157 replies to this topic

[mud_dragon]

Really? You saw issue 7 out? That is quite upsetting. I havent got mine yet... :(

[anvaere]

I can't say I am surprised by all of this. Back when DB actually had their forum live I can recall old subscribers of NS would get jumped on whenever they voiced a complaint about delays, and not just by people foolish enough to believe in DB Pro, but by Les himself. Talk about unprofessional. I myself waited a month to see if issue seven would actually appear in my mailbox, it didn't, so I've gone ahead and ordered it from a comic shop. At this point I am decidedly apathetic towards this company.

[Darth_Andrea]

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I can't say I am surprised by all of this. Back when DB actually had their forum live I can recall old subscribers of NS would get jumped on whenever they voiced a complaint about delays, and not just by people foolish enough to believe in DB Pro, but by Les himself. Talk about unprofessional. I myself waited a month to see if issue seven would actually appear in my mailbox, it didn't, so I've gone ahead and ordered it from a comic shop. At this point I am decidedly apathetic towards this company.

The thing that honestly bothers me the most about all this is the absolute lack of forth coming information the the parties involved. Dabel will not reply to emails, their site hasn't been updated in any capacity that I can find for months. And as far as New Spring goes you would think given everything posted here that Red Eagle would make some comment on that book. While I understand that the Eye Of The World comic is not something Red Eagle is involved in they do have access to the parties involved and could get someone to make comment on the status of that project for the benefit of those of us who want to spend our money on these comics. I would like to point out in case someone hadn't noticed. That getting these comics out to mass market areas and promoting them with the kind of campaign that Marvel or DC would with one of their projects would greatly benefit the forth coming Film as well as novel sales.

Getting the Wheel Of Time in the head space of more than the currently existing fans can only help. But that's not happening because you have this piss poor company Dabel Brothers Publishing LLC running the comic side of the equation. It's obvious by now to any outside observer that the company is in serious trouble and might close up shop. These comics need to be given to a new publishing company, My personal preference would be DC or Dark Horse.

As both companies have a solid track record of actually producing the comics they say they will and getting them to market. Normally with out much of a delay and if there is one they let you know in advance and when it will actually be shipped. Dabel has not, apparently will not or Can not seem to do that.




Darth_Andrea         

[Silmarien]

Really? So there's the issue #7?

[Darth_Andrea]

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Really? So there's the issue #7?

I got issue #7 from my local comic shop last week. Check the one's in your area and you might find it. TO the best of my knowledge it was the only comic Dabel shipped in any capacity in the last 60 to 80 days.


Darth_Andrea         

[Silmarien]

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Really? So there's the issue #7?

I got issue #7 from my local comic shop last week. Check the one's in your area and you might find it. TO the best of my knowledge it was the only comic Dabel shipped in any capacity in the last 60 to 80 days.


Darth_Andrea         

Thanks.
I don't in my country i'll find it but i know how ti find it.

[Darth_Andrea]

Ok I just found this and it's depressing....

This is excerpt of the list of comics Diamond has canceled shipping dates for

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DABEL BROTHERS PRODUCTIONS LLC
MAR094186 DEAN KOONTZS NEVERMORE #3 1
APR090780 DEAN KOONTZS NEVERMORE #4 1
MAY090764 DEAN KOONTZS NEVERMORE #5 1
JUN090852 DEAN KOONTZS NEVERMORE #6 1
JAN094144 DOG EATERS #4 1
MAR094187 DOG EATERS #5 1
APR090781 DOG EATERS #6 1
FEB094222 JIM BUTCHERS DRESDEN FILES STORM FRONT VOL 02 #2 1
MAR094188 JIM BUTCHERS DRESDEN FILES STORM FRONT VOL 02 #3 1
APR090784 ROBERT JORDANS NEW SPRING #8 1
APR090785 ROBERT JORDANS WHEEL OF TIME EYE O/T WORLD #2 1
MAY090763 ROBERT JORDANS WHEEL OF TIME EYE O/T WORLD #3 1
JUN090855 ROBERT JORDANS WHEEL OF TIME EYE O/T WORLD #4 1
JUL090824 ROBERT JORDANS WHEEL OF TIME EYE O/T WORLD #5 3
AUG090824 ROBERT JORDANS WHEEL OF TIME EYE O/T WORLD #6 1
MAR094191 WARRIORS OFFICIAL MOVIE ADAPTATION #4 1
APR090786 WARRIORS OFFICIAL MOVIE ADAPTATION #5 1

That was taken from http://www.previewsw...EP09_Cancel.txt which is the updated list of canceled books as of September.

this list shows the original shipping month the book was supposed to be released in. Obviously they never shipped on time and thus far only issues #0 and #1 of WoT ever did ship.




