Category Archives: Business

Joshua Izzo is Named President of McFarlane Toys

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Joshua Izzo

McFarlane Toys has announced that Joshua Izzo will be joining​ McFarlane Toys as its new President, effective September 8th, 2026. Joshua brings nearly three decades of experience across toys, licensing, entertainment and franchise development.

Joshua joins McFarlane Toys from James Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment, where he spent nearly a decade in senior leadership, most recently as Executive Vice President. He has overseen franchise strategy, new business development and ancillary storytelling across the Avatar universe, working closely with creative, licensing, theatrical and strategic partners to build and expand one of entertainment’s most iconic film properties.

Earlier in his career, Joshua held licensing and brand franchise roles at 20th Century Fox Consumer Products and Capcom Entertainment, along with leadership positions at Hasbro and 4Kids Entertainment, giving him an impressive background and well-rounded perspective that spans toy development, global licensing and franchise management. 

Joshua’s appointment as President marks an important step in McFarlane Toys’ continued evolution as the company builds on its legacy while pursuing new opportunities across toys, collectibles, licensing and entertainment. He will guide the company’s next phase of growth as it continues to expand its business and strengthen its position within the toys and collectibles industry. 

Spider-Man: Brand New Day hangs on to the Top Spot at the Weekend Box Office as it fights towards $1 billion at the Domestic Box Office

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Spider-Man: Brand New Day

Spider-Man: Brand New Day was again the top movie at the weekend box office grossing an estimated $18 million over the three days of the weekend and about $24 million over the extended holiday weekend. The movie has grossed $923.1 million domestically. Internationally, the movie added $44 million over the week and it has now grossed $1.485 million for a worldwide total of $2.408 billion.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day ranks second in domestic gross, just $13.6 million behind Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens. With that little gap, there’s a good chance it’ll pass it this week to take the top spot. Worldwide, the movie ranks third, though it’s unlikely to move into second place. There’s a $391 million gap between it and Avengers: Endgame. The $923.1 million domestic haul puts it in position to be the first film to cross $1 billion domestically. You better believe Sony and Marvel will go with a hard push to make that happen before its theater run is over. There’s not much competition as far as releases for a while, so we could be seeing a major milestone happening.

The Odyssey moved back into second place grossing $13 million with just a 9% drop from the previous weekend. Domestically, it stands at $589 million. Internationally, it gross $53.7 million over the week to cross the billion dollar mark and now is at $1.043 billion. Worldwide, the movie has grossed $1.632 billion.

Coyote vs. Acme slipped to third place with $11.3 million domestically which is now at $37 million. Internationally, the movie has grossed $7.2 million. There’s a lot of crowing about the film’s “success,” mainly led by those who had a grudge against Warner Bros. and its leadership for shelving the film. The film has had an interesting history, originally shelved by Warner Bros. for a tax write off of $30 million. Ketchup Entertainment picked it up for a reported $50 million. Now, here’s the mixed part. It’s the best opening for a Ketchup Entertainment film, that’s good. It’s also a massive improvement on 2024’s Looney Tunes’ The Day the Earth Blew Up which opened with $3.2 million domestically and grossed $15.5 million its entire run. That was also a Ketchup film. But, films need to make money, so using the formula of 2x budget to figure out profitability, and with the reported $10 million marketing spent on top of what was paid to Warner Bros., Coyote vs. Acme is far short of achieving that. Warner Bros. had a $70 million budget for the film and got a $30 million tax write-off. The film might make back that production budget, so Warner Bros. would have lost the marketing budget if not a bit more. For Ketchup, the total gross will likely be about what they paid plus the marketing, and with the split with theaters, that’d equate a loss for them. They’ll need to make up the cost in streaming (and who knows what that part of Ketchup’s deal with Warner Bros. is). So, as it’s looking the decision to shelve the film might have been the right decision no matter how well it’s been received (and it is getting praised by critics and average attendees). As is, it’s hard to see Ketchup making back their investment in the theater, let alone making a significant profit. While we hate to see quality films get shelved, movies are a business and it looks like Warner Bros. knew what they were doing.

