From Brian Pulido: UPDATE on Lady Death Omnibus Volume I –

Greetings Lady Death Omnibus Volume I backers,

We’ve completed the very detailed review process of all 2,300 copies of the Lady Death Omnibus Volume I print run, and I am very sad to report that Coffin Comics has rejected the entire print runs of both editions. They are simply not in sellable condition.

Thankfully, after their own detailed inspection, our printing partner agrees with our assessment and will be going back to press on the entire print run.

In the meantime, we will be refunding all 407 Omnibus backers in full by this Friday at 5PM Arizona time. Please allow up to seven working days for your refund to appear in your account.

In the near future, we will offer the Lady Death Omnibus Volume I to backers at the exact same terms as during the Lady Death: Sacrificial Annihilation #1 Kickstarter campaign (Main Edition offered at the $100 premiere price and free shipping. Signed Special Edition offered at $200 premiere price and free shipping).

This is an unprecedented event in my thirty-year publishing history and I am very sad about it.

You may be asking yourself why has this taken this long to disclose, so I want to give you a clearer picture of the timeline and events.

The Omnibuses were originally scheduled to arrive early November 2021, but we actually received the Omnibuses in early January after a long supply chain related delay. Our staff began the quality control review process. Immediately, we began seeing flaws in many elements of each book. In particular, we saw scratches and scuffing on the covers, impact marks on the red and silver gilding, severe indentations, dinged corners, etc. (see reference pictures below.) Initially, the staff inspected each copy, but as the trend continued, we spot checked all the other pallets and found the same issues consistently. We concluded that the print run was not sellable.

We communicated this in writing and in photos to our trusted print partner. Everyone was baffled. Our print partner requested a detailed damage report so we continued the inspection, but the trend continued. As per our agreement with them, they also requested that we work this out confidentially until everything was sorted out and agreed upon. The costs on the Omnibus were significant for both parties, so I understood their course of action and their request.

As the trend continued further, our print partner elected to bring in an independent inspector to confirm our findings. Their inspector went through the Omnibuses, and to make a long story short, they agreed with our findings: there was not one sellable copy. This entire process took six weeks to complete, and it had our full undivided attention.

So, what happened? After all, I received and signed off on perfect samples.  It appears to be a combination of factors, largely to do with the handling of the books as they came off the printing press, and as they were shrink-wrapped, boxed and palletized. There simply was a lack of quality control in this area.

After the confirmation of our findings, our print partners offered to do the right thing and print the Omnibus from scratch. We are grateful that they took accountability. We have done great business with them for years and they have been an amazing partner.

The initial print run will be destroyed. That means in effect, we’re starting over: proofing, printing, shipping, and receiving. That process will take three to five months, optimistically. That is why we have determined that canceling and refunding all backers’ orders in full is the right thing to do.

We would like to apologize to all our Omnibus backers for this situation. Frankly, it is a bummer on a monumental scale in every sense of the word. The Lady Death Omnibus Volume I is intended to be the very zenith of a printed project and we cannot let a less than perfect book into your hands.

If you have further questions, comments or concerns, please feel free to comment below, or reach out to us at: inquiries@coffincomics.com

Respectfully,

Brian Pulido
Coffin Comics Publisher