Cold Cut up for sale!

Some rather unexpected, and potentially headache/heartache-inducing, news for indy comics publishers tonight… Cold Cut, the re-order distributor that has been a small but solid part of the direct market, and the only real comic distributor alternative to Diamond since FM International disintegrated, is now up for sale.  While the message promises that orders will continue to be fulfilled, there was no mention of whether vendors will continue to receive payment, or any indication of how outstanding debts at the time of sale would be handled.

This turn of events is worrisome for smaller publishers, myself included, in part because no such intention was ever shared with publishers beforehand.  There’s also no guarantee that Cold Cut would continue as a distributor even if it finds a buyer… the pitch openly suggests the possibility of converting the operation into a mail-order business.

The rocky history of distributors past does not bode well for small vendors.  (When FM International pulled its disappearing act, the roughly $2,000 in overdue invoices it owed Icarus evaporated as well.  Cold Cut’s current tab with us… about twice that number.)  Things are still early, and perhaps some reassuring communique to publishers is forthcoming.  But to be honest, only a check for all amounts due ahead of this sale can assuage the butterflies in my stomach right now.

I will be keeping a very close eye on this, along with a lot of other publishers, I’m sure.  Particularly ones with the letters “S” and “G” in its initials…

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Tom Spurgeon gives the internet the beating of its life, securing a wicked kimura to force a tap-out at 3:45 of the first round.

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Yaoi Press has further clarified the extent of its involvement in the Yaoi Jamboree convention.

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Some interesting news via ComiPress–> Canned Dogs blog… a Japanese doujinshi printing association issued a set of guidelines requiring adult/erotic doujinshi makers to include specific contact information in their books, as well as a content warning label, for the reason of “social moral responsibility.”

Some doujinshi printers have had similar policies individually, but this appears to be the first such industry-wide mandate… perhaps brought on by recent negative media coverage of adult manga, and growing copyright enforcement fears.  Actually, having to deal with such outside forces isn’t unusual for doujinshi artists, who have long had to conform to the regulations of doujinshi events.  Comic Market, for example, has very strict mosaic/censoring requirements.