Last week, Zack Smith on Facebook linked to this article, and I have some thoughts about it, as you knew I might!
First of all, the whining. Jeebus, the whining. Why do people who claim to be tough guys or secure guys or successful guys always whine about things they’re not “allowed” to do? Millar has been a huge success for 25 years, yet he’s still a whiner. “Mark Millar, the Scottish comic book tycoon, has claimed cancel culture is over and writers have regained the freedom to produce edgy material” is how this article begins, and it just gets whinier from there. According to Millar, comic books had become “safe” and “benign” because creators feared a backlash from the “youth trend” of cancel culture, which has now passed by. According to Millar, the world “is more relaxed now” (really, Mark?), and cancel culture had a “nasty side” to it that led to people getting hunted down, but now people are just telling good stories. The period we’ve been in is too safe, with “nothing really dangerous in terms of cinema or comic books.” Millar says “proper” cinema is returning, and he “canāt wait to see everything getting a little crazy again.” He also said he never personally cared about upsetting people with his comics. He’s also spoken out against writers being attacked for their political views. Then the article tells us a bit of what Millar’s doing right now. Besides, you know, the whining.
Listen, I get it. Millar is about a year-and-a-half older than I am, which means he had probably a very similar adolescent life in terms of existing as a straight white man, despite the fact that he’s Scottish and I’m ‘Murican. I would venture to guess that neither of us ever had to worry about being discriminated against. Yes, white boys get picked on for being nerds (I didn’t; I’m actually much nerdier now than I was when I was a kid, as I’ve mentioned before), and Millar’s parents died before he turned 20, so I’m not saying his life was easy … just that I doubt if he ever had to deal with institutional prejudice. Millar, I’m sure, faced obstacles in his pursuit of comics glory, but I very much doubt his work was rejected based on his skin color or gender. And, of course, once he was in the club, he was a made man, and very little can get you out of the club once you’re in it, especially if you’re as wildly successful as Millar has been for the past 25 years or so (the first issue of The Ultimates shipped in March 2002, and that series sent him into a stratosphere from which he’s never come down). And yet, instead of appreciating the good fortune he had of being born white, straight, and male in the 1960s/1970s (he was born on Christmas Eve 1969, so definitely a child of the Sixties!), he whines about “woke” culture, which he simply does not understand. Why would he? If he’s never made any effort to understand it, why would he instinctively get it?
Millar, of course, has never had much of a filter … except he did. When he wrote for DC in the 1990s, he didn’t allow his id to run wild, because he knew he wouldn’t get more work if he was the guy who simply shit on everything. He reined himself in … until he was in a position of power, when he decided to go nuts. In Ultimates, he did this a bit, but because it was still a Marvel book and Marvel was still operating under some restraints (as they later proved with the incest-and-cannibalism smorgasbord of Ultimates 3 and Ultimatum, that went by the boards), he couldn’t go as apeshit as he wanted to. That would have to wait for Wanted, his “super-villains are so cool” epic that led to me boycotting his work. Before that began, I picked up issue #1 of The Unfunnies, which still remains quite possibly the worst comic I’ve ever read (and I’ve read the first six issues of The Boys!). According to Millar, his wife thought it was horrible, too, so at least one person in the family has good taste! After those efforts, Millar decided to start simply ripping off DC and Marvel superheroes and sell those stories to the movies, and this made him fabulously wealthy. According to all concerned, Millar is a wonderful human being — he pays his artists very well and gives back a ton to the community. But he’s still a fool when it comes to this stance. My point here is that while some of his comics have been horrific, he’s never been “canceled,” probably because it seems like he concentrated more on making money than pissing people off. So what is all this “edgy” material he thinks he’s going to produce now that “woke” culture is over? The last “edgy” thing he wrote was probably Kick-Ass, and that came out in 2008 (subsequent stories in that universe don’t seem particularly edgy). Millar neutered himself, it seems, in his quest for filthy lucre. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that!
