IDW Has Plans...Will They Pan Out?

IDW, as a company, has had a number of very public ups and downs because it is, in fact, a publicly traded option on the stock market. They've lost some juicy licenses but have managed to hold onto other ones for dear life (TMNT), plus there have been some hit comics they've put out lately. "Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees," is a weird serial killer comic with cute anthropomorphic critters and, "The Exorcism at 1600 Penn," was just optioned and has a sequel on the way. Things could be worse, but they could also get better, hence IDW recently discussed on an investors' call various plans from having a company-owned imprint where all creations are owned by IDW to...just hoping to get lucky with some more hit books.

I have enjoyed a number of series released by IDW over the decades and hope the company keeps chugging along. DC's Vertigo tried to take away the creators' rights to their comics, and that led to the imprint eventually ending as more creators fled en masse for Image and such (it just came back because nothing stays dead in comics, but yeah). Plus, companies can make their own luck, but it can be hard to predict what might get popular--obviously! I suppose we'll see what 2026 holds for IDW, and I wish them well.

Hot Comics Revue 22--All About That Orc, No Treble

At the moment, if you have an earlier issue of one of the, "Absolute," books from DC you've got something that is basically guaranteed to sell for above cover price. What about stuff outside of DC, however? There are some indie books that have, "Popped," a bit including, "Assorted Crisis Events," and now the first issue of a comic that just emerged last week, "D'Orc." Outside of a promotional ashcan from the publisher, Image, and getting spotlit as an interesting book on Comics Heating Up during the Final Order Cutoff, "D'Orc," lacked much anticipation from the comic-buying public. However, once it hit shelves, positive word of mouth and (I'd presume) the FOMO people had from being late to the party on some of the assorted Absolute books resulted in a rush to acquire copies of, "D'Orc," #1. It was a four-dollar comic, suddenly selling online for $35-$40, and then it just kept climbing. The standard cover A is now trending for eighty bucks or so!

I imagine the heat will die down and the book will settle to a respectable number above its cover price, but not quite as high. For now, however, "D'Orc," is as hot as molten lava. A second printing with many more copies than the first printing has been announced and some sites/apps like Key Collector threw a hissy fit about not being able to predict and pump the book, putting out a rare, "Buyer beware," about how it had zero hype before it dropped, and that makes Key Collector feel the popularity is suspicious. Look, I like Key Collector and often use it to find old key issues of stuff, but this sounds like sour grapes for not getting to take credit for, "Calling," a book would be hot--CHU gets credit, though (and remains a great site and forum)! Yes, "D'Orc," #1 is a sought-after book. Now, we just need to see if it maintains the heat or has a cooldown.

Scattered Super Bowl LX Thoughts the Day After

The Super Bowl happened yesterday, as you may have heard. I don't have a concrete article about it so much as a chunk of scattered thoughts. Observe:

From the tiny bit of opinions I'd heard before the game on the radio or television, Seattle's Seahawks were heavily favored to beat the New England Patriots. That is exactly what happened, with the Patriots pretty much never putting the Seahawks in danger of losing their lead. A fun game for Seatttle fans, a painful one for lovers of the Patriots, and a bit of a defense-heavy bore for everyone else watching.

Many advertisements this year were quite bland. Lots of AI promotion, some Cryptocurrency, and the occasional fun piece. The Liquid Death energy drink was cute with the missing heads and Dunkin riffed on 90's sitcoms in a star-packed piece, but little else stood out. Oh, that Ring camera, "Search Party," was creepy though. It basically bragged if you let them access the 10 million or so cameras in use they can find a grand total of 365 pets. How long until such a tech is used to identify, "Enemies of the State," on the run who spoke out against a government in a foreign country--or, Hell, America at this rate?

I have zero problem with sports gambling and voted for Missouri to allow it, but my God, did that permeate the broadcast today. Betting on sports used to be this taboo thing, and now it's integrated into the whole sports experience as if the idea of enjoying a game without betting a five-spot on who wins is impossible. I mean, knowing you could win ten bucks from Seattle demolishing the spread can be entertaining, but gambling on a sport shouldn't be the sole reason people tune in!

That Halftime show with Bad Bunny was fun! I am not going to pretend I understood most of what was said with my single semester of, "Spanish 101," in college, but there was a clear message of love and unity. Plus, it felt like it was a big and wild party. There was nothing anti-American or offensive to anyone's sensibilities. I mean, unless men and women dancing and eagerly shaking their butts to the beat made you clutch your pearls. Plus, there was a real wedding!

