Tag Archives: universal distribution

FCBD 2026: Matt Kindt’s Flux House Deploys Two Brand-New, Exclusive Stories for Free Comic Book Day!

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In 2026, The countdown to the must-read creator-owned comics event of the summer begins on Free Comic Book! Oni Press has revealed that it is joining Free Comic Book Day 2026 with the Mind MGMT / Fort Psycho FCBD 2026 Special – arriving in comic shops everywhere on May 2nd, 2026 and jointly available for order by participating retailers through both Universal Distribution and Lunar Distribution.

From the mind of New York Times best-selling, Eisner Award-nominated creative powerhouse Matt Kindt, welcome to Flux House – the first and only comics imprint designed to conjoin directly with your nervous system to deliver controlled bursts of paranoia, anxiety, and adrenaline as designated by our mysterious benefactors at Oni Press.

Before the arrival of Kindt’s first two shrapnel-laced new series under the Flux House banner – Mind MGMT: New & Improved in June, and Fort Psycho with co-creator/artist Brian Hurtt in August – experience the psychotropic effects of Flux House firsthand with this EXCLUSIVE DOUBLE FEATURE … featuring TWO BRAND-NEW SHORT STORIES debuting right here, ONLY ON FREE COMIC BOOK DAY!

First: Congratulations! You have been selected to join the ranks of Mind MGMT – the secretive agency rumored to influence global affairs from the shadows through assassination, sabotage, and psychic espionage. In the hands of our elite instructors, you will be schooled in the exotic arts of mental manipulation, information warfare, subliminal conditioning, and more. This comic book is part of your training. Read on to discover who we are, who we are fighting, and why our lives are no longer our own in this self-contained, educational introduction to the vast underground network we call Mind MGMT: New & Improved #1, as written and drawn by Matt Kindt.

Then: BOOM! BANG! DUCK! For the international commandos codenamed SHIV, LYCAN, and DRAGONFLY, a routine mission to catch-and-kill a fugitive from the world’s most wanted terror sect is about to go very, very wrong. Who are THE SEVEN SEALS? And what terrible price will the men and women of Fort Psycho pay to bring them to justice? Master storytellers Matt Kindt and Brian Hurtt present an all-new, high-octane prelude to the events of Fort Psycho #1 – the action comic so extreme, it just might catch on fire. 

On May 2nd, 2026, march to your local comic shop to physically demand your copy of the Mind MGMT / Fort Psycho FCBD 2026 Special – a two-fisted spectacle of subversion leading directly into two of the year’s biggest creator-owned comics launches! 

The Oni Press-led incarnation of Flux House will begin with three series continuing onward from summer 2026: Mind MGMT: New & Improved #1 in June, Fort Psycho #1 with co-creator/artist Brian Hurtt in August and Flux House Presents #1 series with new stories from Kindt, Jesse Lonergan, and more in November.

Free Comic Book Day returns May 2, 2026 and expands to Friendly Local Game Stores!

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Free Comic Book Day 2026

After lots of doubt about it’s future, Free Comic Book Day returns in 2026 on May 2 but gets juiced with even more!

The best day of comics so far features releases from Archie Comics, DC Comics, Dynamite Entertainment, Image Comics, Mad Cave Studios, Oni Press, Titan Comics, Udon Entertainment, and Vault Comics!

Those publishers are all handled by Universal Distribution and Lunar. What’s missing is Penguin Random House’s exclusive publishers like Marvel, BOOM! Studios, IDW Publishing, Ignition Press, DSTLRY and more. There’s rumblings of their own event also on May 2.

But, it’s expanding to friendly local game stores!

So far, Upper Deck and Wizards of the Coast are supporting the event and the goal is to appeal to fans of tabletop board games, RPGs, and trading cards, on top of comic book fans! Traditionally, game stores have had their own days like Free RPG Day and International Tabletop Day.

Universal Distribution, which purchased some of Diamond’s assets, will be handling the event. Universal, while mainly has been focused on distribution in Canada for comics and games, has been teasing an expansion into the United States and more of a marriage between comics and games for distribution.