By Any Means debuted in fourth place with $7.4 million over the weekend and $9.2 million over the holiday. There’s no international gross.

Insidious: Out of the Further rounded out the top five with $6.5 million domestically and it now has a total of $55.7 million. Internationally, the movie added $16.9 million over the week and the total is $83.5 million. Worldwide, the movie has grossed $139.2 million.

Akira, the classic anime film, had a special re-release this weekend where it grossed $3.2 million from its special screenings.

In comic related movies…

Supergirl has grossed $72.4 million domestically. Internationally, the movie remained at $54 million. Worldwide, the movie has grossed $126.4 million.

Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu remained at $177.7 million domestically. Internationally, the movie is at $167.7 million. Worldwide, the movie has grossed $345.4 million.

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War – The Calamity has grossed $4.3 million domestically. Internationally, the movie has grossed $763,798 which makes a little over $5 million worldwide.

Numbers have 70 movies grossing $93,531,192 from 40,798 theaters for an average of $2,292.54. That is compared to last week’s 69 movies grossing $102,201,265 from 38,900 theaters for an average of $2,627.28.

Hearing is set for October over Diamond’s Consignment Goods Compromise

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It’s been an interesting month when it comes to (old) Diamond Comic Distributor‘s chapter 7 case. After a year of fighting, Diamond and its trustee Morgan W. Fisher came to a compromise with 15 publishers regarding consigned goods.

Diamond was the major distributor for the comic and tabletop game industry and some of the items it sold were on consignment. Diamond declared chapter 11 and a fight began over those goods with Diamond claiming ownership and wanting to sell them to help pay back its debts. Publishers of course wanted their goods back. It’s been a back and forth in the court over who has a right to the goods. Add in Sparkle Pop, the company that bought some of Diamond’s assets, was storing the goods in the warehouse they took over from Diamond and the new distributor sold some of the stock without permission from Diamond or the publishers.

In early August it was announced that Diamond, Fisher, and 15 publishers came to an agreement that would allow the publishers to get back their goods while Diamond would keep most of the money of the consigned goods sold during the dispute (it’s a bit more complicated but that’s the general compromise).

Lending bank JPMorgan Chase submitting a filing with a “reservation of rights” while Sparkle Pop submitted a filing objecting to the compromise.

Now, the court will take up the motion, response, and objection in a hearing set for October 6.

Notice of Hearing (related document(s)[1309] Application to Compromise Controversy filed by Trustee Morgan W. Fisher, [1328] Response filed by Creditor JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., [1331] Objection filed by Interested Party Sparkle Pop LLC). Hearing scheduled for 10/6/2026 at 10:00 AM. In person hearing Courtroom 9-D Baltimore, Judge Rice. (Scott, Cherita)

Ed Brubaker sued and accused of Hostile Work Environment on Criminal

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Another comic creator is being accused of pretty horrendous behavior. Ijaaz Noohu is seeking unspecified damages in a lawsuit against Amazon MGM and Big Indie Pictures for behavior by showrunner Ed Brubaker during the production of the television show Criminal. Amazon MGM, MGM Studios, Big Indie, Ed Bubaker, and Phillip Barnett are all named as defendants. They are being accused of turning a blind on to the hostile work environment and Brubaker with harassment.

Noohu says he was subjected to sexual and racial harassment, religious discrimination, assault, and battery, and more by Brubaker in the 28 page document.

The lawsuit’s “complaint for damages” lists out:

  1. SEXUAL HARASSMENT / HOSTILE WORK ENVIRONMENT BASED ON
    SEX (FEHA, CAL. GOV’T CODE § 12940(J));
  2. RACIAL / NATIONAL ORIGIN HARASSMENT / HOSTILE WORK ENVIRONMENT (FEHA, CAL. GOV’T CODE § 12940(J));
  3. RELIGIOUS HARASSMENT / DISCRIMINATION (FEHA, CAL. GOV’T CODE § 12940);
  4. FAILURE TO PREVENT HARASSMENT, DISCRIMINATION, AND RETALIATION (FEHA, CAL. GOV’T CODE § 12940(K));
  5. DISPARATE TREATMENT / DISCRIMINATION (FEHA, CAL. GOV’T CODE § 12940(A));
  6. INTENTIONAL INFLICTION OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS;
  7. ASSAULT;
  8. BATTERY;
  9. NEGLIGENCE / BREACH OF DUTY OF CARE;
  10. DEFAMATION;
  11. SEXUAL HARASSMENT NOT MOTIVATED BY SEXUAL DESIRE
    (CAL. GOV’T CODE § 12940(J)(4)(C)); AND,
  12. AIDING AND ABETTING HARASSMENT (CAL. GOV’T CODE §12940(I)).

Noohu is asking for a jury trial.

In one incident Burbaker pointed a working firearm at Noohu’s face and pulled the trigger. That incident was witnessed by a senior producer who ignored the event according the the lawsuit. Brubaker subjected Noohu to “repeated and pervasive” sexual harassment including running his hands through Noohu’s hair, joking about rape, and rubbing Noohu’s back. In one incident, Burbaker directed Noohu to a “bikini barista” establishment. Brubaker is also being accused of being demeaning to Noohu with comments about curry, invoking “Tiger Mom” tropes, referencing to Never Have I Ever, stereotypes about math, and being asked if Noohu supports Hamas, and labelling him as “Indian” even though he’s Sri Lankan American.

Noohu, who has 14 years in the film industry, was hired as a production assistant for Brubaker in February 2023. Noohu state his exit date was moved up after asking for a promotion and he was barred from the set and stripped of equipment benefits in retaliation for challenging the misconduct. His employment ended in September 2024. He wasn’t credited on the production.

The lawsuit claims Amazon MGM and Big Indie didn’t investigate the alleged harassment and discrimination and executive producer Phillip Barnett directed individuals to not document complaints on occasions.

Brubaker is a praised and award-winning comic creator. Criminal is a comic series by Brubaker, along with Sean Phillips, and was ordered by Prime Video in January 2024. The series has won multiple awards and was original published by Marvel’s Icon imprint and since has moved to Image Comics. Brubaker reteams with Sean Phillips for Unfinished Tales, a graphic novel which has been announced for release in November from Image Comics

You can read the full 28 page filing below:

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Rob Liefeld has signed with Range Media Partners

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cover to Avengelyne

As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Rob Liefeld has left management firm Verve and has signed with Range Media Partners.

In a statement, Liefeld said:

I’m excited to partner with the team at Range. I’ve spent decades creating characters and worlds, and I’m looking forward to finding new audiences and new avenues for these properties while continuing to build on what we’ve created.

Range will help Liefeld with publishing as well as film, television, and gaming development. Currently, Avengelyne is in development at Warner Bros. with Olivia Wilde, Margot Robbie, and Tony Mcnamara attached. A film based on Prophet has been circling for some time. It last made news in 2022 when it was announced Kurt Johnstad was tapped to write it and Jake Gyllenhaal involved.

Liefeld became a superstar comic creator in the late 1980s and 90s breaking big with Marvel’s The New Mutants which eventually became X-Force and saw the creation of Deadpool Cable, and more. He then went on to co-found Image Comics in 1992 and launched Youngblood.

Diamond and Alliance Lawsuit Schedule Adjusted, Delayed at least 5 months

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Discovery can be a very long and difficult process with Diamond Comic Distributors, its trustee Morgan W. Fisher, and Alliance Entertainment are all figuring out with new dates now approved by the court. In March 2026, a schedule was put in place regarding a lawsuit between Diamond and Alliance Entertainment spinning out of Alliance’s abandoned bid to purchase Diamond’s assets during the chapter 11 process as well as the counterclaims. In April 2025, Alliance Entertainment submitted a complaint against Diamond accusing Diamond of “fraud” and “deception” as far as their relationship with Wizards of the Coast, the company behind Magic: The Gathering.