Lastly, there was a burger for sale at the game itself that cost $180 dollars. Even putting aside my allergy to beef, it honestly did not look at all appetizing. That said, those of us who stayed home and watched on television could enjoy our own more reasonably priced snacks. Between food and friends, not a bad way to spend a few hours--regardless of how dull the game itself was!

A Local Pokemon Card Show/Convention Was Apparently Quite the Mess

There are occasions when conventions do not go well. Case in point, I had seen ads for, "PokeKon-Fest," and heard about it, but was unfamiliar with who was behind the show ("Our Cons,") even though they apparently do an assortment of events. This show happened yesterday, however, and was apparently the definition of a shit-show. Overcrowded showfloor, extremely long wait to get in, disorganized in terms of programming, and while (by all accounts) the vendors were nice, many attendees were upset and posted online it put the, "Con," in, "Convention."

I'm not here to pass judgment. I am friends with a number of people who put on comic conventions and pop culture shows. They work hard to make sure things go well. When you hold a show, you want it to draw a good crowd, but you need to be prepared for an underwhelming or overwhelming number of people. Apparently, PokeKon-Fest was woefully underprepared for the sheer folks of people excited for a Pokémon-centric show, and as a result, much of the populace is displeased. Some people did have fun, but if the majority of posts about a show are negative, well, that's not good. I've even helped with conventions in the past and hope to assist with others in the future; I just know I'll work hard to ensure any show I'm involved in will (hopefully) be remembered fondly. At the end of the day, that's what a convention is about--having fun and enjoying a community of fans. If it is treated as little more than a cash-grab, as some suggest about this, "Fest," that's just sad to witness. After all, you are supposed to, "Catch them all," not, "Con them all!"

Why Does it Remain so Hard For Comic Creators to Make a Decent Living?

A handful of notable exceptions aside, most of those who make comic-books are doing it for the love of the art form and won't get rich at it. That said, you would hope those who are making comics we enjoy could at least get a livable wage. In the span of a couple of days, two incidents occured First, we learned that Frazer Irving was literally homeless due to a lease issue and needed food--a man who has worked on huge comic-book properties and is an amazing creator. Next, Kevin Maguire went public about how he would no longer be working on covers for DC, as they hadn't increased his pay in 20 years. He has plans to do his own comics via Kickstarter and such--I hope he makes plenty of funds. 

As for Irving, he got support from fans who bought some of his work from his website and assistance from fellow creators, so he's doing okay for now. That said, why would Irving or Maguire need help or have to walk away due to not being paid their worth? That shouldn't happen. I would like it not to be a struggle for people who help create content that becomes multi-million dollar properties to afford housing and a meal. Only your name in the credits as a, "Thanks," for the latest billion-dollar superhero flick doesn't help pay the bills, after all.

DSTLRY to Pause Publishing

DSTLRY is taking a break. They're not shutting down or going bankrupt, they're just, "Pausing." Yes, the publisher of assorted fun comics that are generally magazine-sized is going to take a break and plot out hte best way to market, print, and distribute their comics for a maximum impact, as DSTLRY tells it. I understand the desire for a publisher to not only survive, but thrive. I mean, DSTLRY has been through the wringer. They were with Lunar, went exclusive with Diamond two months before they declared bankruptcy and proceeded to screw everyone over, then shift to Penguin Random House. That's a lot for a year or so for a known publisher, and DSTLRY had only splashed onto the scene in 2023.

The plan for DSTLRY is to, "..regroup, reset, and return with a more stable, consistent publishing rhythm.” I wish them the best and really hope we eventually get the third and final issue of, "White Boat," someday. That comic was really good.

Neil Gaiman Picked NOW to Address Allegations?

A little more than a year ago, there was a big article in, "New York Magazine," that laid out how Neil Gaiman had allegedly sexually assaulted a number of women. I wrote about how it might take a bit for the whole truth to be figured out, but things looked bad. Thought of as a literary hero for quite some time, the allegations were extremely upsetting for big fans of Gaiman, and he denied any wrongdoing before he went radio silent. Various legal cases have been occuring but Gaiman posted nothing. However, now, Gaiman has made a new blog post, "...again denying the allegations, before hyping up his untitled next novel, and thanking fans who have supported him." 

Look, whether everything is true, some of it is true, or somehow nothing is true, the timing is awful. It is almost as if Gaiman saw all the Epstein files being released and thought, "Hey, maybe I'll remind everyone about my fiasco while sex predators are a trending topic!" I guess he really wants to promote upcoming work and link to a random Substack newsletter named TechnoPathology, which is heavily focused on discussing how its author believes Neil Gaiman is innocent (Gaiman claims no direct involvement). Again, regardless of Gaiman's guilt or innocence, he picked a Hell of a time to contribute to the dialogue going on about famous people and sexual assault.

