Tag Archives: green ronin publishing

Indie Comics United with a Super Humble Bundle of Awesome Stuff to support the CBLDF!

Indie Comics United: A Super Bundle of Awesome Stuff

Indie comics and their publishers are having a moment like never before, and what better way to celebrate this achievement than by putting together a bundle of the best of the best? And even better than that?? You can get all of these comics delivered right to your inbox at the low price of your choice!!

Humble Bundle has partnered with a bunch of indie publishers: Ablaze, Action Lab, American Mythology Productions, Battle Quest Comics, Drawn & Quarterly, Dynamite Entertainment, Fantagraphics Books, Heavy Metal, Living The Line Books, Valiant Entertainment, Zenescope, Hermes Press, and Green Ronin Publishing to support their shared goal of encouraging bold ideas and creativity in their creators and readers, bringing you some of their most beloved titles, like quirky time travel graphic novel There’s No Time Like the Present, intimate queer family drama Stone Fruit, fairy tale reimagining Grimm Tales of Terror, sci-fi epic Moonray, and the newly revamped Heavy Metal! You choose what you pay for all of these and more, and every purchase supports the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund!

The Indie Comics United: A Super Bundle of Awesome Stuff has a retail value of $1,329 and you can get all 60 items for just $18.

Indie Comics United with a Super Humble Bundle of Awesome Stuff to support the CBLDF!

Indie Comics United: A Super Bundle of Awesome Stuff

Indie comics and their publishers are having a moment like never before, and what better way to celebrate this achievement than by putting together a bundle of the best of the best? And even better than that?? You can get all of these comics delivered right to your inbox at the low price of your choice!!

Humble Bundle has partnered with a bunch of indie publishers: Ablaze, Action Lab, American Mythology Productions, Battle Quest Comics, Drawn & Quarterly, Dynamite Entertainment, Fantagraphics Books, Heavy Metal, Living The Line Books, Valiant Entertainment, Zenescope, Hermes Press, and Green Ronin Publishing to support their shared goal of encouraging bold ideas and creativity in their creators and readers, bringing you some of their most beloved titles, like quirky time travel graphic novel There’s No Time Like the Present, intimate queer family drama Stone Fruit, fairy tale reimagining Grimm Tales of Terror, sci-fi epic Moonray, and the newly revamped Heavy Metal! You choose what you pay for all of these and more, and every purchase supports the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund!

The Indie Comics United: A Super Bundle of Awesome Stuff has a retail value of $1,329 and you can get all 60 items for just $18.

Discovery Plan in Diamond vs. Publishers Gets an Updated Timeline

We brought the news in early March that there was some movement in the court case between Diamond and numerous publishers. The various parties and Diamond met on February 26 and March 3-4 in an attempt to find a resolution, the nature of the claims and defenses, to arrange disclosures, and propose a discovery plan. On March 4, there was a filing hashing out the plan for discovery, the process where documents pertaining to the case are handed over.

Discovery is the process where documents related to the case are handed over to the parties involved for them to go through as far as evidence. This can be emails, text messages, Slack messages, and can easily go into the millions of documents.

The issue is who owns the consigned goods that are still being held by Diamond. Zenescope, Action Lab Entertainment, Ablaze, American Mythology, Battle Quest Comics, Paizo, Living the Line, Herman & Geer Communications, and Green Ronin Publishing are all fighting to get their inventory back. Diamond wants to keep the inventory to be able to sell it off to pay creditors. JPMorgan Chase Bank wants Diamond to sell off the inventory so it can get paid back by Diamond. Sparkle Pop is involved because it has sold off some of the inventory when it wasn’t supposed to and currently is holding the physical product in a warehouse it controls.

An updated timeline has been released as far as the discovery plan with some slight shifts from the previous released plan.

