Thoughts on Dark Horse Comics (sexual assault accusation)

[Maka]

Although IDW aren't exactly having a great year either...!

Yeah... but since this thread was about the Saga books, i didn't want to pick on IDW.

I only know what I read online. But after I read the articles and tweets about Shawna Gore’s telling of her sexual assault and harassment by Scott Allie (https://mobile.twitter.com/ShawnaGore/s ... 5773969410) I was disappointed, and feel angry and sad at the what I perceive as enabling and protecting Allie by Dark Horse and Mike Mignola. Then I read Guy Davis’ tweet that he left BPRD because of toxic team he had ever worked with (https://mobile.twitter.com/GuyDavisART/ ... 1958332417)

I don’t know the truth. But I do know it is extremely hard for anyone who has been sexually assaulted and/or sexually harassed to come forward because the court of public opinion has been consistently victim blaming and “They could be making false accusations and ruining his life and isn’t that unfair.” And given that so many other people who have worked directly with Allie have said they have either first hand experience of his harassment (sexual or just meanness) and that he has a history of assaulting (1995 attack on Joe Harris) make me believe where their is smoke there is fire. As a fan of Magnola, the Hellboy Universe Comics/films, Dark Horse comics (I collected all the Dark Horse Presents issues [All three volumes] and love their comics), and (separately) Brendan Wright , I have this sadness of being let down by my “friends.” And of course, I have no personal relationship with these amazing comic professionals who have helped make some of the most entertaining stories that I admire so much. I don’t want to think poorly of them.

Regardless, at the risk of appearing self-righteous, the company and parent company has to deal with the consequences of their actions. Lemire said he wouldn't continue to publish Black Hammer if they continued to employ Allie(https://mobile.twitter.com/JeffLemire/s ... 6898866178). Both Magnola and DH cut ties and said they believe Shawna.

Probably most people don't know about these events. They aren't the only people in the comic industry being accused of criminal sexual behavior right now. I don't usually bring up negative things here. But in a selfish way, I'm glad Stan left Dark Horse just because he doesn't (not that he would) be associated now with the company that failed to protect their employees from this kind of illegal behavior.

Okay. I don't know if that means anything to any of you. Thank you for letting me share that. Peace, maka

[maichan]

I think I'm in agreement with you Maka.

I first read about this last week(?) when it popped up on one of the Mignola Facebook groups. I think Mignola and others reposted Shawna's tweets.

I'm on the outside, as a fan and consumer, so I don't really know what the people on the inside know or knew or for how long people knew what is now coming out... I know I read some stuff in passing which remarked on Allie's behaviors, but I never really paid it much attention since I don't usually follow the comics biz that closely. I think when I initially read some headlines, I though "damn, there's jerks everywhere" Now with this latest batch of news, I paid a bit more attention, and am saddened and upset by what I read. I'm also confused, because I don't know if or where I should draw the line with Dark Horse.

It makes me wonder, if the powers that be at DH knew all this for a while, why didn't they react sooner, because if they did know then they should have reacted sooner. Did people like Mike Mignola knowingly or unknowingly put up with this behavior? Should I still support Mike? Should I still support Dark Horse? Maybe it's all to easy to turn a blind eye until the victims actually speak out, then it's like a pie-in-the-face. WHAM! Oh poop, why didn't I see this sooner....

I'm glad Shawna took the courage to speak out. I'm glad people are reacting. I hope that some justice can be served.

Can I make a difference? Will I make I difference? Should I make a difference?

I don't know.

In the end I'll still keep my Hellboy books and what not... I'm not sure how much in my personal library is connected to Scott Allie, but I do know there won't be any new additions of new material from this day forward. I can't change the past, but I can try to change the future.

[Maka]

I'm also confused, because I don't know if or where I should draw the line with Dark Horse.

That's something I'm figuring out too.

It makes me wonder, if the powers that be at DH knew all this for a while, why didn't they react sooner, because if they did know then they should have reacted sooner. Did people like Mike Mignola knowingly or unknowingly put up with this behavior? Should I still support Mike? Should I still support Dark Horse? Maybe it's all to easy to turn a blind eye until the victims actually speak out, then it's like a pie-in-the-face. WHAM! Oh poop, why didn't I see this sooner....

