Posted in: Antarctic Press, Comics, Comics Publishers, Current News | Tagged: ben dunn, diamond
Antarctic Press’ Ben Dunn talks about the impact of the Diamond Comic Distributors bankruptcy announcement on smaller publishers.
Article Summary
- Diamond’s bankruptcy could shatter the small press comic industry. AP is bracing for a worst-case scenario.
- Big publishers like Marvel will manage, but independents may struggle. Diamond’s silence worries small presses.
- Antarctic Press has been contacted by Diamond with mixed news; cash reserves give hope despite impending hit.
- AP starts freezing new series temporarily but remains optimistic for the future, focusing on survival strategies.
Ben Dunn who co-founded Antarctic Press in 1984 with Mark Ripley, has talked about the impact of the Diamond Comic Distributors bankruptcy announcement, which has been covered in depth on Bleeding Cool, with more to come. There has been a lot of concern about smaller publishers such as Antarctic, given Penguin Random House works with bigger publishers, and Lunar may be a bit overwhelmed right now. He posted to social media, saying,
“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 of this, then my hope is they will realize what they did wrong and not repeat their mistakes. Already, rats are 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 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 is 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 ensure we will continue to operate, but we are preparing for a worst-case scenario. For now, we will continue to get comics out and 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 of 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 an 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. Hopefull,y a better and more prosperous one!”
He then followed up with some more details from his brother and Antarctic Press publisher Joe Dunn, saying:
“GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS. Well, speak of the devil. My brother told me that DIAMOND has indeed contacted us today. I am not at liberty to say what the terms are, but they are a mixed bag. So, depending on how the courts move and how Diamond handles future shipments, we should be ok, BUT there is no doubt that AP will take a hit. A big one. Luckily, thanks to my brother’s steadfast handling of our finances, AP essentially has no debt and has enough cash reserves to handle any short-term obligations such as paying royalties and printing. For now, we are putting a temporary freeze on any new series, but I imagine this will not last long, and we are still accepting submissions. We are still moving forward with PLAN B in case things go south. We should know in the next few months if we will have to implement them. This has not affected our AP 40th Birthday Bash, and we hope to see you there.”
Antarctic Press is a San Antonio-based comic book publishing company which publishes “Amerimanga” style comic books and has published over 850 titles with a total circulation of over 5 million. Many now-established creators started their careers at Antarctic Press including Chris Bunting, Rod Espinosa, Joseph Wight and Alex Robinson. Publishers of Ninja High School, Fred Perry‘s Gold Digger, and were the former publishers of Warrior Nun Areala. They have been with Diamond Comic Distributors as long as they have been publishing…
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