  1. Electronic Discovery. The parties have reviewed Rule 26(f), which, inter alia, addresses preservation of discoverable information, discovery of electronically stored information, and claims of privilege or work product protection. The parties have reviewed the Principles for the Discovery of Electronically Stored Information (“ESI”) in Civil Cases (as set forth by the United States District Court for the District of Maryland at https://www.mdd.uscourts.gov/sites/mdd/files/ESI-Principles.pdf), and will discuss the ESI Principles to agree on voluntary compliance, as appropriate. The Principal 2.03 Conference will occur on or before April 3, 2026. Documents and ESI shall be produced electronically via a mutually agreeable method such as an FTP site, and assearchable Static Images. This production protocol may be modified by mutual agreement or by court order.
  2. Rule 26 Disclosures. Unless otherwise agreed to by the parties, the parties shall make their initial disclosures pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(1) on or before March 23, 2026.
  3. Discovery. The Parties have agreed that they may propound document requests, interrogatories, and requests for admissions pursuant to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Local Rules of this Court, which response shall be made within 30 days of service. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court or agreed to by parties, the limitations on discovery set forth in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure shall be strictly observed.
    (a) Discovery Requests. The Parties shall serve all initial document requests, interrogatories, and requests for admissions on or before April 9, 2026.
    (b) Agree on ESI Search Terms. The Parties will make reasonable efforts to agree on ESI Search Terms on or before April 23, 2026.
    (c) Substantial Document Production Completion Date. The Parties expect to have document production substantially completed by June 4, 2026.
    (d) Fact Discovery Cut Off. The Parties have agreed that, except for Rule 26(a)(1) disclosures, all fact discovery in this case shall be initiated so that it will be completed on or before July 31, 2026. The Parties have agreed that they may take fact depositions at any time prior to the expiration of the fact discovery deadline.
    (e) Privilege Logs. Privilege logs shall be produced in accordance with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure so as to be completed within five (5) business days of the related document production. Privileged communications occurring after April 29, 2025, need not be included on a privilege log.
    (f) Expert Initial Disclosures. The identify of expert witness and subject matter of expected testimony, per Rule 26(a)(2)(A) and 26(a)(2)(C)(i), shall be disclosed on August 7, 2026. Any rebuttal experts, and subject matter of expected testimony, shall be disclosed on August 17, 2026.
    (g) Expert Reports and Expert Discovery Cut Off. Expert reports and all other information required by Rule 26(a)(2)(B), along with any documents or information considered by the expert, shall be exchanged on September 8, 2026. Rebuttal expert reports and all other information required by Rule 26(a)(2)(B), along with any documents or information considered by the expert, shall be exchanged on September 29, 2026. All expert discovery shall be completed by October 20, 2026.
  4. Protective Orders. The parties will submit a confidentiality order to the Court for approval on or before April 3, 2026.
  5. Case Dispositive Motions. Any dispositive motions must be filed on or before November 3, 2026. Answering briefs in opposition thereto are due seventeen (17) days later (November 20, 2026), with reply briefs to be filed twelve (12) days after the filing of any answering briefs (December 2, 2026).
  6. Joinder of Other Parties and Amendment of Pleadings. All motions to join other parties, and to amend or supplement the pleadings, shall be filed on or before June 19, 2026.
  7. Pretrial Order. If this adversary proceeding cannot be resolved on dispositive motions, the Parties have agreed to file a Joint Pretrial Report within thirty (30) days of the Court’s ruling on dispositive motions.
  8. Length of Trial. The Parties estimate that the time required to try this adversary proceeding will be 3-4 days.
  9. Other Matters. There are no other matters that need to be raised at this time.

Based on all of those dates, we likely won’t see a court case before 2027.

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Indie Comics United with a Super Humble Bundle of Awesome Stuff to support the CBLDF!

Indie Comics United: A Super Bundle of Awesome Stuff

Indie comics and their publishers are having a moment like never before, and what better way to celebrate this achievement than by putting together a bundle of the best of the best? And even better than that?? You can get all of these comics delivered right to your inbox at the low price of your choice!! Humble Bundle has partnered with a bunch of indie publishers: Ablaze, Action Lab, American Mythology Productions, Battle Quest Comics, Drawn & Quarterly, Dynamite Entertainment, Fantagraphics Books, Heavy Metal, Living The Line Books, Valiant Entertainment, Zenescope, Hermes Press, and Green Ronin Publishing to support their shared goal of encouraging bold ideas and creativity in their creators and readers, bringing you some of their most beloved titles, like quirky time travel graphic novel There’s No Time Like the Present, intimate queer family drama Stone Fruit, fairy tale reimagining Grimm Tales of Terror, sci-fi epic Moonray, and the newly revamped Heavy Metal! You choose what you pay for all of these and more, and every purchase supports the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund!

The Indie Comics United: A Super Bundle of Awesome Stuff has a retail value of $1,329 and you can get all 60 items for just $18.

The Ad Hoc Committee Drops a Motion asking Out of Diamond, Ad Populum, and Universal Distribution, Who’s Actually Selling the Consignment Merchandise?

