Rumors are swirling that Diamond has bought the comics rights to DC’s characters and that DC is getting out of the comics business. The Dark Herald explains the situation at Arkhaven:
DC announced it was severing all ties with Diamond and launching its own distribution system. Diamond had the nerve to angry about it! Court action was threatened and there might have been grounds depending on how the contract was written. But then litigation died out overnight. Steve Geppi, the CEO of Diamond came to an agreement with AT&T, he would have the right of first refusal if they decided to kill DC Comics publishing.
DC’s hipshoot efforts at distribution have been a disaster. One of their distributors quit when DC announced it was going to break with established industry practice and accept remaindered copies of unsold comics. The other company has proven so unsatisfactory that a number of comic book shops did the unthinkable and stopped ordering DC Comics.
I’ve been saying for a while that AT&T has been getting ready to swing the ax on DC Comics.
There have been a series of mass executions at DC over the last few months. These layoffs have been so large and cut so deep into the company’s executive talent pool, that there was clearly no way for the company to recover. DC Comics has clearly been in a death spiral for almost a year.
What efforts DC has made to expand it’s market share has resulted in ridiculous projects like, I am Not Starfire and Gotham High with Gay Alfred. Seriously guys, the problem was not a lack of Wokeness.
If DC folds completely, that is the death of the comic book shop because there is no way they can keep the lights on with just Marvel comics on the shelves. No comic book shops means, no Diamond Distributers.
Consequently, it makes all kinds of sense for Steve Geppi to buy the license for the comic book rights to the DC Comic’s characters.
Diamond might actually make for a more formidable competitor than the hyper-converged shell of DC Comics. But it makes no difference. Project Asteroid has already entered atmo. Their fate is sealed.
UPDATE: Bleeding Cool is aware of at least two serious offers. But if Diamond has a right of first refusal, it will be their group that owns the dinosaur.
I have been made aware of two serious pitches made to Warners/AT&T as a result, the one from New York-based investors is the one I am taking more seriously. The one from Orpington in Kent, England, less so at this time. But you never know.
As for the actual amount of cash needed to be raised for such a venture, if it was the full comics-and-only-the-comics buyout in perpetuity, estimates for the publishing value alone are around the $300,000,000 mark, but to actually make it worth Warners and AT&T’s while, and make up for their loss of face, we might be looking closer to a cool half billion. So no, as some wisecrackers suggested, this is not being crowdfunded—this more like twenty people bringing twenty-five million to the game, each.