Archive Page 2231
March 2025
The Diamond Distributors auction in NYC today – Bleedingcool
One of the sobering aspects of Diamond's fall is the debt picture running in both directions, that is, what Diamond owes people and what people owe Diamond. Both numbers are huge.
Diamond's gross revenue in 2024 was $344.9 million with assets valued at $39 million. Debts to creditors as of January 15, 2025 was at just above $50 million + a special bankruptcy loan of $41 million.
Info sources: MSN Screenrant, Comicsbeat, Bleedingcool
Why did 2025 mark the year of Diamond running into the mathematical realities? Because as 2025 started the revenues coming in was at 50% of the 2024 level (a reflection of the customers Diamond had lost, i.e., DC Comics and Marvel) and the worsening plight of comic book stores. Those January payment numbers plus the already existing debt picture meant a full collapse was dead ahead. Like the famous Earnest Hemingway quote on bankruptcy: at first it is slow, then it happens all of a sudden.
UK artists and publishers join fight against generative AI – Something
Britain's most prominent comic publishers have joined forces to confront the threat posed by artificial intelligence to their intellectual property. DC Thomson, owner of The Beano and The Dandy, as well as Judge Dredd publisher Rebellion Entertainment, are among the groups who have set up Comic Book UK, a new trade association to protect their intellectual property from generative AI..."
The DC Comics books for June – Comicsbeat
What's the pay for an artist starting out working for the big 2? – Bleeding Cool
Cap 4 at $400,817,391 worldwide – The-Numbers
Cap4 is now between Eternals and Black Adam in earnings on the Top Earning Superhero Movies of All Time List
Cutting through the numbers on the 655,000 copy orders for Planet Death #0 – ICV2
Call me Lobo! says Jason Momoa – Superherohype
Layoffs at Skybound – MSN Comic Basics
Skybound Entertainment, the comic book company owned by Robert Kirkman, has laid off multiple employees. The layoffs come as the comic book industry faces serious financial troubles. The industry has been struggling for years. Sales have been dropping, and small publishers like IDW Publishing, BOOM! Studios, and Valiant have made cuts...."
Snow White headed for $45 million opening? – MSN Hollywood Reporter
John Peck, aka "The Mad Peck" has died – Daily Cartoonist
DC Comics outselling rival Marvel via its Compact Comics – MSN Screenrant
About Matt Bruback and the Comic Guide Catalog / CGC Scale – KOLO-TV
Review of Dalgoda Omnibus– Comicsbeat
One of the best Indy comics series of the 1980s.
Documentary: the rise and fall of American comic book stores "Shopping for Superman" – Laughing Squid MSN
Think there's a lot of manga now? There's a lot more coming – Comicbook
This means that retailers who are in the Penguin Random House Direct Partnership Program will also be treated as "Square Enix Comic Partners" and will be given a lot of sales support, such as in-store promotional material, early access to titles launches, and training for store managers and sales staff to help move product in-store. This new support system starts in April 2025 .Square Enix Manga has teamed up with Penguin Random House and has launched a new initiative called Comic Partner which aims to support and promote the sale of Japanese manga across North America..."
Gwyneth Paltrow: I was in Spider-Man? – Comic Basics
Cap 4 at $391,284,388 worldwide – The-Numbers
Cap4 is now between Superman Returns and Black Adam in earnings on the Top Earning Superhero Movies of All Time List
John McTiernan, director of Die Hard, The Hunt for Red October and Predator: the legal system is a lie, comic book movies are garbage, and Old Hollywood would be ashamed of how modern Hollywood is money-centered – Forbes
Photos of Ironheart (Riri Williams) go online – Superherohype - Ironheart TV Show is coming to Disney+ on June 24, 2025.
The photo reminds me of an UltraMan Japanese TV show suit.
Who is Riri: Riri is a 15-year-old genius engineering prodigy from Chicago who reverse-engineers her own version of Iron Man’s armor using scrap parts and tech at MIT.
"The new Spiderman changes the future of Marvel" – Superherohype
An unedited fight scene clip from the shelved Batgirl movie got put online... for a few hours – IGN MSN
"Bonuses" become cause for contention in Diamond Distributors bankruptcy case – Bleedingcool
DC's "Fastest Man Alive" break sales records – MSN Screenrant
Elizabeth Olsen had a idea for a Scarlet Witch story in which she is discovered 50 years later with significant changes – Comicbasics
There was going to be a Marvel gaming universe, but the idea became very, very complicated – Boundingintocomics
New Fantastic Four reboot to #1 to coincide with coming movie – Superherohype
$24 million grant given to university to develop Batman-Underwear – Edmonton Journal
University of Alberta researchers recently received federal funding for functional “smart” clothing that can change its shape and stiffness to help people with varying physical needs like muscle weakness, injuries, or other mobility challenges, but the inspiration comes from technology worn by the caped crusader himself: Batman..."