I think it is fair to say, Dark Horse and Mike knew something was up. Probably not that specifics of the assault on Shawna but the given that a colleague said "While head of editorial, he was not allowed to have women in his office w/his door closed bc he repeatedly shouted or otherwise harassed staff to tears" (https://twitter.com/charibdys/status/12 ... 1092614145 ) is telling. Mike wrote on his website that "But where there is smoke there is almost always fire and after a while there was so much smoke—clearly I had to finally take a hard look at the situation, had to contact some friends and associates, people who had been close to Scott and find out what had really been going on—and I was horrified but what I started to hear. I wish I had asked this questions much sooner. After so many years I wanted to give Scott the benefit of the doubt—as the son of an alcoholic I wanted to blame the booze. I was fooling myself and I will regret that forever. My heart goes out to all his victims. And Shawna—I have known Shawna almost as long as Scott and have always considered her a good friend-- and now to discover that she has been living with this all these years -- I am heartbroken. And of course I am furious at Scott and at myself for not realizing what was going on so much sooner."

Shawna tweeted "Thank you, Mike" after he posted he wouldn't work with Allie in the future.

You probably read the reply to Mike's tweet about not working with Allie in the future from Artist Amy Reeder (https://twitter.com/amyreeder/status/12 ... 1738098688) "You were the reason he still had a job, they feared repercussions from you. Maybe he manipulated you, I don't know. All I heard is, they couldn't fire him because it'd cause Mignola to leave and the entire company would fold. It was tough to hear that about a fellow creator."

I know I have failed to call out friends on their hurtful and harmful behaviors in the past. We are not our worst failures.
That's hard for me to reconcile.

Can I make a difference? Will I make I difference? Should I make a difference?

I don't know.

In the end I'll still keep my Hellboy books and what not... I'm not sure how much in my personal library is connected to Scott Allie, but I do know there won't be any new additions of new material from this day forward. I can't change the past, but I can try to change the future.

I believe we all can make a difference.
Will we? That depends on where we are and what we choose to do when the time comes. That takes preparation. I think discussing this is part of the preparation for how you and I act in the future.
If I can make a positive difference, I'm going to try to, given whatever resources (time, energy, money, emotional, mental, spiritual) I have in my tank at the time when the opportunity strikes.

I personally don't think there is anything wrong with keeping the books you already bought. Allie edited the majority of them, I think.
I have already ordered some DH comics and graphic novels from my local comic book store up into August, I think. So I'll purchase those. But I'm going to think twice before buying comics from them. That's a complicated decision too because the other creators of those comics probably have nothing to do with Allie. Is that fair? That's something I'm still struggling to figure out. Why is it okay for me to by UY Saga 9 from DH and tell my friends they should buy UY trades from DH and yet not support other creators there? Maybe it's not. But that is where I stand today. Maybe that will change as I learn more and think more.

This is only one topic in a huge bag of topics that have raised their heads in 2020. But the issues around sexual assault/abuse/violence are very important to me because I have family members and friends and students who have been hurt by it. And if we look at the bigger societal impact of sexual violence, I have been affected by it too. So I don't mind using some of my energy to write about this with you, Michael. Thank you for sharing your thoughts here with me and all of us. Peace, maka

[jabba359]

I think the whole thing is sad. I'm glad these people are getting called out (so they can't continue the behavior), but it's sad the whole situation even exists in the first place. Why can't people just treat other people well?

Knowing that DH was aware of this whole situation has really turned me off from wanting to buy any other books from them. I'll complete my Usagi collection if they do a Saga 9, and I'll finish out the Hellboy/BPRD collections since I have most of them, but I plan on avoiding other purchases in the future.

I'm a bit conflicted on the Mignola thing. I love his books and, without hearing the whole story, can't rightly judge just how much he knew/didn't know or contribute to the hostile work environment over there. That's a situation I'll have to reassess if more details emerge.

