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Chip Zdarsky says goodbye to Batman. IDW has been hit with layoffs, the second publisher this week. DC Comics has put plans on hold for the Death Compact Comics Edition.
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Chip Zdarsky says goodbye to Batman.
IDW hit by layoffs.
Death: Compact Comics Edition put on hold by DC.
This is Comic Book Club News for February 7, 2025.
This week, writer Chip Zdarsky’s final issue of Batman hit stands, making way next month for the return of Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee on the sequel to the best-selling Hush, titled H2SH. And in Zdarsky’s most recent newsletter, he said a relatively earnest goodbye to the title.
Wrote Zdarsky, “Issue #157 of BATMAN is out this week, marking the end of my 32-issue, two-and-a-half year stint on the title. To say it’s been a dream gig is an understatement. Batman is my all-time favourite character, so getting to write his adventures month after month made me goddamn giddy. But! It’s not a forever job, and I wanted to make sure I left while I still felt excitement over the work I was doing. This final issue was special to me, getting to close it out with my partner in (fighting) crime, Jorge Jimenez. Beautiful, talented Jorge. The hardest part of leaving is not getting to work with him. The second hardest part is not getting all those bat-bucks anymore. Oh well!! But for real, thanks for reading. It was truly a joy.”
Congrats to Zdarsky, and here’s hoping he actually copied his brain Failsafe style into Loeb, and is still writing the book.
After Dark Horse Comics was hit with layoffs on Monday, IDW has also announced they’re going through layoffs this week.
Per The Beat, the publisher provided a statement confirming the news. “IDW has made the difficult decision to reduce staff as part of ongoing efforts to streamline operations. We appreciate the contributions of those affected and wish them the best in their future endeavors.”
While the Dark Horse layoffs may have impacted as many as 20 staff members, only two staff members were part of the IDW layoffs. Specifically, the last staff member at IDW Entertainment, the arm that handles TV and film production, which will be taken over by CEO Davidi Jonas, and one more.
This comes in the wake of auditors reporting that due to the Diamond Comic Distributors bankruptcy, IDW continuing as a company was a “growing concern,” and Jonas pushing back on that assertion in a subsequent earnings call. And in fact, per ICv2, the auditors refiled the report without the language, meaning they agree with Jonas.
Regardless, we do hope those two impacted IDW employees land on their feet.
The planned release of DC Comics‘s Death: Compact Comics Edition has been put on hold by the publisher.
As reported first by Bleeding Cool, the Compact Comics Edition of the Sandman spinoff was planned for a September 2, 2025 release. However, that listing no longer appears on Amazon or any other bookseller. Earlier this week, DC canceled orders for The Sandman #8 Facsimile Edition, which was supposed to hit stores later this month.
In the latter case, the listing came via Lunar Distribution, which told retailers that the book, “will be resolicited at a later date. Existing orders are cancelled.” This is standard language for a canceled listing, and DC did not provide any further comment (beyond the publicly distributed retailer language) on the cancellation, including whether the book was permanently canceled or will, in fact, be resolicited for a subsequent date. This is a similar situation here with Death, meaning the book has been put on hold at the current time. DC has previously noted that they change release dates throughout the year, for a variety of reasons.
Earlier this year, Gaiman was accused of of sexual assault and misconduct thanks to an article in New York Magazine. He and his ex-wife Amanda Palmer, as a result of the article, have been hit with a human trafficking lawsuit.
Dark Horse Comics has publicly cut ties with Gaiman, while Marvel has told Comic Book Club that they have no plans with the writer, current or future. As of this writing, DC Comics has not commented on the issue.
For Comic Book Club News, I’m Alex Zalben. And a fond farewell to this hellish week of comic book news! Bye!
Got tips or stories you’d like us to cover? Email us at comicbookclublive@gmail.com.
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“}]] DC Comics has put Neil Gaiman’s Death Compact Comics Edition on hold. IDW hit with layoffs. Chip Zdarsky says goodbye to Batman. Read More