RIP CHAOS! Comics

Here's some sad news:

[NEWSARAMA] Chaos! Comics Files For Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

I've never been a big fan of Chaos! Comics, the publisher of "Lady Death," "Evil Ernie" and their countless spin-offs, but the publisher always filled its niche well as the place to go for hard-rockin' big-breasted in-your-face testosterone-flavored comics.

It was a perfect formula! What the smeg went wrong!

It could be that the continuing snob-ification of the comics industry has helped to push Chaos! out of the market. Everybody (or is it just me?) has been flocking to the re-vamped, edgier Marvel books and scouring the Top Shelf and Fantagraphics backlist for our next comics kick... meanwhile, there was Chaos! still plugging away with their bad-girl-with-sword comics that in theory should never have gone out of style...

I hear that their titles fell in quality after their mainstay artist Steven Hughes unexpectedly passed away a couple years ago, which could be another reason for the drop in sales. But I think the loss of the 13-year old boys looking for an over-the-counter Playboy stand-in was a big hit... those kids are now too busy hoarding their money in anticipation of Dave Mirra BMX XXX to shell out $3-4 for a 22-page skin mag.

Which is too bad. I hate to see any comics publisher fall, and Brian Pulido always seemed to me to be an okay guy. There were rumors going around that he was going to sell the company to CrossGen in order to save it, but it turns out that that was never really an option.

Chapter 7 means they are calling it quits and selling everything they can in order to pay off their creditors. I guess this means Lady Death and Purgatory will be able to find a new home, since the niche they fill is now basically empty... they will have to return to disgust me yet again someday.