The Comics Journal #229

The Comics Journal #229 (December 2000) [Fantagraphics Books, Inc.]

On Wednesday Dec. 13, 2000, retailers buying from Diamond Comics Distribution put this issue of TCJ on their shelves.  Interestingly, Diamond was on the inside as well.  Two stories lead off the news section of the issue.

As you can see, neither are very complementary of Diamond.  With the Harvey art lawsuit, Fantagraphics also let Geppi respond with his side.  The lawsuit was settled in 2002 with Geppi retaining the art and no payment made on either side. (Details at ICv2)

The Department of Justice investigation was about the virtual monopoly that Diamond had become in the Direct Market.  The DOJ decided not to take any further action.  This result was expected in the industry despite Diamond's exclusive deals with the major publishers as retailers could get the same comics via newsstand distributors.  To this day, Diamond's exclusives preclude any other distributor from challenging them in the Direct Market.

The other significant news was about Marv Wolfman's claim to Blade and Kramer's arrest.

The other highlights of the issue were the Dan DeCarlo interview and the beginning of Ted White's column:

Another fine issue worth reading from cover to cover.