Posted in: AfterShock, Comics, Valiant | Tagged: aftershock, alex de campi, publishers, valiant, Zac Thompson

Comic Book Publishers Not Paying Comic Book Creators: Part Two

Published Mon, 12 Dec 2022 12:57:11 -0600

Yesterday, Bleeding Cool reported on comic book creator Will Robson, talking about payment issues he is having with comic book publishers, which saw many other comic book creators share their own horror stories.

That included comic book writer Zac Thompson, who we quoted as saying, "I've had two books completely fall apart this year because of late payments. One of which took me over a year of dedicated research to even script. Said publisher then optioned one of my books (without telling me or the team at the time) and still said they couldn't pay. It's December and a lot of creators are heading into Christmas with thousands owed to them and no real recourse to get paid for their work. It's disgusting. It's clear to me that our industry is in a state of huge transition and a lot of smaller publishers may not make it to the other side."

Comic book writer, publisher and former Bleeding Cool columnist Alex De Campi named AfterShock Comics as Zac Thompson's non-paying party, adding "This is @AfterShockComix. They owe friends of mine tens of thousands and I've been doling out contact details of California Lawyers for the Arts like it was Xmas candy. This is shameful behavior & people need to know. Also their rights deal SUCKS. @AfterShockComix, stop acting like a bunch of clowns and pay your goddamn freelancers or declare bankruptcy. If you're owed money by Aftershock or any other publisher whose contracts are under CA law: contact your peers, see who else is owed, band together, & get pro bono rep here: https://calawyersforthearts.org/lawyer-referral-information-service.html… I guarantee that troubled companies pay the loudest creditors first. If you're a comics reader and wondering what to do, do NOT boycott the creators you love, even if they're at a shitty publisher. Keep buying and reccing their books, and hope that for their next series they can move to a better publisher. Indie comics take YEARS to put together. Blood, sweat, tears. If you publish a book and don't pay your creators on time…"

Zac Thompson, The Brother Of All Men

Zac Thompson is co-creator and writer of The Brother Of All Men with Eoin Marron, which saw issues 1 and 2 published by Aftershock in July and August this year, though the planned September and October issues have been rescheduled (currently) to January next year. A fifth issue has not been solicited. Previously he wrote Relay, Her Infernal Descent, Undone By Blood, Lonely Receiver, I Breathed A Body and The Replacer for Aftershock.

Bleeding Cool reached out to representatives of Aftershock Comics over the weekend for comment, without response. It is worth noting that late or non-payment issues have constantly plagued the comic book history, and I have been reporting on such for thirty years. Including from Aftershock Comics in 2019, though understand people had been assured these situations had been addressed.

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