Darth_Andrea         

[Tud]

So, let's see if I have this correct..We aren't getting the last volume of New spring and we won'y get the last two volumes of The Dresen Files, Strom Front.I hate this company.They take good novels and just screw over the fanbase. I was talking to the store owners about both New Spring and Storm Front and they went on and on about how wretched a company Dabel is..Apparantly, the don't even pay their artists...Way to go...

tud

[ghenjei]

I am one of the suckers who bought all 8 (or was it 9?) issues back in 2005.

In July I finally got issue 6 in the mail after (what appeared to be at least) good communication from the Dabel crew.  Since then nothing....

Now to find out that 7 was in fact printed but never mailed.... and they stiffed JordanCon... and they bagged on the EOTW comic.... next we'll find out they eat puppies or something like that.

Jason et al., why on earth would a quality site like dragonmount do business with these schmucks?

[Werthead]

Whilst the Dabels have been flaky in the past, it was the situation with New Spring that seemed to cause everything to go pear-shaped and they did a good job of transferring all of the blame to Red Eagle (and given Robert Jordan's well-known antipathy to Red Eagle, a lot of WoT fans bought that explanation). At the same time, the Dabels' general well-handling of their other licences such as the Hedge Knight and Magician stuff indicated they were generally a decent company to work with.

I, along with three others from the Westeros.org forum, provided them with some free advice on the writing of The Sworn Sword (the second Hedge Knight series) and they came across as professional and friendly at the time, even though Marvel taking over the project meant we got a little stuffed, receiving neither the promised in-print credit or a free copy of the graphic novel. However, given my total work on the project came up to maybe a couple of hours, I was hardly left crying about it.

Still, their activities elsewhere, the well-known complaining from collaborators and so on was a cause for concern. They finally shot themselves through the foot over the 2009 ASoIaF calendar issue. The number of people who put down money for the calendar but didn't receive it was HUGE on the Westeros forum. The Dabel Brothers' tactics (Les responded personally in the thread) was to claim that they'd sent stuff out in the mail and it had never arrived. When other people asked where their stuff was they'd get replies saying, "Didn't you get my earlier email?" In short, all of the tactics outlined by Sean Jordan and others in the above-linked articles. Even today there's still a few people who haven't received their calendars, whilst the bulk didn't get their calendars until this summer just gone (halfway through the year the calendar was for). The situation was beyond farcical.

George RR Martin has not completely severed his ties with the Dabels. He appreciates the quality of their final product. The graphic novels of his short stories are genuinely really good work. The calendar, late as it is, features some jaw-droppingly gorgeous artwork from the extremely talented Michael Kormack. Martin has revoked their calendar licence, however, and is annoyed that it happened too late for him to arrange the 2010 calendar with a new publisher. It is also unclear if he will go to the Dabels to adapt the third Hedge Knight novella, The Mystery Knight as a comic book. I rather strongly suspect he will not and might deal with Marvel instead (who have the reprint rights on the first two).

As far as I'm concerned the Dabels have now become unreliable and untrustworthy. Some of the people ripped off on the calendar issue were friends of mine, and the Dabels' handling of the situation was totally inept. I'm only sorry that the Wheel of Time fanbase seems to have been shafted even more comprehensively than the Song of Ice and Fire fans were. I would echo Kathana's call for people not to deal with this company and individuals.

[mud_dragon]

The question is, in light of all this recent news and discussion, should we request refunds from them and/or credit card companies etc, or sit it out and wait and see if they turn up?

I subscribed to 12 issues of eye of the world, with international shipping, for $90.

What do you guys think?

[Shoulderthumper]

Demand your money back, and if it ever comes out buy it through you local comic book shop, but do not let them have your money before a product is available.

I am not sure how to go about this myself, as I no longer have the credit card I used for the initial purchase of New Spring.

Glad to finally hear others have finally had enough. I have filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau of Atlanta, in the off chance it might have some affect. Anything to try and draw more attention to the gross mistreatment of a client base by an obviously shady company.

