Top comics distributor Diamond files for bankruptcy

Diamond, the comics distributor that came to dominate the direct-sales business between publishers and retailers, is entering Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Locus reports that it secured a $41m loan to keep it running while it sells itself off for parts. Company president Chuck Parker issued what he called one of the most challenging messages of his career.

This decision was not made lightly, and I understand that this news may be as difficult to hear as it is for me to share. The Diamond leadership team and I have worked tirelessly to avoid this outcome but the financial challenges we face have left us with no other viable option. Chapter 11 will provide us with the opportunity to restructure and address our financial obligations. This process will likely include the sale of key assets of Diamond Comic Distributors including its various lines of business.

Diamond was founded in 1982, bought out direct-sales pioneers Bud Plant and Phil Seuling, and in the mid-1990s meged with rival Capital City to form an effective monopoly. CBR reports that the bankruptcy will probably upend the business for retail comic books.

should Diamond not resurface from Chapter 11 bankruptcy — InCharge Debt Solutions reports just 10% of all Chapter 11 successfully make it through reorganization — the industry will forever be changed. On one hand, it would force two other distributors to adapt in order to maintain market shares, otherwise they'd run the risk of more competitors entering the fray. After all, many would attribute Diamond's decades-long complacency to its impending downfall.