Some ideas take longer than others to come to fruition — which would explain why Bad Idea, the startup publisher scheduled to launch next month, has announced a change in plans as a result of the novel coronavirus outbreak. But there's more at play than simply a delay.
The launch of Bad Idea was announced in February. Made up primarily of former Valiant Entertainment executives and creators, the company unveiled a publishing plan intended to differentiate itself from competitors: Skipping collected editions and digital releases, each of its series would be available only in single issues at a small number of retailers as part of its "Bad Idea Destination Store" program.
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In a statement Thursday, Bad Idea revealed that the release of ENIAC, the publisher's debut title, will be rescheduled from May 6 to an unspecified point later in the year — a move unlikely to surprise anyone given the current state of the comic book industry. Perhaps more surprising was the additional announcement that the company was creating an emergency financial-relief fund for retailers involved in the Destination Store program, with an initial balance of $25,000, with more funds to be added at a later date.
Beyond that, the publisher is bucking current industry trends and actively increasing production of future product. "Every Bad Idea creator will actively be working during this period," the statement explained. "As our creators continue to work as planned on Bad Idea's initial slate of titles, the company is doubling its current workload by actively increasing development and production of new projects, and commencing work now that had originally been slated to begin in 2021."
The statement ends, "We love comics and the people who make and sell them, and want to help where we can during this uncertain time."
