Yesterday, there was an explosion of activity in “comics twitter”. It was initiated by women coming forward to detail instances of unacceptable behavior related to comics creators Cameron Stewart and Warren Ellis. I need to say upfront that Pop Culture Squad lives by the motto of #BelieveWomen.
The allegations are disgusting, but we will not detail them here. The purpose of this piece is not to relive the news. They are the victims’ stories to tell and you should listen to them. We are here to say that we believe them, and we are sad and upset that these things happened to them.
In the reaction, there have been some very interesting conversations regarding whose responsibility it is to speak out and what is the culpability of being a collaborator with a predator. We wanted to highlight some of the stories being shared and they are listed below.
The important thing is that these women have come forward, and while we are angry and sad that they were made to be victims, we also want to let people know that this predatory behavior will not be tolerated and it will be found out. Most of these tweets are the beginnings of threads, be sure to click through if you interested in the complete thought.
Confronting predatory behavior by established professionals in our industry never going to be an easy conversation. It’s messy & uncomfortable, especially when the people we’ve looked up to, worked with or trusted are the predators. And we have a long road ahead of us.
— Becky Cloonan 🔮 (@beckycloonan) June 17, 2020
Men In the Comics Industry – I hope you’ve been reading the threads posted by women who have been harassed, groomed, and abused by men in the industry. PLEASE RT THIS and let us know you will NOT stand by & watch this happen. #supportingwomenincomics
— Kami Garcia (@kamigarcia) June 16, 2020
Guys: you know that dude who said something creepy about women to you once or twice, but seemed fine after that? That dude was testing you. Pushing your boundaries to see how you’d react, the same way they push the girls they prey on.
— Stacy King (@stacyking) June 17, 2020
Hey, this is a follow-up thread to my whole thing on predatory behavior in the comics industry. And it’s probable it will make some folks feel very defensive. But. Here goes.
1/13— Rachel Gluckstern (@rgluckst) June 17, 2020
I make sure I’m #supportingwomenincomics which is in some part influenced by my own realization years ago that I made mistakes. I’ll call out bad behavior & keep making stuff w/ lady collaborative partners, while helpin’ newbies navigate this crazy industry.
— Tim Seeley (@HackinTimSeeley) June 17, 2020
I hate that this is so pervasive and too often permitted by others who stay silent. It’s an added burden on the victims to have to call out bad behavior and risk retaliation so I hope this can lead us all to offer more public vigilance and support. #supportingwomenincomics https://t.co/bYEIm9nwHf
— Chris Ryall (@chris_ryall) June 16, 2020
Good men in comics should be ashamed to see all these stories being shared. It is past time the industry stopped protecting men who prey on young female creators or harass creators of any age. I’m gathering lots of people know who they are.
— Gwenda Bond is on deadline be gentle😈 (@Gwenda) June 16, 2020
I won’t stand by and let this happen, Kami. Thirty-five years ago I didn’t have the voice to stop the man that exploited the teens he was supposed to be caring for, including myself, but I have a voice now. Different industry/network, but same story. People stood by. They knew. https://t.co/dILaepVqOu
— lois lamé (@drinkpinkink) June 17, 2020
One of the things a lot of these writers and artists have in common is exploiting women as muses to power their work. They basically extract their value and then toss them aside and move to the next because they don’t view their muses as equal partners in their creative process
— Sarah Horrocks (@mercurialblonde) June 17, 2020
There is plenty more to see on Twitter at the hashtag #SupportingWomenComics
