Comicsgate

has been a central figure in Comicsgate. Key figures in Comicsgate include commentator Richard C. Meyer, who posted under the banner Diversity & Comics, and former DC Comics illustrator Ethan Van Sciver. Comicsgate adherents have also complained about stories dealing with current social issues, and the depiction of women with less sexualized figures. They argue that the increasing diversity of comics, both among creators and in terms of characters, has led to declining quality and sales. While it is true that comic sales declined in the late 2010s, this decline was across the board and not limited to, or worse for, the diverse comics that Comicsgate targets. Tricia Ennis, writing for SyFy Wire, stated that some such comics, in fact, had been notably successful, such as the Kamala Khan version of Ms. Marvel, Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, and the Carol Danvers version of Captain Marvel. == Activities ==

Social media In 2016, female superhero Mockingbird was depicted on a comic book cover wearing a t-shirt that read "Ask Me About My Feminist Agenda". This was followed by harassment on Twitter of series writer Chelsea Cain, including a posted illustration of Mockingbird depicted apparently dead after a brutal attack with her costume torn off, with the t-shirt phrase as a caption. Antos was described by them as a "diversity hire", "an unqualified bimbo", and "the 'false rape charge' type", and the group in general as "fake geek girls", "tumblr-virtue signalers", and "the creepiest collection of stereotypical SJWs anyone could possibly imagine". Richard C. Meyer has made the campaign a common subject on his YouTube channel and Twitter account. Media critic Kaylyn Saucedo, artist Tim Doyle, comic writer Kwanza Osajyefo, and cosplayer/comic writer Renfamous have all recounted being the target of harassment and doxxing. Publishing A few creators involved with Comicsgate have profited from the controversy it has produced, as with Meyer's No Enemy But Peace. and hired Chuck Dixon to write for him. Although Van Sciver has had Vox Day as a guest on his YouTube channel, both he and Meyer have since disavowed any association with him. He accused Edmonton, Alberta store Variant Edition of "bullying and intimidating their own customers" after the female co-owner tweeted that they would not stock the publication. The store was subsequently vandalized and robbed. Both Antarctic and Waid issued statements denying that any threats or bullying had taken place. In October 2018, Meyer sued Waid for "tortious interference with contract and defamation". In a motion to dismiss, Waid's attorney Mark Zaid asserted that Meyer's own public attacks against industry professionals were responsible, pointing to comments on Twitter calling writer Ta-Nehisi Coates "a race hustler", accusing a number of female professionals of being hired solely based on gender, and referring to trans and non-binary DC writers as "a modern day carnival". In December 2020, Meyer and Waid released a joint statement that Meyer had decided to voluntarily dismiss the case. == Reception ==

Although many comics professionals have chosen to ignore Comicsgate to avoid giving it publicity, In mid 2018, Marsha Cooke, widow of writer-artist Darwyn Cooke, denied a claim by Comicsgate participants that her husband would have supported the campaign. After she became the subject of online attacks on Twitter for this, industry veterans including Bill Sienkiewicz, Van Jenson, Tony Bedard, Jeff Lemire, and Magdalene Visaggio wrote rebukes to the movement. In a social media post, writer Scott Snyder, who teaches writing in college and DC Comics' talent development program, said the movement launched "cruel, personal attacks" on his students that "were (and still are) especially repugnant for their sexism, racism, homophobia, and transphobia". After Comicsgate participants claimed that writer Donny Cates supported them, he publicly denounced the movement, saying, "[N]o one is going to use my art to promote something that has attacked my friends." Writer 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, Greg Pak, Fabian Nicieza, Benjamin Percy, and Jeff Lemire. Van Sciver has faced backlash from other comic professionals for joking about suicide by Democrats, comments on Reddit about a "queer globalist mess", and hosting alt-right leader Vox Day in an episode on his YouTube channel. ==See also==