Former Diamond VP, Mike Schimmel, talks under oath, about the Diamond Comics firings, Ad Populum and coercing comic book publishers
Mike Schimmel is the former Vice President of Sales at Diamond Comic Distributors, at Diamond for 21 years, and at Capital City Distribution for over three years before that. Mike is now Senior Vice President of Sales at Alliance Entertainment (AENT) as of a few weeks ago. Bleeding Cool is continuing to cover the latest in AENT’s response to the lawsuit made against them by Ad Populum/Sparkle Pop. Which was over the many, many, many issues regarding the Diamond Comic Distributors (DCD) Chapter 11 Bankruptcy proceedings. We looked at claims of AENT poaching Diamond staff and breaking NDAs, and of Ad Populum’s treatment of comic book publishers after the deal, but what about the Diamond layoffs that began happening, as also reported by Bleeding Cool, the second the Diamond Comics purchase deal had been done?
Under the headline, “Sparkle Pop Engaged in Mass Terminations of Former DCD Employees”, AENT’s legal response states, “Another cost-cutting measure involved Sparkle Pop substantially cutting its payroll expenses. Sparkle Pop or DCD also sought to pressure employees into accepting significant pay cuts. For example, Mr. Weinshanker demanded that Mr. Schimmel take a 25% pay cut. He refused and on May 16, 2025, along with dozens of other employees, was terminated by DCD as part of Sparkle Pop’s cost-cutting measures. In addition to Sparkle Pop’s mass terminations, as employee morale tanked and instability permeated DCD, employees sought employment elsewhere. For example, as these former employees stated in their exit interviews:
As mentioned, Joel Weinshanker is the owner of Ad Populum/Sparkle Pop, and previously, we reported Ad Populum vs Sparkle Pop’s legal suit as stating, “These employees, who the suit says had access to critical trade secrets, were allegedly hired by Alliance in violation of the NDA, which prohibited soliciting or hiring Diamond Comic employees until October 2026.” AENT counters this but also had Mike Schimmel make a declaration under oath, which runs below. And may necessitate us making some updates to our Diamond Bankruptcy Timeline. Oh yes, and the reporting of that “chicken with idiots” line from Joel about comic publishers? That’s from Mike.