Celebrity Chef Guy Fieri appearing in a DC comic team-up with Superman and Batman – People
Spider-Man 4 to have a woman lead villain? – Comicbookmovie
DC to make an "official time line" of their 90 years of comic book storytelling – Gamesradar
There have been previous versions of a unified history of the DC Universe, but given the amount of continuity shifts, reboots, relaunches, and retcons that DC has undergone over the years, a new version is much needed..."
This frightens me! My fear is what they'll cut out to streamline things. On the other hand it does sound interesting as a four-issue mini-epic.
Theoretically, continuity shouldn't be finalized but only supervised by editors so that, in general, the monthly books don't dramatically contradict each other. The way DC used to get themselves out of this chore if some story line was experimenting with a new approach was to tag a story with "these dramatic events are happening after the other stories currently running in other DC Comics books."
Concurrent storytelling is probably very important to someone who is buying the whole DC line, but someone who is focused only on (say) Batman, they'll not care much about what is happening in books they're not following.
Because comic book sales are declining, probably experimentation is needed with innovative stories to kick up new readers, but also simultaneously sticking with the core attributes of the original characters. After all, this is why've they've lasted this long, they're able to to translate to overlapping audiences in their more-or-less original configurations.
Comics Beat also has a story on this.
Kevin Smith is going to be writing some Marvel Comics titles – Bleedingcool
Snow White: Oh, no
More about Disney's SnowWhitopocalypse
Coyote vs. Acme movie to be sold and finally get a playdate? – Deadline Hollywood
Despite test-screening well, the project became a high-profile casualty of WB cost-cutting two years ago and it has been sitting on the shelf for more than a year..."
The article mentions how the price tag might now be in the $50 million range to buy it. Apparently this project just needs someone who believes in it and wants to spend a lot of money to get it into theatres and selling popcorn. Whether that happens or not depends on a number of factors, such as the situation around another reason the film exists at all:
Both The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie and Coyote vs Acme were intended for HBO Max, having been greenlit in December 2020 as a streaming release by the prior studio leadership..."
There's a lot of legalize tied up with Coyote vs. Acme, not about copyright, but about using the project (supposedly costing some $70 million) as a tax write-off, Batgirl-style. The article says how Warners wrote off $115M in taxes from abandoned films in the third quarter of 2023, but whether Coyote vs. Acme was inside that list, or not, isn't clear. Which raises a question that has been popping up a lot more often lately, are movie studios going to persevere long enough to regain their audiences and make money, or is the whole machinery of Hollywood movie-making going to be disassembled as projects and properties are sold off or vaulted permanently as tax-write-offs?
Jason Momoa talks up playing Lobo in film adaptation – Superherohype
Interview with Mat Wakeham – The Comics Journal
Cartoonist R. E. Burke is back in UK after three weeks detention with ICE for visa issues – Comicsbeat
What happens to Diamond Distributors on Wednesday? – Bleedingcool
Review - Godzilla takes on The Avengers – AIPT Comics
Zack Snyder and his feelings about the director-cut extended version of Justice League – Comicbookmovie
...humbled by the fact that this exists at all..."
Marvel's June titles and the changes to Spider-Man (there's a new one), Wolverine (he's brainwashed!), etc. – Comic Book Movie
Top Earning Superhero Films of all time - 137 titles - updated listings
Review of Who Are The Power Pals? – AIPT Comics
[This] isn’t the first comic book to serve up a meta narrative about the ups and downs of fame, but it has a very unique perspective..."
A new Sgt. Rock movie rumour – Superherohype
British cartoonist R.E Burke still being held by ICE in USA – Bleedingcool
Working on a project and getting mixed results from AI Engine. Another example of a two-handed sword that's just not quite right.
Here comes a Clayface movie – The Direct
Love The Food that Loves You Back – Amazon
Love the Food that Loves You Back: 100 Recipes That Serve Up Big Portions and Super Nutritious Food (Cookbook for Nutrition, Weight Management)
Get into the Public Domain archives that are online at Graphic Chatter
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Original page March 27, 2025 | Updated March 30, 2025