The 2025 Eisner nominations have been announced. AfterShock Comics returns from bankruptcy. Diamond has been officially bought.
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Episode Transcript:
Eisner nominations announced.
AfterShock Comics returns from bankruptcy.
Diamond officially bought.
This is Comic Book Club News for May 19, 2025.
2025 Eisner Nominations Announced:
The nominees for the 2025 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards are here. And over the course of the 32 categories, the big winner (or potential winner) is publisher Fantagraphics.
In total, Fantagraphics received 24 nominations. DC Comics scored 10 nominations, First Second/Macmillan seven nominations, tying with Abrams. And hot on their heels were Pantheon with six nominations, plus one shared.
Other publishers include Image Comics with five nominations, BOOM! with five, and Dark Horse with two nominations.
As for creators, Tom King was tops with four nominations, while Leela Corman, Bilquis Evely, Emil Ferris, LeUyen Pham, Ram V, Javier Rodriguez, Olivier Schrauwen, James Tynion IV, Gene Luen Yang, and Quentin Zuttion nabbed three nominations each.
And for individual works, Absolute Wonder Woman was tops with five nominations. Lunar New Year Love Story and Helen of Wyndhorn each got four nominations. My Favorite Thing Is Monsters Book Two, Zatanna: Bring Down The House, and Parade each got three nominations. And The Road got two noms.
This year’s Eisners were chosen by a panel of judges, and apply to works published between January 1 and December 31, 2024. Voting will be held online until June 5, with the awards given out during San Diego Comic-Con on July 25.
Check out the full list of nominees on ComicBookClubLive.com.
AfterShock Comics Returns From Bankruptcy:
After declaring bankruptcy in 2022, AfterShock Comics is back on the menu, boys.
Per a release, the company has spent the past several years figuring out a plan to pay off its debts to other companies and comic book creators, and now that plan is coming together. Over the next three years, they will not only pay off those debts, they’ll also start producing comics again, and are actively looking into getting new editorial leadership.
Said AfterShock president Lee Kramer, “Regarding the handful of series that were left hanging with only one or two issues left to go, we fully intend to conclude those arcs as their creators become available. On top of that, we have several series and films based on AfterShock books that are in deep development and should be heading to production by the end of this year and the beginning of 2026 – plus multiple projects with great talent that are already at the studios and streamers, which we are excited to announce shortly.”
Previously, AfterShock published books by Garth Ennis, Marguerite Bennett, Cullen Bunn and more, before imploding like a lot of other comic book companies in 2022. One creator who won’t be returning? Zac Thompson, who posted on BlueSky regarding the news, “Heard AFTERSHOCK has emerged from their bankruptcy. Just want folks to know that you’ll never see my name on another book from them. I’ve made it clear that the only way THE BROTHER OF ALL MEN finishes is if the rights return to the creative team.”
So will AfterShock actually return and make good on their debts? Or will this be less of a grand return and more of a… Well, you know.
Diamond Officially Purchased:
Our long national nightmare is finally, maybe, over: Diamond Comics Distributors has officially been purchased by Universal Distribution and Ad Populum. The closing comes after a long, torturous saga we won’t detail in full in here, but at the moment it looks like Diamond does indeed have new owners, finally.
However, as usual with these sorts of sales, it’s come with a heavy cost. The Beat reports that most of the staff at Diamond has been laid off, with perhaps as few as three members of the staff of Diamond proper still on the payroll.
As for the future of the company, and comics distribution in general, a lot of questions still remain. It seems likely that Ad Populum will concentrate on games and collectibles sales, while Universal will jockey to become a third major comic distributor alongside Lunar and Penguin Random House, using some of Diamond’s key staff and infrastructure. As for Diamond, though? That’s pretty much it for the company.
For Comic Book Club News, I’m Alex Zalben. And tomorrow, maybe a few less business stories? I guess we’ll see!
Got tips or stories you’d like us to cover? Email us at comicbookclublive@gmail.com.
For more comic book news, reviews, and interviews, check out comicbookclublive.com.
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