Another major motion just dropped in the Diamond Comic Distributors Chapter 7 case. Bankruptcy trustee Morgan W. Fisher, warehouse operator Sparkle Pop LLC, and the 13-publisher Palik Consignment Group have filed a comprehensive proposed settlement that would abandon consigned inventory back to those publishers and pay Sparkle Pop a combined $787,380, according to ICv2 amplifying Graphic Policy‘s September 22 filing read.
Court approval is still required — this is a proposed settlement, not a final order.
Who’s in the Palik Group
The motion covers consignment inventory held in Sparkle Pop’s warehouse from Aspen Comics, Black Mask Studios, DSTLRY, Heavy Metal International, Magnetic Press, Massive Publishing, Oni-Lion Forge, Panini UK, Alien Books, Graphic Mundi, Titan Publishing, Vault Comics, and Dark Horse Comics.
What Sparkle Pop and publishers get
Per the filing coverage:
- Sparkle Pop receives $787,380 tied to escrowed consignment proceeds / related escrow releases.
- Pick-and-pack options: either Sparkle Pop takes 4% of remaining wholesale consignment inventory value in lieu of fees, or publishers pay 2% of wholesale value directly — remaining stock picked, packed, and made available.
- Tariff refunds recovered for the estate would split 50/50 between Sparkle Pop and the estate (minus recovery costs).
- The estate abandons the Palik consigned inventory to those publishers and assigns to Sparkle Pop its rights in Image Comics settlement inventory plus default-judgment inventory from Digital Manga, netcomics, and Valiant Entertainment.
Publishers would have a window (reported as 30 days after notice) to remove inventory, with non-removal treated as abandonment; destruction by Sparkle Pop at no extra cost is also an option in the Graphic Policy read.
This filing is separate from the August settlement motion with a different 15-publisher Ad Hoc Consignment Group, which drew a Sparkle Pop objection and remains in litigation. The dispute sits against a backdrop of nearly $50 million in consignment inventory held by the estate for over a year.