Part of that schedule is what’s known as “discovery,” the process of exchanging documents such as emails, text messages, instant messages, basically communication and documents, that have to deal with the case. Each side then goes through the documents to find the ones relevant to the case and they can present that during the court hearing. It can involve millions of documents and be a difficult and long process. Often, lawyers outsource this to companies whose entire business is “e-discovery,” going through those documents and tagging the relevant ones and moving on from those that aren’t.

In late August, the parties submitted a filing stating that this is a “document-intensive case” and the parties have been working in good faith to make the process as easy as possible. One such example is agreeing upon search terms to more easily sort through documents. They state there’s “hundreds of thousands” of documents that are relevant to the discovery request.

The parties have worked diligently to review documents, refine their respective proposed search terms, and balance the needs of this case against the burden of searching through scores of non-responsive and irrelevant documents.

Basically, it can be a labor intensive, pain in the ass process, and they’re struggling.

The parties in their filing asked for dates to be shifted giving more time to prepare for the case and in particular discovery. The delays are about 3 to 6 months for each step with a hearing that was set for February 2027 shifted to July 2027.

Below ae the new dates for each step:

EventCurrent DeadlineProposed Deadline
Substantial Document
Completion Deadline		August 31, 2026November 27, 2026
Fact Discovery DeadlineOctober 31, 2026February 26, 2027
Deadline for Dispositive PreTrial MotionsNovember 30, 2026April 15, 2027
Deadline for Responses to
Dispositive Motions		December 30, 2026May 21, 2027
Deadline for Replies IFSO
Dispositive Motions		January 13, 2027June 18, 2027
Dispositive Motions HearingFebruary 17, 2027July 14, 2027

You can read the court filings below:

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Motion Limiting Notifications in the Diamond Chapter 7 Case Approved

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In early August, Diamond trustee Morgan W. Fisher filed a motion to limit future notices regarding the case. The motion was interesting as it laid out a lot of information in the case that reminds us of the scope of the situation.

  • Diamond’s credit matrix initially consisted of almost 1,300 parties and when subscription comic book customers was added it was over 1,500.
  • 75 claims were filed for the Chapter 7 with the highest amount being Dynamic forces with $29,514,087.40 to $182 from Irish Holdings.
  • Omni Agent Solutions logged 742 claims in the main case and 71 claims concerning Diamond Select Toys
  • There were 759 unique claimants, 28 were governmental agencies.

Fisher motion raised the difficulty and cost in notifying everyone every update about the case and there’s numerous other ways to get notifications like a Notice of Appearance and Request for Notices.

Going forward, notices would go out to:

  • Counsel for the Debtor;
  • The Trustee and his counsel;
  • Secured Creditors;
  • The Debtor’s 20 largest unsecured creditors, based on filed claims;
  • The Office of the United States Trustee;
  • The Internal Revenue Service, and the Comptroller of the State of Maryland;
  • Persons who have appeared or filed a notice of appearance and request for service in the case (including persons served via CM/ECF);
  • Parties who are directly affected by a particular motion, paper or pleading.

The 20 largest creditors are:

  • Hasbro, Inc.: $1,185,638.23
  • Dynamic Forces, Inc.: $29,514,087.40
  • Alliance Entertainment, LLC: $10,008,534.05
  • Bandai Limited: $9,245,465.10
  • Penguin Random House LLC: $8,941,467.05
  • Passage Trading: $6,297,244.00
  • Oni-Lion Forge Publishing Group: $5,646,907.40
  • Udon Entertainment Inc.: $4,327,716.06
  • Valiant Entertainment LLC: $4,070,588.30
  • Disney Consumer Products, Inc.: $3,638,592.00
  • Creative Grand Industrial HK Limited: $2,960,931.87
  • Zenescope Entertainment, Inc.: $2,360,907.16
  • Fantagraphics Books Inc.: $2,279,330.68
  • MegaHouse Corporation: $2,150,730.00
  • Magnetic Press LLC: $1,957,576.53
  • TMP International, LLC: $1,774,558.48
  • Aftershock Comics, LLC: $1,767,573.53
  • ARA, Inc.: $1,229,027.36
  • Funko, LLC: $1,206,854.62
  • Action Figure Authority Inc.: $1,200,000.00

Today, Fisher’s motion has been approved and the Trustee will file a Consolidated Master Service List updated from time to time to add persons other than those receiving service by CM/ECF and the ability to pay/reimburse the costs for notices served is approved going forward. Fisher won’t have to ask permission each time.