But that’s Millar. He’s also talking about those who have been canceled, and this always cracks me up. Whenever someone whines about “woke” culture and how the “woke warriors” go after people, the examples are always very nebulous and imprecise. In the article, as I noted, Millar is quoted about people being hunted down on-line, and the article links to something that is less than convincing. Millar, the “edgy” one, never names names. Who are these people who have been hunted? If Millar thinks that there are people being “canceled” because of their political views, why doesn’t he tell us who those people are? Obnoxious whiners like this never actually name anyone, which is odd. These are “tough guys” who “don’t care” what people think of them, yet they’re very careful never to call out who these poor victims of politically correct assholes are. What’s the deal with that, Mr. Millar? Why are you so scared to call out these “woke warriors” when you think you’re a big tough guy?
This always happens — people who don’t like “wokeness” never get too specific, and it’s odd. Let’s assume about some of the people Millar is talking about, because they’re well known. Is Millar talking about Warren Ellis? Maybe. The news about Ellis broke in 2020 or so, and he’s been quiet since then — he’s done some work, but not a lot, and I guess you can consider him “canceled.” Ellis, it must be stressed, never did anything illegal — he was just revealed as a complete creep, and while I get annoyed by victims of this kind of behavior who don’t think before they dive right in — it appears many of the women who had sex with Ellis knew he was in a long-term relationship, so maybe don’t have sex with the fat, balding, “old” dude who tells you things designed specifically to get you into bed? — it’s also clear that Ellis was doing some very sketchy things. Has Ellis been “canceled” effectively? I guess. He admitted doing all this shit, though, and if companies are scared of working with him, then he won’t get work. I don’t know of any organized effort to continue to keep Ellis “canceled” — if companies are wary about putting his work out, then tough shit. Ellis, like so many artistic types, got work early in his career because of connections he made, and if those connections wreck him, oh well. If Millar is talking about Ellis, sure, he was “canceled.” But he wasn’t accused of doing things he didn’t do, was he? I mean, if late 30-something-year-old Warren Ellis didn’t know that he shouldn’t lure much younger women in with vague promises of work in comics and then, if they didn’t play his game, cut off contact with them, well, that’s on him, then. Don’t be a douchebag, Mr. Ellis.
Is Millar talking about Gaiman? Gaiman hasn’t been exactly “canceled” yet, but if he’s truly done even a fraction of what he’s been accused of, he deserves to be fucking canceled. Is Millar talking about Ed Piskor? I mean, he was definitely “canceled,” but it’s clear he was also a super-creep, and it is also clear that Piskor had many, many mental issues that he never dealt with. Piskor’s fate is a tragedy, but had he not taken his own life, it seems clear that he could have navigated the controversy if he had been truly contrite and shown that he understood what shitty things he did. Ellis sort-of seems to understand this, but perhaps not completely. It can be done, certainly, and maybe Piskor could have figured that out.
Who else could Millar have been talking about? There have been several figures in recent years who have been accused of absolutely inappropriate behavior, some of whom have completely dropped off the radar (Kevin Spacey was acquitted of criminal charges a few years ago, but his acting career seems to be over), some of whom have managed to rebuild their careers, or, as the article alludes to, creators who haven’t done anything wrong but who just hold shitty opinions (Ethan van Sciver is a deeply stupid human being, but he limits his stupidity to statements, it seems, and not action, but he still seems to have been “canceled” to a degree). But, of course, Millar doesn’t mention anyone. Is it because no one gets “canceled” in a vacuum and if he whines about Ellis not getting work someone will say to him, “Well, what about Ellis being a total creep and gatekeeping to an extreme degree?” Is it because none of these people are “owed” a career, and nothing legally is holding them back, just the court of public opinion, which is notoriously fickle and can’t really be steered in any way? Is it because Millar doesn’t really have any idea what he’s talking about, and decrying “woke” culture is just a fun way for him to appear “edgy” even if he’s really not?
I know this is nothing new, but it’s still fun to discuss when it comes to people criticizing “woke” culture. I’m not sure when Don’t Be An Asshole became a controversial dictum, but, essentially, that’s all “political correctness” and now “woke” culture is really all about. Ellis was an asshole to many, many people. Gaiman was an asshole to many, many people. When you break down people who have been “canceled,” basically, it’s usually powerful men thinking they can do whatever the hell they want to women — claim you can get them jobs in comics if they fuck you, wave your dick at them in public, “grab them by the pussy” — and getting offended when the women say, “Hey, perv, you suck and I’m not going to support your shit anymore.” Sure, there’s the possibility of hypocrisy and overreaction and all the craziness that comes from human reactions to things, but if Ellis’s and Gaiman’s and Piskor’s shittiness comes to light in the meantime, that’s not the worst thing in the world. Millar and other straight white guys might not like, but shit, guys, figure it the fuck out. The standards for art change over time. That’s the way the fucking world works. Smart people figure it out.
