privileges for taking that position.
• The auction took place, and it went late. There was food and breakfast billed for.
• And Alliance Entertainment, or AENT, was named the top bidder for the assets of $72,245,000, though not for Diamond UK. This was widely announced, including by Diamond themselves.
• Then we learned that a joint bid by Universal Distribution and Ad Populum came second and was named the back-up bid, with a bid of $69,130,000. With Universal getting Alliance and Diamond UK, and Ad Populum getting Diamond Comics, Diamond Select Toys and everything else. Basic Fun was third with fifty million.
• A court hearing with the Honorable Judge Rice in Courtroom 9-D at the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland at 10 am was intended to ensure the legality of the bid and the process.
• But instead, over that weekend, the debtors declared that they had chosen the back-up bid from Universal and Ad Populum instead of AENT, despite AENT having bid more. No reason was given.
• AENT filed a lawsuit regarding this decision.
• It took the bankruptcy court to reverse that decision and state that AENT, with the higher bid, had won, though they would have to withdraw their lawsuit.
• AENT has terminated their winning bid and purchase.
• Universal Distribution and Ad Populum were back in the running
• Diamond declared "business as usual" but the courts threatened Chapter 7 over late paperwork.
• AENT sued Diamond, claiming fraud
• Diamond says it's all in hand and went back to court, wanting to be owned by Universal and Ad Populum.
• Sale of Diamond to Universal and Ad Populum was approved by the courts.
• Though Ad Populum paid more than we thought.
• Podcast blamed/credited with the current state of affairs
• Diamond tells Skyrush to stop claiming they won CGA.
• As part of court filings, Diamond released details for every comic store on account.
• We have some finality.
• Ad Populum and Universal Distribution officially acquire Diamond and related assets.
• The layoffs have begun.
• And continue.
• And now Diamond Select Toys has closed.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!