Diseased #Comicsgate - The Culture Wars Hit The Funny Books!

[Mister Dongs]

Weird that the professional lolbertarian is calling on self-appointed people to police his fandom for him. Hopefully everyone who seeks to wield power in this "Rippaverse fandom" agrees in perfect lockstep with each other and have no reason to turn their gatekeeping mandate on one another. Failing that, I'm sure the fandom could refer to an authority figure (presumably Eric July himself) who can clarify the fandom's official position through issued diktat. I must say, all of this truly sounds like a blueprint for an anarcho-capitalist paradise as championed by July's well-reasoned and perfectly logical political philosophy. Now, anyone who's been around Comicsgate for a while knows how this all turns out but it's good to have another teaching lesson.

One person to actually question some of Eric's bold proclamations at their onset was Peter Simeti, publisher of Alterna Comics:

https://twitter.com/petersimeti/status/1485430602404925443

Which was received in the expected manner:

https://twitter.com/Flash8016/status/1485471343940358146

Hopefully future experienced creators will be able to get past the gate to Eric July's personality-driven "Rippaverse", which so far consists of a few pieces of background-free art in a style usually intended for the "Marvel Kids" imprint (seriously, commission a real artist).

 

[SaidNoOneEver]

Weird that the professional lolbertarian is calling on self-appointed people to police his fandom for him. Hopefully everyone who seeks to wield power in this "Rippaverse fandom" agrees in perfect lockstep with each other and have no reason to turn their gatekeeping mandate on one another. Failing that, I'm sure the fandom could refer to an authority figure (presumably Eric July himself) who can clarify the fandom's official position through issued diktat. I must say, all of this truly sounds like a blueprint for an anarcho-capitalist paradise as championed by July's well-reasoned and perfectly logical political philosophy. Now, anyone who's been around Comicsgate for a while knows how this all turns out but it's good to have another teaching lesson.

One person to actually question some of Eric's bold proclamations at their onset was Peter Simeti, publisher of Alterna Comics:

https://twitter.com/petersimeti/status/1485430602404925443

View attachment 2916353

Which was received in the expected manner:

https://twitter.com/Flash8016/status/1485471343940358146

View attachment 2916368

Hopefully future experienced creators will be able to get past the gate to Eric July's personality-driven "Rippaverse", which so far consists of a few pieces of background-free art in a style usually intended for the "Marvel Kids" imprint (seriously, commission a real artist).

View attachment 2916492

My favorute part is that he's hired a bunch of people to build a web site for customers to purchase this stuff rather than give 5% to IndieGogo who already has the ready-built infrastructure. That's going to end up costing him a whole lot more than 5%. But what do I know, I'm not a rapper.

 

[Smug Freiza]

IDW Loses Hasbro Licenses​

I'm surprised more people aren't talking about IDW losing the Transformers and GI Joe licenses from Hasbro, especially given the treatment those two properties received under IDW's stewardship. Who could forget Aubrey Sitterson turning GI Joe character Salvo into an overweight lesbian, homo-erotic covers and many other decisions which led to him getting fired.

The gender swapped character Salvo

G.I Homo variant cover
​

Transformers received similar treatment with Chromedome, Rewind, Cyclonus, Tailgate, Brainstorm, Pipes and Prowl being made gay, several others bi-sexual and Lug, Anode and Arcee being made transgender lesbians. [see full list of LGBT Transformers]

Arcee's bio
​

It's rumored that Robert Kirkman's company Skybound Entertainment is in talks with Hasbro to pick up the licenses after 2022 ends, which is when Hasbro's deal with IDW ends, as revealed in an article back in December of 2021.

CW Network Sold & Black Live-Action Joker​

IDW is not the only casualty of woke marketing gone wrong, as reported on earlier in the month Warner Media and Viacom are putting The CW Network up for sale. CW is home to comic book live action adaptations like Batwahman, The Flash, Supergirl and Black Lightning. Speaking of CW and Batwoman, news recently broke that the latest incarnation of The Joker will be played by black actor Nick Creegan, who will share a scene with Nicole Kang, an Asian American actress who currently plays Poison Ivy.

"Look at me, we Joker now nigga"

Image Comic Workers Form Comic Book Workers Union
​

Another story that flew under the radar was the certification of the Image Comics workers union several weeks ago. The formation of a Image Comics union was announced in November of last year and was met by a refusal by Image to voluntarily recognize the union. In a secret ballot the workers voted 7-2 in favor of organization that officially certifies the Comic Book Workers Union (CBWU), which was formed with assistance from the Communications Workers of America.

The successful vote entitles the union to recognition from Image Comics and would allow the CBWU to establish a bargaining committee and begin negotiations with the publisher. For those wishing to know more, Comics by Perch did a video going into greater depth with the subject.