I’m with Millar that art needs to be challenging, and occasionally that will offend people, and you’re never sure what will offend what people. Millar is talking about art being challenging as much as people being “canceled,” and I agree with him that art should be more challenging. Art itself can be “canceled,” I suppose, but Millar doesn’t get into that, either, and that’s a bit more dicey, because most art that has, at some time or another, been “canceled” is still fairly accessible (you can watch Birth of a Nation from 1915 fairly easily). Millar is the wrong person to discuss this, of course, as I noted above, because he doesn’t really do challenging art anymore, if he ever did. And his whining about art comes off as someone who doesn’t pay much attention to what’s going on in the culture anymore, as there has been plenty of challenging comics over the past decade, when “woke” culture was supposedly ruining everything. Maybe Millar is too busy working for Netflix and ripping off old superheroes to notice, but there’s always challenging art out there. You just have to find it.
Anyway, I just had some thoughts about this. They’re not new or original, but they are, I think, thoughts that need to be expressed occasionally whenever an older white dude whines about not being able to squeeze someone’s ass and call women “bitches” to their faces because they’re all too damned sensitive these days. As an older white dude myself, I do get annoyed when all older white dudes in pop culture are shown to be complete idiots (there’s a car commercial airing right now in which the white dude doesn’t know what a cow is, and I just get really annoyed when I see it), but you know what? I don’t whine about it, because I’m not a fucking child. And I don’t whine about the lack of “edginess” in art, because if I want “edginess,” I go fucking find it. It’s really not that difficult! Jeebus, older white dudes, get a fucking grip.
I can’t remember the last Millar comic I read– probably The Ultimates? Oh no, wait, there was that one issue recently of something Quitely drew– but there’s certainly no way he’s been ‘cancelled.’ He’s been given carte blanche to publish all his wacky edgelord comics for decades, and got a very lucrative Netflix deal to boot (which didn’t end up producing much, right?).
I also think we need to note there is a difference between someone “cancelled” for political opinions, and someone “cancelled” in a MeToo way because they are a sex pest, or worse. Ellis was definitely a creep, but he was also handed a fair and easy path to redemption that he refused to take. For his sins, I believe Image announced the return of Fell and then backtracked on it? But he’s also had reprints and archival editions come out. Gaiman seems to be much worse, and they cancelled or pulled some comics with his name on them. And the Sandman and Good Omens shows are coming to quick ends.
If we’re talking political views– I really don’t think that’s impacted much at the Big Two. Bill Willingham got into a spat with DC, but I think it was over Fables rights. Chuck Dixon and Mike Baron are still working in comics, albeit indie ones– and I can’t say they’re not getting hired because of their conservative opinions so much as it’s because their work and style are not in flavor anymore. Van Sciver seems to have been happy pivoting to an online crank instead of actually working in comics.
But long story short, I think people just want to be assholes. Our current political reality rewards assholes and sociopaths, and they equate criticism of their assholish behavior as being “cancelled” because they are thin-skinned babymen who are defined by their outrage and love to play the victim.
As I’ve said here before, a lot of people have trouble distinguishing between “rebel defying stupid rules” and “jackhole who breaks rules that actually matter.” And somehow they always break right-wing ā saying the n-word is edgy and daring, not mocking patriarchy or standing to powerful harassers and shitbags.
I’ve often said that, of all the many, many, many things Trump has done to wreck this country, perhaps the saddest is giving assholes permission to be assholes again. At least prior to Trump, they had realized they had to check themselves before they opened their mouths, but no more!
Good post. This seems to be a problem with lots of aging creative types ā Jerry Seinfeld saying how much he misses the pre-feminist era with the “dominant male” (because nobody screams Raw Alpha Male more than Seinfeld). I was pleasantly surprised that Phil Collins is spending his time obsessively collecting Alamo memorabilia ā it’s silly (he’s not a good judge of authenticity) but it harms none.
