Big Bullies in the Comic Industry?
JAWBREAKERS and the comic book mafia.
Disclaimer: I have never read a comic book in my life.
So I know very little about the comic book industry and next to nothing about what goes into writing and producing a comic book. That being said, my attention was draw to one comic in particular as it’s been forced into the spotlight..
“Jawbreakers: Lost Souls” by Richard C. Meyer made headlines recently because of a short sequence of fairly irrelevant events that led to huge consequences, some good, some bad.
First off, the Edmonton comic book store Variant Edition twitted this:
It’s not unusual for stores to make announcements about what they’ll have in stock, however it is unusual (and out of character, as far as I can tell from their recent twitter history) to announce what they will not be stocking.
The tweet got some support but the backlash was certainly more evident. People seemed unhappy that the store was making a political statement rather then just doing their job: selling comic books.
Richard C. Meyer has a Youtube channel called Diversity & Comics where he, among other things, reviews comics — and not typically in a flattering way. Meyer is a critic of a lot of recent trends in the industry, a big one being forced diversity. It appears this is the reason Variant Editions choose not to stock his book.
Then Variant Editions had a break in. A window was smashed and money stolen from the register. The owners suggested, more then suggested — outright stated, that the break in was committed by the same people who criticized their choice to not stock Meyer’s book, despite there being no evidence that the same people were responsible.
This wouldn’t typically be big news. It’s only a little, basically irrelevant store in Edmonton, hardly Meyer’s central point of sale or any comic book for that matter. But the consequences were big. Antarctic Press, the publisher backing Jawbreakers, suddenly dropped the comic.
It wasn’t just the bad publicity from the Edmonton store that caused this. There were a lot of big names in the comic book industry pressuring Antarctic Press to back out. In his article in the Federalist, author Jon Del Arroz goes into further detail about some of the big players and the ‘comic mafia’s’ tyranny over the industry, showing there is a lot more going on behind the scenes then fans are aware of.
Gavia Baker-Whitelaw, a writer at the Daily Dot, had a different take on the events, referring to the incident as ‘ComicGate’, a reference to GamerGate, the controversies that rocked the gaming industry a few years ago also having to do with forced diversity. Baker-Whitelaw claims that Jawbreakers is “aimed at people who think “traditional” male heroes are a dying breed, and that superhero comics are losing sales due to women and diversity”.
Firstly, comic sales are down, though why is likely do to various factors and not just one issue. Secondly, the Indiegogo campaign page says absolutely nothing about catering to a specific audience or that their intended audience are people who think the “traditional” superhero is dead. The campaign summaries the premise as “a team of ex-superheroes attempt to save a “monster” from a vicious warlord who wants to exploit it!”. Other then some artwork and progress updates, there is nothing else pertaining to the books content.
In a more recent turn of events that happened just this past week, a Youtuber was refused service in a shop where he’s been a regular patron for some time. His crime? Supporting Jawbreakers on his Youtube channel.
As many have pointed out this scandal may have been the best thing that could have happened to Jawbreakers. The Indegogo campaign is nearly 4000% funded and this has garnered far more publicity then the stand alone would have otherwise received. But that’s not the point.
The point is that a political agenda inserted itself into the publishing world and put it self above art. It took all choice away from fans.
Fans have fought back by supporting Jawbreakers, but they shouldn’t have to. They should be able to show what they like and don’t like based on their purchases. When small, local shops are virtue signalling at the cost of their clientele — or actually banning people from their shop — it shows the industry has warped it’s priorities.
Although I’m not a comic reader, as an author I worry about the precedent this sets. Will my book one day be shunned by local bookstores? Will my publisher drop me because one of my opinions doesn’t sit well with the PC mob? What if my writing never see’s the light of day because of a years old Twitter exchange?
There are books being published everyday by incarcerated authors convicted of heinous crimes. You can get the Satanic Bible or Mein Kampf in just about any book store or from your public library. But a relative nobody is removed from shelves because he doesn’t like forced diversity?
I’m all for people expressing their political or moral views, but I draw a line at banning books.
