There Are No Problems In The Comics Industry...?

by Jon Del Arroz
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“I just don’t want to get involved.” “You’re just too negative these days.” “Extremist.” “I don’t like the way you’re doing things not necessarily what you’re saying.” I hear it all the time. Every time there’s a contingent of industry professionals or wannabe professionals who want to impress the old guard who’s rapidly losing their power in publishing and comics. They think that if they play the association game, like I warned about in my periscope last evening.

Though let me remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice, and let me also remind you that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.

Since I’ve come on the scene in science fiction and comics, and seen the toxic wasteland that’s being perpetuated by the out of touch establishment elites who run monopolies, I’ve uncovered a lot. There’s far more stories than I’ve presented, but I do what I can without journalism being any significant portion of my income. In just a few short months I’ve exposed:

Problems with conventions

Blackballing whole groups in comics

Complicitness with the entertainment media in covering up blackballing in comics

Complicitness and toxicity in Science Fiction news

Anti-Male discrimination in Science Fiction publishing

#ComicsGate (I broke this story)

SFWA – large sci-fi authors guild violating its own rules over personal vendettas and not holding some people to standards they held others to

Marvel Comics Doubling Down on man hate

And more. These are just some of the ones that most people who have been following have read and seen the craziness that is publishing and entertainment.

Yet I still have a number of detractors who give me all of the above statements at the beginning. I’ve said nothing controversial, I’ve simply pointed out very real blackballing and discrimination at every turn and said “this is bad”. We all agree that bad. It’s followed by shrieks from people who freak out about “tolerance and diversity” when they show anything but in reality. The preponderance of evidence is unbelievable.

But wait, there’s more. Last night on periscope and social media I started the breakings of a story of the blackballing going further in comics. I didn’t want to give the person a bigger platform than he’s got, but the cat’s out the bag now:

Just for working on a comic book that’s wildly popular, artists are getting blackballed. Enough is enough in this industry. Don’t be a cuck. Don’t abandon your friends when a few people screech an wail. they have no power and your signalling to them gains you nothing.I hear Tim here, contrarily is getting all sorts of job offers.

Tim also has a fully illustrated children’s book coming out soon that you should pre-order and support. I have. It looks hilarious.

The fear they try to grip you with is a lie. No one cares about it at all. But the problems they create within their monopolistic publishing establishments are very real. They are forcing people into indie publishing — where many readers find them, not just industry professionals who won’t support them. They’re in actuality afraid of competition like this:

because it’s so much better than what they have to offer.

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Originally published October 20, 2017 here
If you like cool space concepts with heart, you’ll probably enjoy Jon’s recent novella, Gravity Of The Game, which is getting a lot of buzz for a Hugo Award nomination. Check it out here.