Diamond Comic Distributors

There’s been a lot of unanswered questions when it comes to Diamond‘s chapter 11 filing and the purchase of its assets by Universal Distribution and Ad Populum/Sparkle Pop. The Ad Hoc Committee of Consignors has submitted a motion that lifts the veil a bit and gives clues as to some of those answers.

The Ad Hoc Committee of Consignors is a group of creditors, aka publishers, impacted by Diamond’s chapter 11 and also Diamond’s motion to try to sell consignment goods to help pay back its debts. The committee includes Ablaze, American Mythology, Avatar Press, Battle Quest, Drawn & Quarterly, Fantagraphics, Green Ronin, Hermes Press, Living the Line, Paizo, Udon Entertainment, and Zenescope.

At the heart of this motion is the question as to whether anyone can legally sell goods still held by Diamond and if Ad Populum or Universal Distribution properly continued any of the previous Diamond contracts.

In short, who the hell are currently selling and profiting from the comics and games being “sold by Diamond”?

Sit back, because this is a doozy of a filing and we’re going to try to break it down with bullet points for ease and the really interesting parts are in bold…

  • Diamond filed its bankruptcy on January 14, 2025 and on January 21 put in a motion to sell its assets
  • On May 1, Ad Populum/Sparkle Pop and Universal Distribution won the bidding prosses for the assets
  • On June 10, Diamond filed a notice of the sales closing with each closed in mid-May
  • Goods held on consignment by Diamond were excluded from the inventory sold to Ad Populum/Sparkle Pop and Universal Distribution
  • Spark Pop was given 20 business days after closing to decide what contracts it would continue and that includes the contracts (consignors) between Diamond and the publishers
  • Diamond nor Ad Populum/Sparkle Pop filed motions to have the “Consignors’ Contracts assumed and assigned.” This ended in early June 2025
  • Universal Distribution did include assumed contracts in its sale closing which was filed a month after closing. That included Green Ronin Publishing and a distribution agreement with Paizo. But, the purchase agreement and sale order didn’t identify any assigned contracts, so there’s some paperwork issues there.
  • On June 25, 2025, Diamond filed a motion to sell the consigned inventory it has.
  • After, there were a lot of objections to that consignment sale.
  • On April 17, Titan Publishing Group filed an emergency motion to compel Diamond to assume or reject its distribution agreement with Titan
  • On May 16, 2025, Diamond filed a motion objecting to Titan’s motion.

Got all that? In short, no one has filed the paperwork properly to assume or reject the contracts that existed between Diamond and the publishers.

There’s more interesting details…

On May 27, an email was sent to publishers stating the Ad Populum/Sparkle Pop and Universal Distribution were responsible for all sales activity after May 16 and Ad Populum/Sparkle Pop’s Diamond was a new entity. The Ad Hoc’s motion states that the email sent misled the publishers that the “Asset Sale to Sparke Pop was actually a sale of ownership, because it indicated that Diamond continued to operate under the ownership of a new buyer.”

What’s interesting is that that email says Ad Populum is responsible for new stock, but never took over any stock and that the legacy consignment stock continued to be sold… by someone.

And that’s what is at the heart of this motion, who is selling the stock that Ad Populum/Sparkle Pop and Universal didn’t purchase. Diamond isn’t providing information concerning that.

The May E-Mail confirms that the Stock continued to be sold by someone after the Sparkle Pop and/or UDL sales closed, but it is unclear who is selling the Stock. The Debtor has confirmed that it has not sold stock after May 15, 2025, but has declined to voluntarily provide any information to the Consignors as to who sold Stock after May 15, 2025, which Stock was sold, or what payments remain due and owing to the Consignors on account of
the sales. The Debtors have declined to voluntarily provide any information to the Consignors as to how any party other than the Diamond Distributor Debtor could sell Stock without a properly assumed and assigned agreement to do so.

The motion has amounts that are owned to each of the publishers. The 12 publishers are owed at least $555,971.84. But, that amount is unknown and likely higher since Diamond isn’t providing up-to-date reporting as to what’s sold or collected, so that amount may be higher.

The motion goes on further to poke holes in Diamond’s plan to sell the consignment stock and that there are outstanding obligations.

It’s asking for the status of these contracts to be determined and done so soon and the consignors what the contracts to be terminated when if Diamond rejects the contracts.

They’re also conducting discovery to find out who sold the stock after the May 15 sale to Ad Populum/Sparkle Pop.

Buckle up, this is going to get very interesting!

