Diamond Comics Distributors is suing 31 different comic book publishers. The case against Cadence Comic Art continues. Harley Quinn x Elvira has sold 91,000 copies.
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Episode Transcript:
Diamond sues 31 comic book publishers.
Cadence Comic Art case continues.
Harley Quinn x Elvira sells 91,000 copies.
This is Comic Book Club News for September 11, 2025.
Diamond Comics Distributors Sues 31 Comic Book Publishers:
Proving that this news story can’t stop, won’t stop, the Diamond Comics Distributors bankruptcy saga continues with another wild twist: Diamond is now suing 31 different comic book publishers to retain hold on their consignment inventory.
To attempt to cut through the legalese here, Diamond is currently holding comics and graphic novels essentially hostage, aiming to sell them itself in order to pay off the massive debts it has accrued… Not to the publishers, but to Chase Bank, lawyers, and others. Those impacted publishers have sued Diamond to get their inventory back, which previously the judge in charge of the case ordered each publisher to be evaluated individually.
So Diamond is doing the next illogical thing, which is to sue each publisher individually to hold on to the inventory, in what is called adversary proceedings. That includes major publishers like BOOM! Studios, Fantagraphics, Alien Books, and more, with millions of dollars in inventory at stake.
Meanwhile, those publishers are separately suing Ad Populum, which bought Diamond, and is being accused of illegally selling $1.57 million in inventory.
We’ll have more on this as it develops.
Cadence Comic Art Case Continues:
Another bizarre continuing legal story in the comic book industry: Paolo Belfiore and Cadence Comic Art are requesting an extension to respond to the accusations that they misappropriated $473,000 in funds from 17 comic book artists, insisting they have not been able to contact the plaintiff.
Per Graphic Policy, Belfiore states that he was served on August 16 and had a deadline of September 9 to respond, so he hasn’t had enough time to respond to the plaintiff’s counsel as of yet. Following up on that, the lawyer in charge, Polina Ivko, explained that Belfiore did contact them on September 3, asked for an extension, they agreed the same day, and told him to tell the court by September 8. However, on September 8, Belfiore sent the letter saying they had been unable to get in touch.
This aside, in documents Ivko shared with Comic Book Club, they have been trying to get in touch with Belfiore in various fashions since September 10… Of 2024. And though this is hardly legally admissible in court, Ivko responded to Comic Book Club the same day regarding an interview request and was able to get answers together for a feature on our website over a holiday weekend. So Ivko hardly seems as uncontactable as Belfiore implies.
As it stands, Ivko has expressed no problem with extending the deadline to October 9, which Belfiore states should give him time to get representation. Which he, I guess, didn’t do well over a year ago.
We’ll have more this as it develops.
Harley Quinn x Elvira Sells 91,000 Copies:
Harley Quinn isn’t going to have a problem purchasing hyena chow this month… Dynamite’s Harley Quinn x Elvira crossover has sold over 91,000 copies to comic book stores.
The book is written by Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti, who previously wrote the lauded DC Comics run for Harley. Art on the book is by Juan Samu, and while it was originally announced in February and solicited for August, the book is now scheduled to be released on October 1. Not only is that more seasonally appropriate to a crossover between the Mistress of the Dark and perennial Halloween costume favorite Harley Quinn, but the extra lead time may have helped with advance sales… Despite the delay likely being due to the ongoing legal battles with the bankrupt Diamond Comics Distributors that have caused comic book release schedules to be wobbly, at best.
While 91,000 orders doesn’t make Harley Quinn x Elvira a powerhouse on the order of, say, Absolute Batman, Invincible Universe Battle Beast, or [checks notes] Mark Spears’ Monsters? Really? Okay. It’s still a sizable amount of books, and points to the continued strength of both Dynamite’s publishing line and crossovers in general. It also probably doesn’t hurt that there are 21 separate covers for the first issue, including one by, you guessed it, Mark Spears.
For Comic Book Club News, I’m Alex Zalben. And maybe they should just sell the covers, forget about the comic books.
Got tips or stories you’d like us to cover? Email us at comicbookclublive@gmail.com.
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