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

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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:

Universal Distribution expands Comic Distribution into the US through Alliance Game Distributors

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In September 2022, DC Comics and Universal Distribution entered into a global distribution agreement that began in October 2022 for releases in January 2023. Read that again, GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION. But, Universal has had a presence in just Canada, so “global” has been non-existent but there was an opening for the future. With the purchase of Alliance Game Distributors from the bankrupt Diamond, Universal now has an opportunity to do so and infrastructure to make it happen, as well as accounts that may be interested. It was revealed today through social media that Universal will offer DC Comics to US retail stores through Alliance. Alliance has a warehouse in the US in Fort Wayne, Indiana, a nice centralized location to distribute to US retailers.

Universal’s sales teams are currently focused on regions centered on Montreal, Vancouver, and Toronto, with no US teams listed. Their website specifically says they “do not sell to the public, into the United States, or to online stores.” But, Alliance would allow them to expand with an already existing infrastructure and customer base.

Retailer Ryan Higgins of Comics Conspiracy pointed out the change on social media but the news has been rather stealth. This change would challenge Lunar Distribution which has had a monopoly on the distribution of DC in the US up to this point.

Universal has contracts with all of the major publishers. Their website lists DC, Marvel Image, Dynamite, IDW, BOOM!, Dark Horse, Vault, Oni, Mad Cave, and more including some independent publishers. We don’t know what those contracts are like but if they are also for “global distribution,” it wouldn’t be a stretch to see Universal break the exclusive distribution strangleholds that have again taken root in US comic distribution.

It also opens up an opportunity for stores that primarily sell games to dip their toes into comics looking for series or characters that might compliment and crossover with games.

We’ve reached out to both Universal and Alliance for comment but have not heard back.

Contracts Assumed by Universal Distribution by its Diamond Purchase Revealed

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Part of what has been interesting about the Diamond Chapter 11 meltdown is the sneak peek behind the curtain of it all.

Now, as part of court filings we now get to see a list of the “executory contracts and unexpired leases” that were assumed and assigned to Universal Distribution in the sale, of which it picked up Alliance Distribution, Diamond’s tabletop game distribution company.

A motion of sale to Ad Populum was also released but a similar list of contracts has not been released and will come at a later date.

Check out the intriguing list below which includes not just game companies but also leases and more.

Universal Distribution LLC and Ad Populum Complete their Acquisition of Diamond Comic Distributors

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Diamond Comic Distributors

Diamond Comic Distributors has announced that the sale of the Company and its assets to Universal Distribution LLC and Ad Populum has been completed. Universal has acquired the assets of Alliance Game Distributors, and Ad Populum has acquired the assets of Diamond Comic Distributors, Diamond Book Distributors, Diamond Select Toys & Collectibles, Collectible Grading Authority, and other related assets. Diamond UK remains separate from this sale process. The approval of the sale of Diamond’s assets to Universal and Ad Populum was approved in early May.

This doesn’t end the drama that is Diamond’s Chapter 11 saga. The plan to pay creditors is still outstanding and there’s issues with leases that still need to be resolved as well.

We’ll keep following the situation with updates as they come in.

Court Orders Approving Diamond’s Sale to Sparkle Pop and Universal Distribution Released

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Diamond Comic Distributors

Yesterday, a press release was sent out that broke the news that Diamond Comic Distributors and its related companies had been sold to Sparkle Pop (a related company to Ad Populum) and Universal Distribution. Today, the official orders approving that purchase of the assets have been released.

The orders lay out the bidding process calling notices, the bidding, and everything involved fair and that the sale of Diamond needs to me approved and consummated promptly to maximize the value of the debtor’s estates. Stating “time is of the essence.” Nothing after the initial read jumps out as particularly special, odd, or a surprise.

What does stand out is a firm closing date which doesn’t seem to be spelled out in any document.

Universal Distribution is the approved bidder for Alliance’s assets. Alliance is a distribution company focused on the tabletop gaming industry.