Read all of the filings below:

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Who is the Ad Hoc Committee in the Diamond Bankruptcy Case?

Diamond Comic Distributors

During the Diamond Chapter 11 bankruptcy case, there’s been an “Ad Hoc Committee” that has represented multiple creditors impacted, the creditors being publishers and others Diamond owes money to. But, who makes up the “Ad Hoc Committee?”

Formed on or about July 11, the group is represented by YVS Law, LLC and with a new filing, we now know who is represented answering more questions as to how publishers are responding to the legal proceeding and checking off 11 more who are involved in the proceedings.

The “Ad Hoc Committee” consists of:

  • Ablaze LLC
  • American Mythology Productions, LLC
  • Avatar Press, Inc.
  • Drawn & Quarterly Books Inc.,
  • Fantagraphics Books, Inc.
  • Green Ronin Publishing LLC
  • Herman & Geer Communications, Inc. dba Hermes Press
  • Living the Line LLC
  • Paizo Inc.
  • UDON Entertainment Inc.
  • Zenescope Entertainment Inc.

Check out the filing below:

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Green Ronin Publishing launches a GoFundMe to Take on Diamond

On June 25, 2025, Diamond Comic Distributors submitted a motion for the “sale or other disposition of consigned inventory.” After Diamond’s sale of the majority of its assets to Universal Distribution and Ad Populum/Sparkle Pop, (old) Diamond still has a “significant inventory” that was sent on a consignment basis.

(Old) Diamond is claiming the consignors (the sellers) haven’t followed the legal steps to establish a superior claim to their inventory. In short, the publishers (owners of the product) haven’t done what’s require by law to protect their ownership rights. So now, (old) Diamond has to do something with all of that inventory.

So, (old) Diamond submitted a motion to approve their plan to market, sell, or dispose of the inventory to “minimize costs and maximize recoveries” and generate the “best result for the estates.” It is assumed that money raised from the sale would go towards paying off money owed to JPMorgan Chase Bank which has provided loans to the company throughout the Chapter 11 process. So, instead of money going towards publishers, it’d likely go towards a bank. Yes, product publishers paid to print would go to help Diamond and publisher’s would possibly receive nothing.

Those who want to object to the motion have until July 16, 2025 to do so in writing and file it with the Clerk of the Bankruptcy Court (Objections to the Motion must be in writing and filed with the Clerk of the Bankruptcy Court, 101 West Lombard Street, Suite 8530, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, on or before July 16, 2025; and be served so as to be received on or before the Objection Deadline by the undersigned counsel for the Debtors.). The hearing on the motion is being held on July 21.

So far, TwoMorrows Publishing, Magma Comix, and Graphitti Designs have submitted objections to the plan. But, legal fights require money.

Green Ronin Publishing has launched a GoFundMe to help with their legal fight. From their fundraising page:

This is a dire financial threat to our company, not just today, but well into the future. We must secure legal representation immediately before the deadline to do so passes.

While there is no “good” time for someone to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of your property to sell for the benefit of their biggest creditors, it is especially challenging given that Gen Con is weeks away. Gen Con is not just a convention for us, it’s our most important annual event for connecting with TTRPG enthusiasts, our business partners, and our community, and this year is no exception. We’re launching new products and have already committed significant funds to cover everything from booth space, travel (flights, rooms), and most critically, the production of new books and merchandise specifically for the show floor.

Diamond’s bankruptcy and this legal action also mean that Green Ronin has lost its book trade distributor. We are looking for a new partner, but that will take some time. Book trade sales of literary licenses, currently The Fifth Season and The Expanse, are a key part of our strategies for those games. This is especially bad timing for The Fifth Season RPG because we recently received final approvals from N.K. Jemisin and the game is ready to go to print.

We simply don’t have the cash on hand to do all of this, pay for an attorney, or participate in any collective legal actions with other publishers in our same position.

The banks are stopping at nothing to wring every last dollar out of Diamond – including taking several hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of Green Ronin product to sell in order to pay Diamond’s debts – but they can’t do that, and we’ve got a legal agreement that says as much. Now, we just need to secure a law firm to represent us in the courts.

The funds raised through this campaign will be used directly to cover the escalating legal fees associated with fighting Diamond’s claim in bankruptcy court. This includes attorney retainers, court filing fees, and the costs of pursuing every possible avenue to recover our inventory and protect Green Ronin’s assets.