I don’t even think that you can say Mark Millar pays his colleagues well. Sure, he pays the artists who have strong name recognition, but apparently the colourist for Chrononauts did not get paid, and only did it as a favour for Sean Murphy, hence their recent request to boycott the new library edition on social media.
Anyhow, Millar has always been a con artist of little substance. Outrage one side of the political spectrum while making a paper thin appeal to the other side. It’s been a successful strategy, for sure, but I’d like to think I emotionally matured past the age of 14, when I used to read his comics, which is an accomplishment I don’t believe applies to the audiences of the other grifters Millar has chosen to enamour himself with, such as EVS.
As others have noted, if you want edgy comics, read the stuff made by people who have actually dealt with persecution, or at least hardship, and aren’t trying to appeal to a juvenile power fantasy that isn’t a sad facsimile of a hunting club.
Well, that sucks. I’m only repeating what I’ve heard from professionals, and I know he does well by his artists, but if he’s screwing over his colorists … yeah, that sucks.
I still don’t know what happened to Millar around the turn of the century. His Swamp Thing is terrific and I’ve enjoyed his Superman Adventures stuff, but I guess he decided he wanted gobs of cash instead. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it still sucks.
Millar hit one very specific note when he took over the Authority and he’s been playing it ever since. It also doesn’t help that Wizard magazine at the time propped him up as the second coming of comic writers.
I think that Ellis still has enough work(you only have to check his newsletter to see that he is always on projects that won’t see the light of day until 2026 or so, so maybe in his case “cancelled” just means less visible work?
I don’t really have any examples of cancelled comic book guys, but I sometimes check the news around here and “cancelled”(at least for celebrities) it seems to just mean that the current thing you are doing is cancelled(and in that case, you should have a cancellation fee or something in your contracts), and they will be back in the spotlight in two to six months, tops
You want edgy comics? Deniz Camp is writing about undocumented migrants, workersā rights, LGBTQ+ issues, refugees, and more in Assorted Crisis Events and The Ultimates (a title Millar might be familiar with). Oh, but those are āwokeā comics, and at a time when hard right politicians have all the power and are making it their mission to hurt people who arenāt straight white men, how can such comics be edgy? The grift is so obvious, yet people still fall for it. Mostly straight white men, coincidentally.
It’s the same way that Frank Miller in DKR can show politicians are too cowardly to get tough on crime. By that point in the 1980s, the cowards were the tough on crime crowd (“I don’t want to support the death penalty for public farting but if I vote no, my opponent will say I’m soft on crime!”).
Yeah, that’s what always annoyed me when people would debate if DKR was better than watchmen. Moore and Gibbons were on about how no individual should have sole responsibility over people, and we shouldn’t mythologize such people and fall for hero fantasies. Miller just didn’t think Reagan was a tough guy.
I liked the concept of Wanted ā supervillains join forces, warp reality and become rulers of the world ā but not the execution. The protagonist’s character arc of “wimpy wuss becomes total badass who bangs hot girls and kills people just for kicks” struck me as the kind of juvenile male power fantasy comics have been insisting for decades they don’t want to me.
This seems like a dumb strategy to take on Millarās part to reclaim some edginess cred or whatever. Because of his comments in that linked article, I assumed that he must have been accused of being a sex pest. I only kept reading the linked article to get to the part about the accusations, but I guess there werenāt any? Really dumb thing for him to associate himself with.
That’s what I mean: he’s so vague that I don’t even know what he’s talking about. It doesn’t seem like he’s been accused of anything, he’s just bummed that people like him can’t … use awful racial stereotypes in their work anymore? What is it? Be a tough guy and tell us, sir! š
A LOT of “cancel culture” is “I said something offensive and people were actually offended! They criticized me!”
God help Millar if anyone goes the Doug Piranha route and uses sarcasm.
Off the top of my head, two of the most effective cancellations for political views that occurred in the broader pop culture sphere involved Sinead O’Connor and the (formerly known as Dixie) Chicks.
And isn’t it strange? In both cases, they were cancelled for expressing views that would now be classified as ‘woke.’ And isn’t it also strange that all persons involved were women? (Yes, I’m being a sarcastic smart-a$$ – of course there’s nothing at all strange about any of it).
And, of course, they were absolutely right about everything.
Anyway, as far as I know, they didn’t spend a lot of time whining about it – not that anyone in the media would have paid any attention to them if they had. It’s apparently just the big, tough ‘n’ edgy manly men who need to be given a platform to vent about their hurt fee-fees.