[Werthead]

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The question is, in light of all this recent news and discussion, should we request refunds from them and/or credit card companies etc, or sit it out and wait and see if they turn up?

I subscribed to 12 issues of eye of the world, with international shipping, for $90.

What do you guys think?

Get a refund, 100% most definitely. Whilst they might turn things around yet again (they have a knack for somehow surviving things that would completely sink other companies), I severely doubt that they will move to a regular and reliable release schedule any time soon. Try and get your money back and if they get new products out in the future, get them from the shops or via a retailer who has confirmed stock.

I made the admins on Westeros.org aware of the information from this post and in light of that, Westeros.org is also re-evaluating its relationship with the Dabel Brothers.

[Darth_Andrea]

Well as far as refunds go I would request one but only for the remaining issue owed you. If you received the #0 and #1 issues of EOTW then deduct those and what you can calculate out as the appropriate shipping costs. So the remaining figure is what you request as a refund. Being angry over all this is one thing. Requesting refunds for products actually received is at least in my view a form of fraud. And we don't want people doing that even by accident.

As for no longer having the card the purchase was made from that doesn't matter still file a claim with the company with letters sent Via the normal post. Most credit card companies require and request of refund or affirmation of fraud to be sent to them in the mail. I don't exactly understand why I assume it's a legal issue. So just send them a letter explaining your requesting a refund of X amount from Purchase X because the total product of the purchase has not been delivered and that it doesn't appear that it will be.

Also add in any email's sent to Dabel about the subscription and any replies received. To show them that you have attempted to settle the matter but were unable to.



Darth_Andrea         

[jenniferl]

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Jason et al., why on earth would a quality site like dragonmount do business with these schmucks?

I haven't discussed this with Jason recently, so I don't know if he's aware of the most recent developments. As far as I know, the Dabels have been consistently fulfilling orders made through Dragonmount.

[Darth_Andrea]

Well as far as that goes the only issues of the WoT comic up in the DM store are the 2 issues that have been released. #0 and #1 have shipped I know because I have both. As for the rest of them however Diamond Distributing has canceled shipping on issues 2-6. So unless Dabel re-solicits these issues with a guarantee to Diamond that the issues will go to them on X date for shipping to retailers I think we might as well consider the Eye Of The World comic dead.



Darth_Andrea         

[Werthead]

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Jason et al., why on earth would a quality site like dragonmount do business with these schmucks?

Interestingly, up until fairly recently anyway, the Dabels seem to have been pretty reliable in fulfilling orders on Dragonmount and Westeros. My guess is that they realised that cheesing off the fanbases of the two biggest epic fantasy writers in the genre at the same time would really not be a good idea for their business.

In addition to the other troubles mentioned in this thread, there also appear to be significant issues going on with the Dabels' comic series based on GRRM's Wild Cards books. Daniel Abraham, another very talented fantasy writer, had been working on that series for them and has also reported a lot of problems with the issues coming out late, unforseen delays, etc.

On the (relatively) good news, Marvel now owns the rights to the Dunk 'n' Egg comics and it looks like the Dabels will not be involved in future adaptations of that series. Hopefully, since the Dabels have (if nothing else) proven the finanical viability of comic book adaptations of major fantasy series, another publisher (mainstream or comics) will step in and buy out the rights to New Spring and the WoT books. Maybe Tor themselves would be interested in doing it?

[rabbittmaster]

im still pissed that dabel sent me 6  2 times i want 7 and 8
and i am stuck with a extra copy of 6 i dont need

[ghenjei]

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Jason et al., why on earth would a quality site like dragonmount do business with these schmucks?

I haven't discussed this with Jason recently, so I don't know if he's aware of the most recent developments. As far as I know, the Dabels have been consistently fulfilling orders made through Dragonmount.

Kathana, if you guys could look into this further, we would really appreciate it. The Dabels continue to ignore my (and apparently others) emails regarding the comics and it appears we are totally powerless.  Maybe they might respond to you, Jason and the other DM admins.

[Fenric25]

Well, this is very depressing to hear-I very much enjoyed the first two EoTW comics and have been trying to find the New Spring comics for some time...here's hoping they do get taken up by another, more reliable company-if not, well, sigh... :(

(BTW, long time fan (well, since 2004, anyways), first time poster!)