As Diamond goes bankrupt, they may cost RPG publishers thousands of dollars too
Wargamer reports that Diamond Distribution, already in serious bankruptcy quicksand, plans to sell off inventory coming from RPG publishers like Paizo sans compensation, which could damage the RPG publishers' finances:
As for Diamond, they certainly have caused quite a bit of potential disaster for comics and game publishers alike, and it's for the best if they're leaving the industry now.
Diamond Comic Distributors, a recently bankrupted company that distributed RPG books for companies like Paizo, Wizards of the Coast, and other third-party D&D and Pathfinder publishers, has asked the bankruptcy court to allow it to liquidate its remaining consignment inventory. Essentially, this would mean that Diamond Comic Distributors can sell the comics, books, and RPG products still in its warehouses in order to pay off its creditors - all without giving a penny to the original publishers.Somehow, based on all that was told about Diamond in the past, it doesn't sound too surprising if they're trying to short-change publishers while on their last legs. This actually makes clear why it was for the best that publishers stopped relying solely on Diamond, and shouldn't have relied on them at all. According to Popverse, even Dynamite Entertainment looks like they'll suffer from any poor conduct Diamond's following now:
Retail consignment is when goods are sent to a second party who facilitates their sale in exchange for a cut of the profits. Legal ownership remains with the sender (consignor), but the recipient (consignee) is responsible for storing and selling the stock. This is how tabletop RPG publishers like Paizo ended up with some of their stock still in Diamond Comic Distributors' hands when it filed for bankruptcy on January 14, 2025.
Diamond Comic Distributors filed a motion to sell its consigned inventory "free and clear of liens, claims, interests, or encumbrances" on June 25. 128 companies are listed as having consignment inventory housed with Diamond Comic Distributors. This includes comic book giants like DC and Image Comics, as well as four TTRPG publishers: Paizo, Goodman Games, Roll for Combat, and Green Ronin.
According to Roll for Combat owner Stephen Glicker, this means "they are going to take all the inventory that they have currently in their warehouse, and Diamond is going to liquidate it and keep all the profits." Glicker explains in a YouTube video from July 1 (see above) that Roll for Combat was notified about these plans last week.
"I couldn't believe it when I read this, and I spoke to my attorney", Glicker continues. "He looked it over, and his exact quote to me was 'It's not as bad as you think it is; it's much worse.'"
Glicker explains that not only will Roll For Combat lose revenue from the sale of those books, they'll also potentially lose money from having to compete with themselves if Diamond decides to sell Roll For Combat products for a more competitive price.
Wargamer asked Roll For Combat what potential losses it could face, and Stephen Glicker estimates losses of "approximately $50,000 in potential profit if everything in inventory was sold and we received payment from Diamond." "However, they currently have approximately $120,000 worth of our product in their warehouse", Glicker tells Wargamer.
According to ICv2, a hearing will take place on July 21 to give vendors time to object to the motion. Wargamer has reached out to Diamond Distributors to confirm the date of the hearing, but is yet to receive a response.
Despite the hearing, Glicker doesn't seem optimistic about Goodman Games' chances to change the situation. "The bankruptcy law is really not in my favor", he says in the YouTube video. "They actually have the right to take products that they don't own and sell them at any price they want - basically liquidate them - and then keep all the profits for themselves and use that money to pay off the banks and to pay off the bankruptcy debt."
The comic book company behind titles featuring Disney's Stitch, Zootopia, and Gargoyles — as well as Warner Bros' Powerpuff Girls, Space Ghost, and Thundercats, as well as characters including Red Sonja, Barbarella, and The Boys — is in danger of running out of money... and it’s all because one-time leading pop culture distributor Diamond Comic Distributors allegedly hasn’t paid the more than one million dollar amount it owes the companyThis certainly isn't good either, and I have a feeling we may soon hear of Dynamite folding. Of course, some might not feel too sorry to see them go, recalling they once capitulated to the woke mob in the past several years, and there were some PC directions they'd taken at times too with Red Sonja. It could also be argued that relying on licensed merchandise adaptations not unlike IDW is not a great way to go. For now, time will tell what happens with Dynamite.
For the second time in three months, Dynamite Entertainment has filed legal papers with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland asking the court to expedite payment for money owed by Diamond. (The company filed for bankruptcy back in January 2025, and was purchased by two separate companies who split its assets in April.) Notably, the new filing, which the court received July 1, states that Diamond “has not communicated at all with Dynamite” over its debt following the earlier request, filed May 27.
“Dynamite is currently owed over $1 million for shipments made to the Debtor and Ad Populum LLC, a majority of which are administrative expenses,” the July 1 filing declared. That filing was asking to expedite an already scheduled hearing on July 16 because, as it explained, “Dynamite, a small company with less than 30 employees, does not have the funds to make payroll next week, if it is not promptly paid by the Debtor.”
As for Diamond, they certainly have caused quite a bit of potential disaster for comics and game publishers alike, and it's for the best if they're leaving the industry now.
Labels: dc comics, history, indie publishers, licensed products, marvel comics, sales