Diamond Comic Distributors Screwed Over Everybody One Last Time

Diamond Comic Distributors is dead. It ceased any form of operations on December 31st, 2025. That said, they have managed to screw over everybody one last time from the metaphorical grave. Folks may recall that Diamond was in Chapter 11 bankruptcy at first and supposedly planned to pay back everyone what they were owed. This led to some fiascos as they tried to liquidate inventory in their warehouses that did not belong to them from publishers...who they needed to sell the stuff to pay back--talk about borrowing from Peter to pay Paul, as the expression goes! Eventually, everything shifted to Chapter 7--meaning there would be no reorganization as opposed to totally shutting down and being stripped for parts. This led to some hope that there would be a bit of money for the many parties owed funds. Well, as Bleeding Cool posted, " It appears that the millions raised from selling parts of the company to Ad Populum, Universal Distribution, and the managers of Diamond UK, will be wiped out by legal fees and bank fees, which have been mounting up over the past year." 

So much was spent on all the lawsuits and bank fees that there are zero dollars for the people Diamond entered bankruptcy in the first place to supposedly pay back. That means,"...looking at the detailed individual listings, no one is getting anything in those Final Allowed Amount columns. Whether you are Penguin Random House, owed $8,941,467.05, or a former employee, Chris Powell, owed $11,900. The legal case continues through the courts, especially over the consigned inventory, but it seems the courts have already found against comic book publishers Valiant, Netcomics, and Digital Manga." 

Yep, everyone gets nothing, nada--to quote Willy Wonka, "You lose! Good day, Sir!" This is the equivalent of going to a reading of a will and finding out your dear departed Granny left all her money to the pool boy/girl, and all your books you had at her house were being used as collateral for her gambling debts. I joke...but not really? It remains wild to think how Diamond spent 2025 declaring bankruptcy in January and being dead and gone by December. Now, it's both depressing and a bit impressive that it managed one final, "Up yours," to everyone. 

Dynamite and Coffin Comics to Co-Publish

Coffin Comics is the indie publisher owned by Brian Pulido that has pubished a number of series, with the big one being, "Lady Death," since he got the rights back some years ago following some nasty lawsuits with Avatar Press. That said, Lady Death used to be a part of the Chaos! Comics publishing line, along with other characters including Evil Ernie, Purgatori, Chastity, and more. The rights to those characters ended up with Dynamite, making it quite interesting that the Chaos! Comics line, in a sense, is reunited now that it has been announced Coffin Comics is going to partner with Dynamite and co-publish.

When Diamond Comic Distributors went under it was hard for Coffin as they were bigger than a micro-publisher but not large enough to interest Lunar/PRH, it would appear. By partnering with Dynamite, they can do more than direct to consumer and Kickstarter (although they've had immense success with those methods), and it makes the rights a bit less messy to republish a bunch of old Chaos! Comics--which is already planned via an, "Evil Ernie," three-volume set of his earliest adventures that haven't been collected in years, or ever. Diamond going under made things hard for lots of publishers, but many have--thankfully--found a way to survive and even thrive!

Groundhog Day, Politics, and the Power of Belief

It is Groundhog Day. The day ties into one of the funniest movies around--"Groundhog Day," with Bill Murray--and features multiple cities with rodents supposedly predicting how much winter we will or will not be having this year. I could be snarky about how people ignore climate scientists and listen to a groundhog, but you know what, in 2026, I'll take someone who believes a groundhog over anyone who still supports Donald Trump. I have forgiven people who admitted voting for Trump in 2016 and then not supporting him again after the travesty that was his first term. If someone told me they voted for him in the most recent election, even, but didn't know things would get so bad and regretted it, okay. If, in 2026, seeing how awful things are, someone still supports Trump, though? That's more delusional than believing with 100% certainty that a rodent predicts and/or controls the weather.

Between the silencing of journalists, using ICE as a personal Gestapo, lying about things we outright see with our eyes (people being murdered in the street and painted as domestic terrorists), having it illustrated in the smidgen of Epstein files released Trump is a rapist (we all knew that already), and shutting down programs that educate people and keep the populace healthy...just, how can anyone in their right mind support this? Five-year-olds getting arrested and detained, citizens killed with it claimed they are terrorists, concrete proof that Trump was sexually assaulting children on a rape island, and so forth. The first term was dumb, the second term is pure fascism. We had a breather between Trump terms with Joe Biden, but now we live in a surreal Hell of America's own making. So yeah, it isn't that crazy to think some people take a perfectly innocent groundhog seriously when there are people out there still excusing Trump instead of calling for him to be behind bars. In other words, Punxsutawney Phil for President in 2028--at least he isn't the Epstein files.