Of course, no need to worry about being notified as Graphic Policy is here to bring you all of the latest news!

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Breaking: Sparkle Pop Objects to the settlement between (old) Diamond, its Trustee Morgan W. Fisher, and Publishers

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After two extensions, Sparkle Pop has submitted their response to the proposed settlement between (old) Diamond and its trustee Morgan W. Fisher and 15 publishers. In that settlement, the publishers would pay for packing and shipping of consigned goods held by (old) Diamond and currently stored in a Sparkle Pop warehouse as well as a receive a small monetary amount. In exchange, (old) Diamond would receive a windfall of money that is currently part of the dispute.

(Old) Diamond had declared Chapter 11 and eventually Chapter 7 and in its possession are consigned goods from numerous publishers valued in the millions. There has been a fight for over a year where a little over 30 publishers had been fighting to get those consigned goods back. Diamond had been claiming it has a right to them and was going to sell them to pay off their debt. Sparkle Pop had purchased some of the assets of Diamond in the bankruptcy and that included taking over the warehouse where that product was being stored. That’s the short version…

Sparkle Pop says the agreement fails as it doesn’t resolve consignment disputes, and instead it increases disputes and litigation between publishers and Sparkle Pop while removing (old) Diamond and its Trustee as well as loan lender JPMorgan Chase from that litigation.

Sparkle Pop goes further stating the agreement imposes requirements upon the company without its consent or remuneration for processing fees and storage fees that the company has incurred since December 2025.

From their objection, the proposed settlement requires, among other things:

  • Sparkle Pop to completely relinquish its rights to most of the funds in the court registry and to remit nearly all of the funds that it is holding in escrow despite being owed (a) its processing fees for selling goods (an amount over $400,000.00) and (b) its rent and storage fees (an amount over $1 million);
  • Sparkle Pop to be forced to allow the Consignment Group Members to pick, pack and pallet the consigned goods being held in its Mississippi warehouse (which they logistically cannot do) without any input from Sparkle Pop or payment to Sparkle Pop on a forced timeline to be invented by the Consignment Group Members; and
  • Sparkle Pop to continue to be subject to the third-party claims in the adversary proceedings and future unknown but meritless and unsubstantiated claims by the Consignment Group Members against it.

Sparkle Pop says all of this makes things more complicated for the court as it would have to oversee more legal disputes as well as the aspects of the process of the publishers getting their goods back including, , (a) all aspects of the process including cost, (b) access to Sparkle Pop’s warehouse, (c) the timing, (d) what inventory is removed, and (e) enforcement.

Sparkle Pop goes on to play the victim stating:

Ever since Sparkle Pop purchased the Debtors’ assets, it has been unfairly placed in the middle of the dispute between the consignors and the Debtors (now the Trustee). Without a judicial determination of ownership, Sparkle Pop could not have and still cannot release the consigned goods to one party without exposing itself to legal claims from the other parties.

It goes on to further argue:

Sparkle Pop would not only have to relinquish its interests in the registry and escrow (without receiving its processing fees of $433,270), it would also being compelled to turn over the consigned goods to the Consignment Group Members on their sole terms and conditions (without receiving its pik & pak fees and rent/storage fees of $1,000,000) and still remain subject to potential future litigation from the Consignment Group Members over unsubstantiated and meritless claims.

Publishers have requested the court to force Sparkle Pop to provide update inventory counts of product which publishers have not received for some time. It is believed more product has been sold by Sparkle Pop, against court orders and without distribution agreements, than what is currently known and there is evidence of this provided by publishers to the court. In an exhibit submitted by Sparkle Pop, they state there are 8,250,936 units of goods stored in their warehouse.

Sparkle Pop also says it was not part of this settlement agreement and they would be out money for rent and processing fees regarding the consigned goods.