In that order, not only is the sale approved and motion granted, but all objections or reservation of rights filed or asserted are overruled with prejudice, other than objections on account of a Cure Dispute that’s currently a part of the cure resolution process.

Other things of note, the cure amount payable to The Pokémon Company International is $324,602. The other amount mentioned is that Universal’s acquisition of Alliance’s assets is roughly $42 million with some adjustments based on final bookkeeping, and inventory.

Check out the order below:

The Sparkle Pop order is similar. It goes over the process calling it fair and then approves the bid/sale of Diamond Comic Distributors, Diamond Book Distributors, Diamond Select Toys & Collectibles, Collectible Grading Authority, and other related assets to Sparkle Pop.

Not much comes up for Sparkle Pop LLC which was created on April 4, 2025 in Delaware. On April 5, Diamond announced that it was going with its back-up bid which included Universal and Ad Populum in a joint bid. The purchaser on the newest court document is Joel Weinshanker for both Sparkle Pop and Ad Populum. Weinshanker is the founder/owner of NECA as well as majority shareholder of Ad Populum. Ad Populum has a portfolio that includes the National Entertainment Collectibles Association (NECA), Wizkids, Kidrobot, Rubies Costumes, Graceland and more. Ad Populum also assumes all of Sparkle Pop’s obligations and will before them if Sparkle Pop can’t.

When it comes to issues with the debt owed to The Pokémon Company International, Inc., they have the chance to file an opposition and have a hearing. The purchase amount is $7,459,050 minus the amount owed to NECA, LLC, Wizkids/NECA, LLC and also adjusted a bit based on final accounting and inventory.

You can read the full order below:

The third order released has to do with Diamond and JPMorgan Chase Bank’s DIP Agreement. DIP is debtors in possession and it has to do with loans that Diamond took from JPMorgan and clearing up next steps as far as that.

Diamond’s acquisition by Universal Distribution and Ap Populum has Been Approved by the Court

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Diamond Comic Distributors

We got a press release passed along that the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland has approved the combined bid by Universal Distribution and Ad Populum to acquire the assets of Diamond Comic Distributors.

As we reported earlier, Universal will acquire the assets of Alliance Game Distributors and Ad Populum will acquire the assets of Diamond Comic Distributors, Diamond Book Distributors, Diamond Select Toys & Collectibles, Collectible Grading Authority, and other related assets. Diamond UK is separate from this process and the transaction is still subject to the final closing.

The acquisition allows Universal Distribution to expand into the US market. How the purchase of Diamond Comic Distributors fits into the bigger strategy of Ad Populum will be interesting to see. Ad Populum’s roster of brands includes NECA, Kidrobot, Wizkids, Chia Pet, Rubies, Smiffys, Enesco, Graceland, and more.

What’s still up in the air is Alliance’s lawsuit against Diamond and its representatives over the accused obfuscation during their attempt to purchase the assets. The order also seems odd as it has left little time for creditors to submit any motions which feels like it still needs to happen. So, this likely is like last time with an approval but numerous steps to go before it’s finalized.

We’ll have the full court decision when it’s released and maybe it will answer some of our questions.

Alliance Entertainment Objects to Diamond’s Motion for its Sale to Universal Distribution and Ad Populum

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Alliance Entertainment

And the drama around Diamond‘s Chapter 11 continues. This morning we received a new motion by Alliance Entertainment, the original winning bidder, that objects to the sale of Diamond’s assets to the back-up bidders of Universal Distribution and Ad Populum.

For those keeping track, originally, Alliance Entertainment won the bid for Diamond during the bankruptcy process. Diamond then said it wanted to go with the “second best” joint bid by Universal Distribution and Ad Populum, then Alliance threatened to sue, and Alliance won the final approval. Then… in a shocking twist Alliance said it was not going through with the bid. We found out that was because Diamond had withheld key information from Alliance during the process and was suing Diamond and its representatives. After Alliance’s pull of its bid, Diamond released a statement that they had other partners and we speculated it was the back-up bidders. Yesterday, Diamond filed a court motion to go with Universal and Ad Populum as well as to speed up the process with a hearing suggested for today. Part of that hearing also has to do with Diamond’s credit with JPMorgan and dates involving that.