With all their talent this logo was the best they could come up with?

Conclusion
​

I brought these three stories here because I think it's a sign of things to come, we can see companies losing licenses, unproductive portions of companies going up for sale and workers beginning to unionize in an attempt to get better pay and conditions from an industry that is undoubtedly in decline.

After two years of a global pandemic, declining box office revenue, closing comic book stores, mass unemployment and a rising inflation rate, the chickens may finally be coming home to roost.

 

[Least Concern]

IDW Loses Hasbro Licenses​

You know the gears are turning in Ya Boi's head.

 

[9th legion centurion 002]

Now, anyone who's been around Comicsgate for a while knows how this all turns out but it's good to have another teaching lesson.

It sounds like Young Rippa is going to turn his entire fanbase into his own personal Warcampaign. All one has to do is look at all the vitriol Peter Simetti is getting on Twitter to see it's already happening.

And for being a comic aficionado, it boggles the mind why the art for his Rippaverse looks so bland & sterile. Is Eric July the hero we need but don't deserve? Or is he a future lolcow in the making...

 

[Gar For Archer]

My favorute part is that he's hired a bunch of people to build a web site for customers to purchase this stuff rather than give 5% to IndieGogo who already has the ready-built infrastructure. That's going to end up costing him a whole lot more than 5%. But what do I know, I'm not a rapper.

tbf, if his goal is to set up a webstore where products can be purchased indefinitely after they’ve been made, IGG isn’t really the platform for it anyways.

That being said, this idea is fucking retarded. Has there been a SINGLE expansive property that started off with the explicit intent of making a big shared universe, instead of starting off with one or two stories that people really liked, and writing more stuff in the same universe and growing organically due to demand? Even the fucking MCU started off with three standalone movies that did not depend on the existence of the others.

 

[SargonF00t]

I'm surprised there isn't more talk about Frog and Vikki going to war again?

 

[SaidNoOneEver]

tbf, if his goal is to set up a webstore where products can be purchased indefinitely after they’ve been made, IGG isn’t really the platform for it anyways.

That would be eBay and/or Amazon. eBay's cut is borderline extortionate but there's still value there. I don't know how Amazon does it but if Nasser and that other nobody can figure it out I'm pretty sure Eric July can.

I have a lot of respect for Eric July but its mainly based on him being a fighter. We don't have enough fighters. That being said I watched him on Tim Pool once try to argue that the gov't shouldn't even be building roads. In his mind property owners will just build the roads and charge reasonable tolls as if that was a brand new notion that had never been tried before with disastrous (and bloody) outcomes.

 

[Sinner's Sandwich]

That being said, this idea is fucking retarded. Has there been a SINGLE expansive property that started off with the explicit intent of making a big shared universe, instead of starting off with one or two stories that people really liked, and writing more stuff in the same universe and growing organically due to demand? Even the fucking MCU started off with three standalone movies that did not depend on the existence of the others.

Oh ma gawd! People like you are the reason gatekeeping is so important! You are toxic!!1 I'm Zuul, the gatekeeper of the Rippaverse and you are not allowed to enter this fandom & criticize our master Eric July!

That being said I watched him on Tim Pool once try to argue that the gov't shouldn't even be building roads. In his mind property owners will just build the roads and charge reasonable tolls

What the hell?? Imagine the Rippaverse heroes whining about the evil road building government. I hope his comics aren't filled with his personal politics....which will probably be the case anyway.

 

[ShinyStar]

I watched a bit of his pitch on Frog's stream last week and it seems that this first book is going to be the jumping-off point for all the characters in the universe who will then branch off into their own storylines. Is that a mistake to have all of these character's first appearance be in this one small-printrun book?

I saw the same pitch, and was pretty disappointed. I understand wanting to keep the details under wraps until you're ready to launch, but that doesn't mean you have to say nothing about it. All he said, over and over, was that it was going to be an interconnected universe where events in one series would have an impact on the other series. He didn't hint at a genre. You can say 'horror,' or 'adventure,' or 'crime' without having leaked your precious IP. He didn't say whether it was character driven or action oriented. He didn't say it was going to harken back to books from any particular time period as an inspiration beyond the fact that it'll all be interconnected - so it really all felt like getting a presentation from a salesman with no product, but a nice subscription he wants you to sign up for. It felt like he had an idea for how to turn an idea into a *big thing,* but hasn't actually sat down and done even the basic world-building or plot outlining.

My most optimistic take is that he's started talking about his plans way out in front of getting development started.

 

[Sinner's Sandwich]

All he said, over and over, was that it was going to be an interconnected universe where events in one series would have an impact on the other series.

Wut?? From a writers pov that sounds very hard to write (at least if you want to write a good story). Sure you can mention that something happened in another comic series but it shouldn't impact the current storyline, should it?? And then it changes not just one but several other series.