Below are the filings from Sparkle Pop with more details about their costs and what is stored in the warehouse. We’ll have a deeper analysis in the coming days.

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Spider-Man: Brand New Day Continues to Hold the Top Spot at the Weekend Box Office

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Spider-Man: Brand New Day

Five weeks in a row, Spider-Man: Brand New Day has been the top grossing film at the domestic box office. The movie added an estimated $22.5 million to its domestic total to bring that to $884.8 million after five weeks. Internationally, it added $76 million to its total over the week and that gross is now $1.441 billion. Worldwide, the movie has grossed $2.333 billion. The movie is the top grossing film of the year domestically and worldwide and currently ranks second domestically all time and fourth worldwide all time. It’ll easily move into third place (likely today) for the worldwide record. While it’s unlikely the movie will be the top grossing film worldwide when its run is over, there’s still a chance it becomes the first film ever to gross $1 billion domestically before its run is over.

Coyote vs. Acme second in third place with $15.9 million over the weekend for a bit mix of a debut. The film has had an interesting history, originally shelved by Warner Bros. for a tax write off. Ketchup Entertainment picked it up for a reported $50 million. Now, here’s the mixed part. It’s the best opening for a Ketchup Entertainment film, that’s good. It’s also a massive improvement on 2024’s Looney Tunes’ The Day the Earth Blew Up which opened with $3.2 million domestically and grossed $15.5 million its entire run. It was also a Ketchup film. But, films need to make money, so using the formula of 2x budget to figure out profitability, and with the reported $10 million marketing spent on top of what was paid to Warner Bros., Coyote vs. Acme is far short of achieving that. Warner Bros. had a $70 million budget for the film and got a $30 million tax write-off. So, as it’s looking the decision to shelve the film might have been the right decision no matter how well it’s been received (and it is getting praised by critics and average attendees). As is, it’s hard to see Ketchup making back their investment in the theater, let alone making a profit. While we hate to see quality films get shelved, movies are a business and it looks like they knew what they were doing.

The Odyssey remained in third place. It added $14.4 million to its domestic total which is now $563.8 million. Over the week, it grossed $81. 6 million internationally and that total stands at $988.8 million. The movie is likely to cross the billion dollar mark internationally at some point this week.

The Dog Stars opened in fourth place with $8 million domestically and $11.3 million internationally for a worldwide debut of $19.3 million. With a budget somewhere between $70 and $110 million, it’s hard to not see this as another flop for Walt Disney this year.

Rounding out the top five was Insidious: Out of the Further which debuted in second place the previous weekend. The movie grossed $7.3 million to bring its domestic total to $40.8 million. Internationally, it grossed $31.6 million over the week and now has grossed $66.6 million for $110.2 million worldwide. With a reported budget of $18 million, it’s another successfully release for the franchise which will sure to see more releases.

In comic related movies…

Supergirl has grossed $72.4 million domestically. Internationally, the movie remained at $54 million. Worldwide, the movie has grossed $126.4 million.

Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu remained at $177.7 million domestically. Internationally, the movie is at $168.1 million. Worldwide, the movie has grossed $345.8 million, an increase of about $100,000 over the week.

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War – The Calamity has grossed $4.3 million domestically. Internationally, the movie has grossed $763,798 which makes a little over $5 million worldwide.

Numbers have 69 movies grossing $102,201,265 from 38,900 theaters for an average of $2,627.28. That is compared to last week’s 66 movies grossing $131,763,813 from 38,157 theaters for an average of $3,453.20.

Sparkle Pop is Given Even More Time to Do Their Homework and Respond to Diamond’s Settlement with Publishers

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In August, Diamond and its Trustee Morgan W. Fisher settled with fifteen publishers regarding goods still held by Diamond during its chapter 7/chapter 11 process. The deal allowed the publisher to pay for packing and shipping to get their product back and some money would be paid out to them.

An impacted party regarding this is Sparkle Pop which purchased some of Diamond’s assets and now manages the warehouse the consigned goods are located.

Earlier this week, Sparkle Pop was given until August 28, 2026 to respond to the settlement. Now, they get another extension and will have until August 31, 2026 to respond.

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