Black Panel Press Launches GoFundMe After Diamond Comics Bankruptcy

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Posted in: Comics, Current News | Tagged: Black Panel Press, diamond

Black Panel Press launches a GoFundMe campaign after Diamond Comic Distributors declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy and stopped paying them

Article Summary

Black Panel Press launches GoFundMe to stay afloat after Diamond Comics’ bankruptcy.

Publisher owed $28,000 by Diamond, struggles to pay author royalties and print new titles.

Raised over $4,000 towards a $5,000 goal from 41 donors; needs help to stabilize.

Focus on bringing global comic titles to North America, like “Shadows on the Ice.”

Comic book publishers Black Panel Press, based in St. John’s, Newfoundland in Canada, started in 2017 with the goal of bringing exceptional international titles to North America, and have sold over 12,000 copies of 24 different books. So we are talking small press, small print runs, but as a result of the Diamond Comic Distributor announcement of Chapter 11 bankruptcy and suspension of all payments to publishers, they are in a pickle, even before they get hit with the currently-on-hold Canadian-to-USA tariffs. As a result, they have launched a Gofund Me “to make sure we don’t lose our publishing house.” Andrew Benteau, publisher of Black Panel Press states;

“After the best year in the company’s history (over 5,000 books sold and receiving the prestigious JLG Gold Selection for Shadows on the Ice), our distributor Diamond Comics has filed for bankruptcy, owing us over $28,000. We need that money to pay our authors’ royalties and to print our upcoming titles, plus everything else that goes into running a business. We have a plan to set things back on course, but we need help to get us through the next few months. After that period, either Diamond will stabilize or we’ll have new distribution. This company has been a labor of love for seven years. We’ve published books by creators from all over the world, many of whom have told me how no other publishers were interested in their books. Comics are important; we need more of them, not less.”

They have currently raised $4,085 against a $5,000 target from 41 donations. Current titles include