The news broke several days ago now that Insomnia Publications had released all of its creators from their contracts. Everyone received a short, polite email from publisher Crawford Coutts, and thus ended many weeks of speculation, worry, and countless threats of violence. The rumour mill continues to rumble, with accusations being levelled at a number of individuals for their contribution to the publisher’s downfall, and a number of people coming out of the woodwork to commentate on what had happened. As always, people were far wiser after the event.

Some have called “shenanigans” on some of Insomnia’s sales figures. Some have claimed that an email from Burke and Hare creator and ex-Vigil Editor Martin Conaghan, accidentally leaked by Rich Johnston at Bleeding Cool, was the catalyst that started the whole, painful process. Nearly every publisher, be they small, indie, or none of the above, seems to have been offered a chance to purchase Insomnia. (I don’t know if I’m glad or not that Monkeys with Machineguns was beneath Insomnia’s notice when it came to this. Some people say they are owed money.) Other people have spotted Insomnia products on sale either online or in shops and are wondering what will happen to the profits, if any, from this.

And, of course, a great many creators are happy and relieved to have their projects back in their own hands, even if that means they must begin the search for a publisher once more. To all of those creators, of which I myself am one, I wish the best of luck.

Personally, I am sad to see Insomnia fail. It was a brave, and noble, experiment. It gave a home to projects that may not have been, and now may not be, published anywhere else. It brought creators together and created a buzz that was real, even if it was fleeting. I hope that in time, as wounds heal and excitement dies down, people think more kindly about Crawford Coutts. Perhaps he was just someone who found himself suddenly out of his depth, who’s creation became bigger than him and his ability to control it, and who ultimately could not feed the monster that he had created. Perhaps he had the very best of intentions, right until the end.

Think about it, wouldn’t you hide from a bunch of angry comic creators?

I will admit, of course, that my reasons for hoping this are not completely altruistic. There are too few British publishers as it stands today, Insomnia’s corpse yet another to fill the already our overflowing industry’s mass-graves-behind-the-chemical-sheds. We need more people who have some sort of curious passion for printing, logistics, marketing, spending hours on the phone to retailers, spending more hours behind a stand at an expo, and then spending even more hours when they get home reading the multitudinous submissions thrust into their hands at the expo when what they really wanted was your money … They are a rare, and beautifully masochistic breed. They put up our with our blown deadlines, our changes of heart. They are the ones who nurse us through our first broken hearts when a bad review arrives. They are the ones who put their money and time and skill into the pursuit of our dreams.

If there is someone out there, right now, thinking of picking up where Insomnia left off, thinking that perhaps they can make it work? I hope they don’t read all of the stuff that is out there right now and decide … “Screw that, it’s too much grief”. Because I know I would.

And yes, of course I know, they are no more full of altruism than me. But we need them. We need them more than they need us.

So, spare a thought for your publisher. As masochistic as they all surely are, they might just appreciate it.