 

[9th legion centurion 002]

I'm surprised there isn't more talk about Frog and Vikki going to war again?

Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

One of the worst things about the first Warcampaign was that they caused an exodus of many talented people within CG, people that could've added a bit more gravitas & legitimacy if they were still around.

By weaponizing the most cancerous and subversive elements of Warcampaign and the most hokiest, hucksterish elements of the alt-right against his fellow community, well, let's just say it was one of the biggest strategic fuck ups I've ever seen Ethan make.

The dead horse that is Liam has been beat so much there is nothing left but a pulpy mass. Smiller & TenNaple aren't around anymore to run spite campaigns against. The bottom line is these people need to manufacture new enemies. That is the primary reason why they've decided to target Vikki. And to set an example to any who would dare hold Comicsgate accountable for late & unfulfilled books.

You see those people Efapping a Liam stream or some Vikki tweets and they get high off the smell of their own farts and laugh and think they are so funny and cool, but the reality is they're nothing more than arrogant pieces of shit.

And speaking of arrogance, I wonder if Young Rippa will exercise a degree of humility and allow any of his friends or associates who were comic professionals, namely @FROG, to look at a copy of the book before he greenlights any print run. If I had those kinds of professional connections I'd want to hear their feedback & opinions. Rippa might accidentally unleash the comic book equivalent of The Last Jedi onto his poor unsuspecting audience...

 

[SaidNoOneEver]

And speaking of arrogance, I wonder if Young Rippa will exercise a degree of humility and allow any of his friends or associates who were comic professionals, namely @FROG, to look at a copy of the book before he greenlights any print run. If I had those kinds of professional connections I'd want to hear their feedback & opinions. Rippa might accidentally unleash the comic book equivalent of The Last Jedi onto his poor unsuspecting audience...

It won't matter, he's going to set the crowdfund records with all of the FM and CG buying it sight unseen. He'll be able to squeeze it longer than Frog has so far too.

 

[Pilule Noire]

I'm thinking Rippa will sit quite comfortably alongside TUG and Mandy Summers et al, in the 'E-Celeb Merch' mini-genre of comicbookmaking.

Frogs do it, YBZs do it, even educated Rabadiiiiies do it. Let Young Rippa do it, let him make financial love with his fans.

I mean, will the comics actually be good? Probably not. Will he make lots of money from them though, very probably so.

Don't be hatin'! Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice In The Hood, it could be good. You never know.

Maybe he's a genius writer and we just don't know it yet? So what if his universe is apparently just some uninspired posing musclepeople right now. There's no need for rage in Harlan!

 

[Captain Manning]

I'm surprised more people aren't talking about IDW losing the Transformers and GI Joe licenses from Hasbro, especially given the treatment those two properties received under IDW's stewardship.

It was discussed here a couple of months ago. Specifically whether Meyer could swing getting the license. I think the general consensus was that he could not. Even FROG. in the course of singing Meyer's praises, seemed to concede the point they wouldn't give it to a CGer.

I'm surprised there isn't more talk about Frog and Vikki going to war again?

Is there anything really to discuss?

It was always sort of obvious to me that their ceasefire was tenuous at the best of times. She's essentially anti-CG, and he's basically the lead mouthpiece for CG. He consistently puts up the front that CG is wildly successful and can do no wrong, and she points out the tomfoolery and late books. Oil vs water.

On a philosophical level, I have to say I agree way more with Vikki's position on the state of CG. That said, there's also no doubting Ethan handled Preston's lolsuit far better than her or Dean. To that last point, the loss of an enemy fought in common can often shatter a shaky ceasefire. Which might factor in to the specific timing of this.

 

[Mister Dongs]

I'm thinking Rippa will sit quite comfortably alongside TUG and Mandy Summers et al, in the 'E-Celeb Merch' mini-genre of comicbookmaking.

Eric July has 450,000 subscribers on his channel, him being an e-celeb comics creator will put him on a whole new level of CG comic creator. The man already had a website to charge people a monthly fee to access to an exclusive internet forum ala Geeks and Gamers (why bother with a crowdfunding platform if you have this already set up?). Regardless of or not the comic will be good or not (it won't), in this era of Vita Ayala a-logging and incelovision this is a much needed boost in visibility and therefore worthy of keeping tabs on.