In their motion, Alliance says the motions filed by Diamond are “further collusion” to sell their assets to their preferred buyers rather than maximize their value with the highest bid. They also have issues with the hearing on this twist by Diamond being so soon, especially since it was many days ago Diamond said they had new partners and the deal with Universal and Ad Populum isn’t changed much. Alliance is teasing that Diamond waited to file the motion for the new bid and the hearing to rush the deal through with minimal time for response. Alliance is still figuring out if the back-up sale would or would not provide more value to the Diamond.

You can read the full motion below.

Diamond Motions Court for Sale to Universal Distribution, Ad Populum, and Sparkle Pop LLC

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Diamond Comic Distributors

Diamond has submitted a motion to authorize its sale to its back-up bidders, Universal Distribution and what we thought was Ad Populum but also includes an entity Sparkle Pop LLC that seems connected to Ad Populum. The saga of Diamond’s chapter 11 bankruptcy has taken a stranger turn with the latest court motion. Ad Populum/Sparkle Pop LLC will be purchasing Diamond’s DCD Business, CGA Business, and Diamond Select Toys. Universal would seem to get Alliance Distribution out of it.

Not much comes up for Sparkle Pop LLC which was created on April 4, 2025 in Delaware. On April 5, Diamond announced that it was going with its back-up bid which included Universal and Ad Populum in a joint bid. The purchaser on the newest court document is Joel Weinshanker for both Sparkle Pop and Ad Populum. Weinshanker is the founder/owner of NECA as well as majority shareholder of Ad Populum. Ad Populum has a portfolio that includes the National Entertainment Collectibles Association (NECA), Wizkids, Kidrobot, Rubies Costumes, Graceland and more. So it’s absolutely all connected. The question is how… but I digress.

For those keeping track, originally, Alliance Entertainment won the bid for Diamond during the bankruptcy process. Diamond then said it wanted to go with the “second best” joint bid by Universal Distribution and Ad Populum, then Alliance threatened to sue, and Alliance won the final approval. Then… in a shocking twist Alliance said it was not going through with the bid. We found out that was because Diamond had withheld key information from Alliance during the process. After Alliance’s pull of its bid, Diamond released a statement that they had other partners and we speculated it was the back-up bid and it looks like that’s the case.

When Diamond was informed of Alliance’s decision to not go through the sale, Diamond pivoted and finalized updated asset purchase agreements with Universal and Ad Populum.

Diamond is now looking for the court’s approval of this move. It seems like the purchase amount from Universal is now $42 million minus the “Average Net Working Capital,” plus the “Inventory acquired on the Closing Date,” plus the “Accounts Receivables acquired on the Closing Date,” minus “accounts payable due to Critical Vendors on the Closing Date,” and minus “any amounts paid by Purchaser as Cure Amounts and the assumption by Purchaser of the Assumed Liabilities.” So… math.

The purchase price by Ad Populum/Sparkle Pop LLC is “$7,459,050 U.S. Dollars, less any Critical Vendor payment owed by Sellers under the Asset Purchase Agreement submitted by Universal and any amounts owed by Sellers to NECA, LLC, Wizkids/NECA, LLC or to its Affiliates, but solely to the extent such payment is not made by or on behalf of Universal (the “Base Purchase Price”), (ii) plus, the Incentive Amount, if any; (iii) minus, accounts payable due to Critical Vendors on the Closing Date; and (iv) minus, any amounts paid byp urchaser as Cure Amounts with respect to the Acquired Business, excluding Cure Amounts in connection with Additional Assigned Contracts (collectively, the “Purchase Price”), and the assumption by Purchaser of the Assumed Liabilities.”

Diamond also asked to shorten the time for any decisions with the company wanting a hearing on April 30, 2025. You can read the motion by Diamond below as well as its agreements with Universal and Ad Populum. It’s unknown if Universal/Ad Populum were aware of the issues that Alliance came across. There’s still a lot of questions and things definitely don’t pass the smell test, but we’ll see how this drama continues to unfold.

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