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Comicsgate

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Comicsgate is a controversial campaign focused on the North American superhero comic book industry and the creators who work in it.[1] Participant Mike S. Miller describes it as "an alliance of comic book fans, critics, and creators who have found common cause in standing up against what they see as a hard push by social justice warriors into their hobby".[2] Critics have described it as a harassment campaign[3] which "targets women, people of color, and LGBT folk in the comic book industry".[4] The name is derived from Gamergate, a similar movement related to video games.[5]

Participants say that it has no organization or leadership, but commentator Richard C. Meyer (posting under the banner Diversity & Comics)[6][4][5] and artist Ethan Van Sciver[4][5] have been prominent advocates for the campaign. Meyer has drawn criticism for statements made on his Youtube channel and his Twitter against comics professionals, such as calling a female Marvel Comics editor a "cumdumpster", accusing various female professionals of "sucking their way into the industry", and labeling a transgender writer as a "man in a wig".[4] Alt-right activist Vox Day has announced a publishing imprint Comicsgate Comics.[7]

Members of the movement have rallied against things they feel exemplify problems in the comics industry. In mid 2017, a social media post by Marvel Comics assistant editor Heather Antos featuring several young female coworkers getting milkshakes drew a significant amount of attention from members of the movement.[4] Antos was described as a "diversity hire",[8] "an unqualified bimbo",[8] and "the 'false rape charge' type",[4][9] and the group in general as "fake geek girls", "social justice warriors", "tumblr-virtue signalers", and "the creepiest collection of stereotypical SJWs anyone could possibly imagine".[9][4] Antos reported that a campaign of online harassment followed.[10][4][8] Others criticized by the movement have included Larry Hama, Mark Waid, Alex de Campi, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Matt Fraction, and Ta-Nehisi Coates.[5]

In the industry's pursuit of a more diverse marketplace,[11] conservative professionals such as Chuck Dixon and Brett R. Smith alleged they had been blacklisted by Marvel and DC in an article published in May 2016.[12] Dixon has since written the 12-issue mini-series Bane: Conquest, which saw publication by DC Comics from May 2017 to June 2018.[13] In April 2017, The Federalist tracked the Twitter accounts of all 30 writers who had a comic released by Marvel that month. Their study found that every writer criticized President Donald Trump at least once, and none mentioned him positively. It also found the writers included atheists, Jews, and a Muslim, but that none had spoken about being Christian.[12] Independent creators involved with Comicsgate have run highly successful crowdfunding campaigns to produce comics intended to reflect the group's values.[1][4]

Comicsgate has also been met with widespread criticism from readers, comics creators, and industry journalists.[14][15] In mid 2018, Marsha Cooke, widow of writer-artist Darwyn Cooke, denied a claim by Comicsgate participants that her husband would have supported Comicsgate,[16] and veteran artist Bill Sienkiewicz wrote a rebuke to the movement.[16] In a social media post, DC Comics writer Scott Snyder addressed the movement, noting that it "began [with] cruel, personal attacks" on his students, describing that the attacks "were (and still are) especially repugnant for their their sexism, racism, homophobia, and transphobia."[17] Tom Taylor posted a brief message on social media rejecting the tenets of Comicsgate, stating:

I believe comics are for everyone.

There is no excuse for harassment.

There is no place for homophobia, transphobia, racism or misogyny in comics criticism.

The social media post was retweeted by creators including Kelly Thompson, Tim Seeley, Margaret Stohl, Jason Latour, Bill Sienkiewicz, Greg Pak, Fabian Nicieza, Benjamin Percy, and Jeff Lemire.[18] Members of Comicsgate have responded to professionals criticizing the movement by circulating lists of such creators to boycott.[5] In an unsigned editorial, Paste magazine took issue with Taylor conflating Comicgate with criticism because they do not believe Comicgate's opinions should be equated with valid critical commentary.[19]

References

  1. ^ a b Del Arroz, John (August 8, 2018), "Crowdfunded Rebellion Against Identity Politics In Comics Nets $1.25 Million And Counting," The Federalist. Retrieved September 13, 2018
  2. ^ "What Is #ComicsGate?". Jon Del Arroz. 2018-07-19. Retrieved 2018-09-12.
  3. ^ "There's An Online Harassment Campaign Underway Against People Advocating For Diversity In Comics Called #Comicsgate". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Elbein, Asher (2018-04-02). "#Comicsgate: How an Anti-Diversity Harassment Campaign in Comics Got Ugly—and Profitable". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2018-09-12.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Comicsgate Is Gamergate's Next Horrible Evolution". Inverse. Retrieved 2018-09-12.
  6. ^ Micheline, J. A. (2018-09-11). "Comicsgate is the latest front in the ongoing culture wars | J A Micheline". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-09-12.
  7. ^ "Exclusive: Vox Day Announces New ComicsGate Imprint! - Bounding Into Comics". Bounding Into Comics. 2018-09-03. Retrieved 2018-09-12.
  8. ^ a b c "A Brief History of #Comicsgate: Tragedy and Trolling -". capelesscrusader.org. 2017-10-28. Retrieved 2018-09-12.
  9. ^ a b "Perspective | The Comicsgate movement isn't defending free speech. It's suppressing it". Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-09-13.
  10. ^ "A Marvel Comics Editor Is Being Harassed Because She Posted a Selfie With Her Coworkers". www.themarysue.com. Retrieved 2018-09-12.
  11. ^ Thielman, Sam (May 26, 2016), "Marvel editor-in-chief: 'Writing comics was a hobby for white guys'," The Guardian. Retrieved September 13, 2018
  12. ^ a b Del Arroz, Jon (April 12, 2016), "Forcing Political Correctness On Employees And Characters Is Killing Marvel Comics," The Federalist. Retrieved September 13, 2018
  13. ^ "Dixon And Nolan Return To A Villain They Created In 'Bane: Conquest'". ComicsAlliance. Retrieved 2018-09-17.
  14. ^ Ennis, Tricia (2018-09-07). "Widespread creator outcry won't be enough to end Comicsgate". Syfy. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
  15. ^ Riesman, Abraham. "Comicsgate Is a Nightmare Tearing Comics Fandom Apart — So What Happens Next?". Vulture. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
  16. ^ a b "Legendary Comics Artist Bill Sienkiewicz Pens Scorching Rebuke of "Comicsgate"". www.themarysue.com. Retrieved 2018-09-12.
  17. ^ "Scott Snyder on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2018-09-17.
  18. ^ "The Comic Book Industry Is Finally Speaking Out Against "Comicsgate"". Inverse. Retrieved 2018-09-12.
  19. ^ (August 27, 2018), "ComicsGate Won’t Be Defeated by Well-Intentioned Tweets Alone," Paste. Retrieved September 17, 2018
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