Welcome, my CryptoComic friends and family.Today I wanted to talk to you about a very serious topic that has eroded the very foundation of the comic book industry. 

There have been several prominent figures in the comic book realm that have allegedly used their position and influence to take advantage of people with promises of helping them break into the industry or community.

Below is the video that I had made and uploaded to YouTube explaining everything that you would read underneath.

YOUTUBE VIDEO HERE

I say allegedly because as of now, there have been no official criminal charges brought against anyone therefore they have not been convicted in a court of law. Not to devalue any of the claims but this still lives strictly in the court of public opinion.

In the news recently writer Warren Ellis has been dropped by Image Comics as they will not publish the much anticipated second part to the graphic novel Fell. More on that later. 

Today I wanted to address this issue by giving a broad timeline of recent events and show that much more creators within the industry prey on those that come to them for help.

This list by no means represents all those that have been victimized over the years as attitudes towards sexual harassment have changed a great deal since the founding of this industry.

Much of this was brought to light in June of 2020 after artist/writer Cameron Stewart was accused of using his influence in the industry to prey on teenage aspiring creators.

Later that month a slew of various women came forth accusing writer Warren Ellis of preying on young creators in a similar fashion, making them feel they “owed” him sexual relationships. 

Ellis responded on June 18th with this lengthy statement: 

Hello. Please forgive the lateness of my appearance. I have been speaking to people, and listening carefully, for a few days.

Recent statements have been made about me that need to be addressed.

I have never considered myself famous or powerful, to the point where I’ve made a lot of bad jokes about it for twenty-odd years. It had never really occurred to me that other people didn’t see it the same way—that I was not engaging as an equal when gifted with attention, but acting from a position of power and privilege. I did not take that into account in a number of my personal interactions and this was a mistake and I own it.

While I’ve made many bad choices in my past, and I’ve said a lot of wrong things, let me be clear, I have never consciously coerced, manipulated, or abused anyone, nor have I ever assaulted anybody. But I was ignorant of where I was operating from at a time I should have been clear and for that I accept 100% responsibility.

I hurt people deeply. I am ashamed for these mistakes and I am profoundly sorry. I will not speak against other people’s personal truths, and I will not expose them to the toxicity of the current discourse. I should have been more aware, more present, and more respectful of people’s feelings and for that I apologise.

I have had friendships and relationships end, sometimes in bitterness, often due to my own failings, and I continue to regret and apologise for the pain I have caused.

I have always tried to aid and support women in their lives and careers, but I have hurt many people that I had no intention of hurting. I am culpable. I take responsibility for my mistakes. I will do better and for that, I apologise.

I apologize to my friends and collaborators for having created this situation, and I hope they will be treated kindly. Mistakes and poor choices in my personal life are not on them, but only on me.

We have a responsibility to one another, every day. And I have, in my past, let too many people down. I hope to one day become worthy of the trust and kindness that was placed in me by colleagues and friends.

I will continue to listen, learn, and strive to be a better human being. I have sought to make amends with people, as I have been made aware of my transgressions, and will continue to do so. I have apologised, I apologise, and will continue to apologise and take total responsibility for my actions without equivocation.

I am going to be quiet now, to listen more than I speak, for other voices matter far more than my own right now.

I will be closing this newsletter. Thank you for your past support. Look after yourselves.

After closing down his weekly newsletter artist Patrick  Zircher defended both Ellis and Cameron Stewart. He received so much backlash from other creators and the general public alike that he was forced to make his Twitter account private and hide away from most other social media platforms.

The day after Warren Ellis’ statement former Dark Horse editor Brendan Wright was accused of both harassing and stalking Bekah Caden for over a year. 

At the time Brendan was working for Starburns Industries Press as an Executive Editor and VP. He was let go from both positions following the accusations. 

3 days after Brendan Wright was accused, Charles Brownstein, Executive Director of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund resigns after alligations from 2006 came to life. In these allegations artist, Taki Soma claimed that she was assaulted by Charles Brownstein and that he also created an abusive working environment.

The following day Jason Latour, best known as one of the co-creators of Spider-Gwen was accused of harassment by artist Lauren Tracey. This time allegations were witnesses by several other creators, all of who came forth.

As a result, Jason took to Twitter and apologized to Lauren, although those tweets have since been removed.

It was then revealed that Robbi Rodriguez, the other co-creator of Spider-Gwen, had been covering for Jason’s transgressions and then also was accused himself of trying to talk co-workers back to his hotel room during conventions.

Keep in mind, the entire Spider-Gwen story all came out on the same day. June 23 of 2020. The following day Dark Horse Comics and Mike Mignola very publicly cut ties with the editor and writer Scott Allie after it came out that he had been abusing another editor Shawna Gore for years.  

2 days later John Arcudi, a frequent collaborator of Mignola, came out and told the public that he reported such bad behavior from Scott back in 2007, and not only did it go unheard, but Mike Mignola kept working with Scott for years. 

Vault Comics canceled the much-anticipated launch of “Hundred Wolves” after writer Myke Cole admitted to inappropriate behavior. 

The series was already delayed due to the Covid pandemic but now it was canceled permanently.

Writer/performer Nika Harper released an apology statement after Colorist Kelly Fitzpatrick from the Wonder Woman: Tempest Tossed run, published a statement accusing Nika of sexual assault. 

In the apology, he said that he would never return to a convention again. “No parties, o surrounding areas. If I recognize her somewhere, I will be the one to leave. She should feel safe in these spaces, she did nothing wrong.”

There are many more of these stories coming out daily, too many to report here. This leads us to July 13th of last year with the launch of the website somanyofus.com 

This site launched with 34 separate testimonies (and screenshots) of women all accusing Warren Ellis of sexual harassment and assault. There have been many more stories added since. 

Several of the claims report that he had been sending sexual messages,  clear up until the time of launch. This is 2 months after his statement apologizing to the public for his behavior.

It took almost 1 year before Image would cut ties with Warren Ellis, long after Netflix and DC Comics both tried to disassociate with him and his brand.  

In a statement Image, they claimed that they would never work with him again until he completely made amends to all the women he hurt on that site. Something that I don’t think will ever happen truly.

On a personal note, as a father of young aspiring creators, it is my dream that no other generation in any industry has to suffer such indignities. Sadly, because I live in the real world, I know that this won’t be true. 

So, I will leave you with this message. If you’ve been a victim of sexual assault, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-4673 or online.rainn.org to be connected with a trained staff member from a sexual assault service provider in your area.

For more information on this story, join us this Monday on the CryptoComics Couch at 9 PM EST on youtube.com/cryptocomicsmarketplace or your favorite streaming network. Don’t forget to hit that like button and click that notification bell to get a heads up when we go live.

From all of us at CryptoComics Marketplace, simply take care of each other.