Speaking of the yellow tanktop sporter we know as YoungRippa, he just dropped a vid to clear some things up with a certain Publishing Pete Simeti, but maybe we should be calling him Punkass Pete Simeti the way he's acting up these days, hollaring on about why it's a bad idea to try and gatekeep one's fan community. The nerve. July expresses exasperation at Simeti's stupidity - he's not talking about gatekeeping just anyone, only bad people like concern trolls and bad actors. Bad people overtook the fandoms of the mainstream, probably by asking questions like why is he going on about the necessity of a fandom police force before putting out a synopsis of the first comic or telling people who the art team drawing this is, but none of that shit isn't going to happen in the Rippaverse fandom. Maybe that doesn't make sense to bloodless nerds who just want to be some generic publisher - Eric is a fan and wants to secure the experience of being a fan of the Rippaverse against those who would destroy it. Why can't Punkass Pete understand this?

 

[A nameless trool]

Is there anything really to discuss?

It was always sort of obvious to me that their ceasefire was tenuous at the best of times. She's essentially anti-CG, and he's basically the lead mouthpiece for CG. He consistently puts up the front that CG is wildly successful and can do no wrong, and she points out the tomfoolery and late books. Oil vs water.

On a philosophical level, I have to say I agree way more with Vikki's position on the state of CG. That said, there's also no doubting Ethan handled Preston's lolsuit far better than her or Dean. To that last point, the loss of an enemy fought in common can often shatter a shaky ceasefire. Which might factor in to the specific timing of this.

My question is: where is the Frog/Vikki enemies to lovers slashfic. Same applies to Frog/Renfamous.

FFS, this is what you get if you don't have millenial women in your movement...

 

[Pilule Noire]

The Dune-esque CG political intrigues at play here are quite nuanced, I trust @Mister Dongs will be able to unravel it all for us, as the hot-and-bothered tweets and videos continue (hopefully).

It seems to me like Rippa put out a message that could be interpreted as warning against ALL bad actors, including the Frogs, Nassers and JDAs of the world, who may enter his fandom with ostensibly beneficent intentions, but with the secret ulterior intention of leeching off his giant customer base.

But as @A nameless trool pointed out, he committed a kind of OGCG sacrilege, which prompted Sir Peter of Simeti to gallantly charge at Rippa, for the honor of OGCG.

Meanwhile, @FROG smells the possible doublespeak in Rippa's statement and clarifies loudly - gatekeep the SJWs, but not me or mine.

So now Rippa is a little flustered at the intense CG autism outbreak here. He's not sure whether to slap the brash Sir Pete of OGCG across the face, for his insolence, or hug him like a long lost comic dork brother.

It's so exciting! Really a lot more intrigues to sink one's teeth into here, than inside the Rippaverse itself currently.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about the Rippaverse right now is its vague, opaque indistinctness and lack of definition.

The one thing us Rippa fans can be sure of, is that it's ours! But as to what it is, well uh, umm, it's ours, it's for us...

So maybe it can be anything we want it to be?

Like a kind of open-plan, sandbox universe, just for us, the Rippa fans! And NO bad actors.

Maybe this is what Rippa really meant - he doesn't want bullshit guys coming in, posing as fans, asking for silly stuff.

He doesn't want any dodgy Salvador Dali-type punters, asking for helicopters and burning giraffes:

 

[A nameless trool]

I have a lot of respect for Eric July but its mainly based on him being a fighter. We don't have enough fighters. That being said I watched him on Tim Pool once try to argue that the gov't shouldn't even be building roads. In his mind property owners will just build the roads and charge reasonable tolls as if that was a brand new notion that had never been tried before with disastrous (and bloody) outcomes.

Throw this fucker in Latin America, Africa or Eastern Europe and he will cry like a bitch. As with most Western libertarians, he is taking so many things for granted because they live in organized countries.

PS: And fandoms don't gatekeep. They protect themselves from bad actors while accepting anybody who wants to enjoy them.
Fandom gatekeeping is an SJW invention to take over the fandoms that accepted them (probably because it was nerdy guys who never learned how to tell a woman to STFU) and, under no circuimstances should a creator ask fans to gatekeep. When done that, it is no longer a fandom, but a personal army. @FROG did the same and paid the War Campaign price, what Young Rippa is doing is creating his own War Campaign ignoring the fact that, historically, every person in power who created a browncoat brigade was eventually burnt by it (and before you go into WW2 Germany, remember that after Hitler minecrafted himself no German was part of the SS)

 

[Newman's Lovechild]

One person to actually question some of Eric's bold proclamations at their onset was Peter Simeti, publisher of Alterna Comics:

If Rippas fans are retarded enough to declare the Mister Rodgers of indy comics an enemy of the people, then I can believe they're retarded enough to throw Frog levels of money at a product they've never seen.

Rippa might accidentally unleash the comic book equivalent of The Last Jedi onto his poor unsuspecting audience...

Since this news came up, I keep thinking 'Eric July: the black Jeff Hicks'.

Let Young Rippa do it, let him make financial love with his fans.

That's a very nice way to say 'fuck his customers over a barrel'.