The Dixie Chicks did release a song about it, “Not Ready to Back Down.” It’s good.
And they weren’t even being that woke, simply quipping “We’re embarrassed the president’s from Texas.” That’s the kind of joke Bob Hope might have tossed off in a TV special back when I was a kid.
Well, this was going to be an angrier response but I see Piskor at least warranted a name check. And you think if he showed enough contrition he’d be allowed to continue to continue his life and career in peace? I don’t agree so. It seems he knew better too. As gross as I find the details of Ellis and Gaiman’s exploits (and I do) it all took place between consenting adults. If a crime had been committed, it would be a matter for the police, yes? I swear I don’t get you ’empathy’ people. Ed Piskor was a huge loss to Comics and I’m sure his family too. Greg, condolences on your whiteness.
I’m sorry, I’m not sure what your point is. Several people who have done creepy things have made comebacks, so why not Piskor, especially when his sins were relatively minor compared to many others and he had a good reputation in the business? I don’t think I’m wrong by saying that he could have made a comeback had he been contrite about being creepy. Maybe I am, but we’ll never know. And where did you get the idea that I don’t think Piskor is a big loss to comics? This has nothing to do with his comics output, which I generally liked. I know his death was a loss to comics and his family. That’s not the point. He did creepy things for which he was called out. That’s all I was saying.
I’m not sure what you’re saying with regard to the consenting adults things, either. Sure, they’re consenting adults, but do you think 20-year-olds — male or female — are as clever as men twice their age who have been manipulating others for years? I agree that young people need to be smarter sometimes, but there’s a big spectrum between the poles of “throwing a stranger in a van and raping them” and “two fully aware consenting adults getting freaky,” Also, do you think the police are always on the side of the victim? I have some bad news to you, there.
I also don’t know why you don’t understand “empathy.” Trying to understand someone else’s feelings is bad? I mean, I know it’s a bad word these days among the psychopaths running the country, but I don’t think they’re good judges.
I don’t get your final statement. I have never felt bad because I’m white, just as I don’t think anyone should feel bad for whatever ethnicity they are. Just because I understand that I have an advantage because of my skin color, my gender, and my sexual orientation doesn’t mean I’m ashamed of it. It just means I recognize that I have certain advantages that others don’t. If all white men can’t see that, they’re living in a dream world.
I appreciate the comment, but I’m just not sure what your point is. I hope you can clarify it a bit!
As I’ve remarked elsewhere online, characters who sneer at empathy or compassion (“you have compassion for these weaklings. That will be your downfall.”) are never good guys.
Reading the details of Gaiman’s actions, there’s no question they were coercive by someone with a lot more power and influence. Same thing with Louis CK pressuring women comics to let him masturbate in front of them ā sure, they could say no (at least one of them did. Didn’t stop him) but then they’ve pissed off someone with serious power to derail their careers (if he doesn’t want to be on the same bill with them, he ain’t the one who’d get dropped).
I will try and clarify some stuff, but it might get hostile and I only turned up to read Comics You Should Own. A Philosophical discussion on ‘Internet Mobs, Good or Bad’ I just have to wave the white flag on. A decade long argument that never goes anywhere. If you’re cool with it then I won’t change your mind. But this is where I get snippy about people that call themselves empathetic. Empathy works differently now. There’s all kind of math equations involved. ‘Empathy’ for minority groups, but rarely for individuals. I find the title ‘Can anyone who whines about ācancel cultureā actually give any examples of someone being ācanceledā extremely insulting as the answer is obviously ‘Ed Piskor’. Which you actually admit, but you seem to handwave because he’s ‘creepy’? I know the names from his note. Its all rumour, but I hear those people are very influential in comics. Not for their work, but for their Gatekeeping. For whisper networks that decide who gets to be in the ‘community’ and who doesn’t. You say you liked his comics output, but I don’t think that’s where his value came from. Cartoonist Kayfabe, like Wizard and CBR at one time, presented this hobby as light and fun. That brings people in. You learn about the toxicity at the heart of the thing elsewhere. You talk about your skin colour a lot though? And how it makes you feel embarrassed about people that share it? Its odd. Like a Progressive form of white supremacy, really.