Talking to my female friends, I know that it's a tough world out there for women and I find it completely unacceptable that they are put in situations such as Scott put Shawna in.

Strangely, Jeff Lemire's tweet has been deleted. I wonder what that means?

[maichan]

Maka, you seem to be more well read and up to date than I am regarding this matter. I've only read a few brief items and have not actively kept up with the story/news as it breaks. In the end, I guess each of us (from fan to artist to anyone involved) will have to come to our own conclusions in our own ways. Other than that, I hope Dark Horse will take the proper steps to make sure something like this does not happen again.


Well put Kyle. Why can't people get along without causing harm to others? Why do so many 'businesses' turn a blind eye to such behavior, until it manifests into something that might hit them back? That's where I am really disappointed with DH and Mike Richardson... they should have stepped up much sooner and done something, especially if Scott's behavior was known for as long as is indicated.

As far as my purchase power goes, for now I've come to this conclusion... Like you I will finish any Usagi and Hellboy/BPRD runs. I will have to seriously look at if I will purchase any future Dark Horse publications. I'm torn between boycotting the company, or continuing to support artists that otherwise probably have little or no connection to the whole incident... why should they have to suffer? Over the years I have reduced my Dark Horse purchases anyways, as there hasn't been that many titles or artists at DH that interest me. One new artist at Dark Horse that I will support however is Pau, as he will have at least one title coming out this year (and maybe more in the future). I actually feel kind of bad now, because I encouraged him to contact Stan and try to make a deal with DH to publish his books in the US.

I will not purchase anything that Scott Allie is connected to in the future, unless he changes his ways and makes amends for all he's done. I do not easily forgive, but I do try to be forgiving if it is sincere (there's more to this but I won't go into that for now).

[TheBroox]

I am so conflicted about this. Mignola is my favorite comic creator but it does seem that he either knowing or unknowingly sheltered Allie and kept him employed thus enabling his behavior.

Additionally, while it has been getting less attention and more than a few tweets have been deleted this also started a whole mess of mud flinging within the world of Mignolaverse creatives. John Arcundi accused Mignola of knowing about other sexual assault allegation against Allie for years. Guy Davies they claimed Allie, Mignola and Arcundi were all responsible for the toxic environment that caused him to leave BPRD. Dave Stewart then called out Davies for misrepresenting the truth, leading to Davies delete some of his tweets. A whole mess and not too long after things got a little bitter about the royalties from the newest Hellboy film.

[Maka]

Additionally, while it has been getting less attention and more than a few tweets have been deleted this also started a whole mess of mud flinging within the world of Mignolaverse creatives. John Arcundi accused Mignola of knowing about other sexual assault allegation against Allie for years. Guy Davies they claimed Allie, Mignola and Arcundi were all responsible for the toxic environment that caused him to leave BPRD. Dave Stewart then called out Davies for misrepresenting the truth, leading to Davies delete some of his tweets. A whole mess and not too long after things got a little bitter about the royalties from the newest Hellboy film.

I enjoyed both Hellboy and BPRD. I bought the digital set of hellboy conics during on of DHC digital sales and I read all the BPRD series digitally through my local library’s Hoopla account. It is an excellent series in terms of story and art.

I agree with Kyle, this makes me sad. And I agree with you, I feel conflicted. I suffer from hero worship and don’t like to think of the artists who create things I love as being human with flaws. And who am I to judge for I have my flaws too. And yet, when it comes to sexual assault and sexual harassment, those flaws are ones that harm people and their careers for a lifetime.

It seems clear that Allie is the criminal here. As for naming those who enabled him to continue to act criminally, that is less certain. But it does seem clear that without people protecting him, knowingly or not, he wouldn’t have been able to continue to hurt people who work with/for him at Dark Horse Comics. There was a failure(s) at the company that had real impact on professionals in the comics industry we love. That is sad. And it makes me angry at the injustice of allowing some to prey and hurt women (and anyone) who have less power than them. Ugh.

Thanks for your thoughts. This conversation is helping me process my thoughts and feelings. I appreciate you all.

Peace, maka