If I never need a pick me up/laugh, I just put on the CPR episode of “The Office”…I laugh like crazy no matter how times I watch it. Sort of like watching the movie “Stepbrothers”. 
I think he looks like a cartoon villain, like from Rocky n Bullwinkle or Richie Rich.
If any good comes from this zombie apocalypse, I hope it’s Diamonds relinquishing of their monopoly.
It’s actually Mr Steve Cos-Play Vito Corleone
Here’s a thought that just ran through my head… given the fact that a lot of folks are stuck at home for a while, does it not seem like a great opportunity for the publishers to market their product to those who are stuck at home and looking to fill time on a daily basis? There has to be a marketing opportunity there for the print industry/comic publishers, imo.
I’ve heard of some places offering the book up digitally when a physical copy is ordered. That way the book can be read and when distributions back up the physical copies will go out.
I for one love reading digitally. I don’t have to cause any damage to my books reading them. I only do Comixology Unlimited mainly which is definitely worth the small monthly fee but have ordered a few tpb deeply discounted.
Its a scam. None of the publishers are backing this
Basically the owner of the app charges retailers $400 to “install” software (non refundable), then the retailer pays $100 a month to use the service. He got people interested because there is a thread on the ComicsPro retailer board discussing this very same distribution model. Most think its wrong to try and influence the market and that it isnt healthy.
What isnt mentioned is that it isnt officially supported by any of the publishers nor Diamond Distributors. Sales are final. any customer making a purchase on a pre sale item will not be refunded. So when the customer finds out that " oops we dont have a digital copy" they cant ask for their money back.
Looking into the person who is pushing this ( big bang comics) it becomes apparent that other retailers have a problem with him. I heard that A petition was started to have him booted from ComicsPro over “questionable” actions.
And Rich Johnston from Bleeding Cool was promoting this as the savior of comics all day. He must have been getting a cut or something because to not even speak to any publishers about it before reporting it (which was picked up by CBR) or speak to any stores is just bad reporting.
1 Like
Weird not seeing the “Wednesday Open Forum” on the main original site this week … even weirder, no Diamond Boxes yesterday … 
Yeah, Bleeding Cool was hailing this as amazing whilst everyone else was lambasting it or simply shrugging with indifference upon hearing how expensive the, “Software,” is to even get.
I don’t really understand how this thing is even legal … have some small Publishers agreed to it … ?? Copywrite issues … ??
legally it may be allowed for some publishers (aka marvel who gives digital codes with print books)…for others it might not be.
from the print perspective…diamond would probably need to sign off on it…or maybe theres some clause that if diamond stops shipping the exclusive part of the publisher contracts is nullified.
it could also come down to where comicshub (or whatever shell corp they may use for this) is located…digital distribution rights get kinda weird when properties aren’t licensed for distribution in a particular country (i.e. how manga/anime pirating became so widespread in the US)…or how services can stream some shows in 1 country but not another, etc, but people can get around it with vpn services.
even if this is legal and it actually does happen…
for retailers I’d imagine that tracking and organizing who is owed what could get overwhelming the longer the shutdown lasts…and theres probably just as much worry that diamond would short them some books that were already paid for (or send damaged copies) and then not have enough overprint for replacements.
with diamond not shipping…it could also mean that many retailers might simply not have enough space to even receive a potential tidal wave of product all at once when shipments do resume.
also given the cost of comicshub…could shops even make enough profits to break even?
I took a minute and read the Bleeding Cool article … there is no way in Hell this would work …
Calling “This is, for want of a better phrase, the saviour of the direct comic book market.” is utter and complete nonsense, bordering on Lunacy …
"Pay now for a Digital copy, and trust us to get you a paper copy when they eventually come out … " … sure … 
1 Like
I emailed marvel and Diamond, marvel answered that they have no intention of distributing digital codes atm. The guy who was pushing this didnt have consent from anyone. Looks like he was trying to scam retailers into paying $400 to sign up.(non refundable)
I don’t know what it means, and I’m not going to bother to ask Diamond … I’ve already made my March Previews Order … however, the heading this morning on the Retailer site reads ;;
MAR20 initial orders due in 7 days . (By Friday 04/10/2020 04:59 AM ET; GMT -5)
If I were to venture a guess, Diamond has seen a drop in orders … so, they have extended the deadline … perhaps some Retailers are simply not bothering to order product they have no idea when they will get, as well as no current plan from Diamond on how the product will ship when it all is eventually released …
In all my years, and that’s 30 years with Diamond, I can’t remember the cutoff ever having been extended … perhaps it’s a website mistake, I don’t know …
I just got the email alittle while ago. I love speculating on stuff
I know 5-6 shops that are closing up permanently and another 10 that just arent bothering to put in orders until there is word on when and how orders will ship. Im guessing thats the story with a lot of retailers atm with the lockdowns.
Well, I don’t think publishers are going to be printing new books, so January/February Previews is essentially the start point, I would think, when the presses begin to roll again … thus, March Previews is a bit redundant … and I have April Previews in front of me …
Geppi leverages his credit by using future orders as a basis, I’m sure … so a large drop in March orders would hurt that leverage, and thusly, cause an extension deadline with which he would be hoping more Retailers change their mind and order …
Otherwise, Diamond may be screwed … especially with earlier reports of a cash flow crunch, not paying publishers, etc …
Thats a very good point. But as u mention later on, there are a lot of rumors floating around that Diamond is in financial trouble as well as having DC basicaly say “they are shopping around for a new distributor “
If Publishers are putting the squeeze on Diamond for payments , it makes me wonder whT this extended down time will do to them over all. Diamond has april 1 books in the warehouse, they will ship those immediately. But then its a wait game of several weeks till new books get releases.
Questions i have are : will retailers have the capital for these books ?
How many retailers closed up and what happens with those extra books? (Batman 92 might be a quick score for retailers still around)
If a Retailer officially tells Diamond they are permanently shut down, Diamond still considers any ordered yet unshipped goods as owed money … depending on the size of the orders, Diamond will sue and report that to Credit agencies … smaller Retailers may not get sued, however, the Credit report will still happen …
If a Retailer does not tell Diamond they are closed permanently, books will continue to ship until returned to Diamond as unpaid if COD or until the Retailers credit line runs out … some Retailers have Credit Cards on file with Diamond for billing purposes as well …
Returned books go back into stock, but the cycle can take some time … and damage possibilities increase due to more handling in shipping and re-stocking …
I would guess Marvel and DC may just allow Diamond some leeway on the shorter term since Diamond is all they have … a new distributor would have to gear up if distribution changed or if DC or Marvel decided to do it themselves … which is a whole other bad new can of worms …
Smaller publishers are, essentially screwed while things rest in limbo … if Diamond were to file Bankruptcy, money owed to most folks would be uncollectable … depending on just how leveraged credit wise, Geppi is …
1 Like
Diamond has April 1st and 8th books in their warehouse…
As for the small indie publishers, expect most to go out of business.
NY and maryland warehouses were closed before the 8th shipment arrived. I would assume those went to memphis. After that , shipping them back to their respective warehouses would be a monumental task unless they have everything pre sorted.
Or mYbe im wrong and they had someone in the warehouses to accept the shipments.