Indie publishing drama certainly looks more entertaining on the surface. Fewer star publicists man-handling the spin. No corporate flacks jeopardizing a sure-fire nuclear bomb of a story. Hell, we'd rather hear about a New York Sun circulation scandal than another red-bagged New York Post incident just so we could pretend it's important.

So this week we're blessed with trouble at Black Book.

Evan Schindler has literally been locked out of the fashion magazine he founded seven years ago. Two partners he brought into the fold, Ari Horowitz and Eric Gertler, say they've relieved Schindler of his editorial director duties after he started calling advertisers like Diesel and suggesting they pull their ads from Black Book. So they went ahead and changed the locks at the mag's Prince Street offices.

Schindler, still a part owner of the title, is also encouraging staffers to quit as a sign of solidarity (and sabotage) - because that'll surely help its sale price now that Horowitz and Gertler put Black Book on the block. Maybe Flaunt can get in on the publicity buzzwagon and oust Long Nguyen.