Diamond Signs Green Ronin to List of Publishers

Diamond Book Distributors has signed a deal with Green Ronin Publishing to be their exclusive distributor.

Seattle based Green Ronin Publishing is dedicated to the art of great games. Since the year 2000 Green Ronin has established a reputation for quality and innovation, publishing such roleplaying game hits as Dragon Age, A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying, and Mutants & Masterminds, and winning over 40 awards for excellence. For an unprecedented three years running, Green Ronin won the prestigious GenCon & EnWorld Award for Best Publisher.

Green Ronin Publishing has recently released their new Fantasy AGE Encounter: Ancient Shadows for player levels 5-8. Fantasy AGE is a tabletop RPG featuring a three core character class and level system with specializations and a magic system built around combat, exploration, and roleplaying stunts.

In addition, their latest installment for Pathfinder has been announced and is available for pre-order. Pathfinder: Freeport Bestiary is a 180-page, full color sourcebook that includes a wide variety of threats from class Freeport adversaries such as serpentmen and fire spectres while also introducing new enemies like corsair drakes and witch beasts. This installment is the perfect complement to Freeport: The City of Adventure and can be used with any Pathfinder Roleplaying Game campaign.

Syrinscape and Green Ronin Partner to Bring World’s Greatest Superhero Roleplaying Game to Life

MUTANTS AND MASTERMINDS Freedom CitySyrinscape and Green Ronin Publishing have announced the companies have partnered to develop custom Mutants & Masterminds SoundSets for the Syrinscape Sci-Fi app.

The first two Mutants & Masterminds SoundSets have launched, Freedom City 2525 and Space Flight, with monthly releases thereafter, each featuring a new location and encounter from the popular roleplaying game, and are playable on PCs, Macs, Android phones and tablets, iPads, and iPhones.

MUTANTS AND MASTERMINDS Space FLightWith the whoosh of passing hover cards, the whine of passing emergency vehicle sires, the beeps and buzzes of droids and so much more, the Freedom City 2525 SoundSet from Syrinscape brings everything needed for players to immerse themselves in this high-tech utopian metropolis.

The Space Flight SoundSet features everything needed for epic superhero space battles, including laser guns, freeze rays, humming electro force fields, whooshes and whizzes and a soundtrack befitting the best pulp movie.

Mutants & Masterminds SoundSets join the ever-growing Syrinscape Sci-Fi library of fantastic sounds for any sci-fi tabletop adventure, and are available from Syrinscape ($3.99/ea), or as part of the Syrinscape Sci-Fi ongoing subscription for $6.50/month.

Spice Up Your Story with Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide This Fall

Sword Coast Adventure Guide - Cover ImageGet everything you need to adventure in the Forgotten Realms on the exciting Sword Coast, home to the cities of Baldur’s Gate, Waterdeep, and Neverwinter! A collaboration between Green Ronin Publishing and the Dungeons & Dragons team at Wizards of the Coast, the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide provides D&D fans with a wealth of detail on the places, cultures, and deities of northwestern Faerûn.

The Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide is also a great way to catch up on recent events in the Forgotten Realms, to get background on locations featured in the Rage of Demons storyline coming in September, and to learn the lore behind video games like Neverwinter and Sword Coast Legends.

Here are just a few of the features you’ll find in the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide:

  • Immersive Adventuring: This campaign sourcebook provides players and Dungeon Masters material for creating vibrant fantasy stories along the Sword Coast.
  • New Character Options: The book offers new subclass options, such as the Purple Dragon Knight and the Swashbuckler, for many of the classes presented in the Player’s Handbook, as well as new subraces and backgrounds specific to the Forgotten Realms.
  • Adventure in the Forgotten Realms: Discover the current state of the Forgotten Realms and its deities after the Spellplague and the second Sundering. You’ll also get updated maps of this area of the Realms.
  • Compatible with Rage of Demons storyline: Make characters for use with the Out of the Abyss adventure and fight back the influence of the demon lords in the Underdark below the Sword Coast.
  • Insider Information: Learn the background behind locations, such as Luskan and Gracklstugh, featured in the upcoming digital RPG, Sword Coast Legends, from n-Space.

With new character backgrounds and class options, players will love the storytelling possibilities of playing a noble of Waterdeep, an elf bladesinger, or one of the other new options, while Dungeon Masters will relish a book full of mysterious locations and story hooks to keep Dungeons & Dragons players adventuring on the Sword Coast for years to come.

Look for Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide to be available on November 3.

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