MANIA HEALTHY, PUBLISHER SAYS
Reports of the imminent demise of Mania, and its parent company, the
largest online retailer of comic books, are absolutely untrue, according to
the owner and publisher.
Although reports continue to come in arguing otherwise, Steve Milo, the
owner of American Entertainment, the parent company of Mania.com and the
Another Universe chain of comic book stores, told the Comic Wire there's
nothing to rumors that the company refused receipt of last week's comics as
a temporary money-saving measure.
"We received our Diamond [Distributors] shipment last week, and we are
receiving our Diamond shipment this week," Milo wrote. He also refuted
claims that the Mania.com online magazine will cease publication: "All
freelancers have been paid through August and are scheduled to be paid in
September. Mania is not ceasing publication. The online component is our
future."
This runs contrary to continuing reports from inside the company that while
Mania may be profitable - it's estimated that the site may sell up to 10
percent of comics sold in the United States - it may be the only part of
the company that is. New editor-in-chief Steve Johnson has reportedly told
all the freelancers to get back to work, after briefly telling them to stop
on Friday.
Mania's highest-profile contributor, freelancer Michael Doran, the editor
of the Newsarama weekly news feature, also wrote the Comic Wire, to say
that "Newsarama continues at Mania for the immediate future."