Don’t worry about being hostile — I love to debate, as long as nothing gets too personal. I don’t like a mob mentality, in anything, whether it’s directed at something I agree with or not — mobs too easily lose the ability to reason, which is never good. We disagree on Piskor, of course, but that’s ok. You say it’s rumor, but he did admit that he did some things that are not the things a person who cares about the feelings of others does. Did they rise to the level of a complete horror show? Of course not, but they were still troubling actions. If you disagree, that’s fine. Piskor, as I mentioned when he died, obviously had some things going on with him that he never addressed, but I do believe, based on others who have done some things they shouldn’t, that he could have come back from it. Again, feel free to disagree, but we’ll never know. I’m still not sure why you believe I have no empathy for people like Piskor. I’ve been around damaged individuals a good deal of my life and have been very close to people who have considered suicide, and it’s gut-wrenching. I feel very bad for Piskor and the fact that he chose to end his life. That doesn’t change the fact that he did some things that he should not have done, and he did not want to confront those things. It’s a tragedy. But I do not think he was hounded to death by a mob, because his suicide came so quickly after what he did that it seems like a mob hadn’t had a chance to form. Most people didn’t know what had happened until after he was dead. Maybe I’m wrong, but it seemed like events moved very quickly.
Anyway, I apologize for writing about my skin color so much. I’m not sure what you mean about me being embarrassed about people that share it — again, I’m not embarrassed at all, I just recognize the advantages. That’s all.
Thanks for coming back, though — I do appreciate it!
And have I appreciated your writing on comics. Shame the topic extends to unpleasant stuff like this now, but that’s where we are.
Also, Piskorās note literally contained an admission of guilt that heād sexually harassed one of the accusers, and would do it again!
I treasure my floppies of Grand Design, and Iām sorry that he decided to end things rather than seek helpā¦but the guy had clearly done wrong.
My cats have coughed up edgier material than anything written by Millar. Cheap shock value moments and excessive profanity are only edgy to repressed 13 year-old boys who make Beavis & Butthead look like the Algonquin Round Table.
I can name one comics person who was cancelled and that was Gerard Jones; but, he was cancelled by the courts when he was imprisoned and then DC decided it was not a good idea to continue to keep material written by a sex offender in print. Sadly, that means some good material will probably never be reprinted, like El Diablo, even with his name removed; but, that is called market forces.” If the Market doesn’t want anything to do with a creator, because of their actions, statements, or attitudes, that is free enterprise.
Based solely on what Gaiman has admitted,, in his rationalizations of his behavior is enough for me to never touch his work again and reward that kind of mentality. The sad thing is it cheapens memories of a friend, who died of cancer, in his 30s, who was a big Gaiman fan. My friend, Jason, was a kind, gentle, wonderful soul and a great father. He had a numbness in his arm and went to the doctor and came out with a diagnosis of cancer throughout his body. He never hurt anyone, directly or indirectly. It seems the scales of justice between him and Gaiman’s are badly out of balance.
I can easily disassociate myself with whatever Gaiman has allegedly done, no way Iām going to punish myself by not reading his novels or Sandman.
Same with Ellis, his comics are just too good.
Mark Millar I could care less about, the only work of his that Iāve read and enjoyed was his brief run on Superman.
Outside of Red Son I’ve never cared for Millar. Ennis neither.
I agree it’s up to the individual how to deal with their creative output. I love the two films Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier did back in the 1970s, Uptown Saturday Night and Let’s Do It Again (the third film, not so much); I can understand if someone else can’t stomach seeing Cosby on screen any more (Greg Hatcher’s reaction, IIRC).
One point that should be mentioned more often: when something like this happens, whatever organizations are involved need to get their shit together. If you (you being a convention or an employer or a client) let harassing or bullying behavior happened or you ignored the complaints because the harasser was just too important, you damn well need to think how to do better. For example (this is not an original thought with me) HR’s response should be not “Well, it was only one time, maybe he won’t do it again.” but to assume it will happen again if they don’t act.
Meanwhile, Iām lucky enough to have always found Gaimanās writing masturbatorily self-satisfied to the point of being off-putting!
I rather expected him to be jerking off to screeners of Sandman, rather than orally raping his homeless teenaged au pair, though.
Hereās a list of people in comics that have been accused of sexual harassment and/or assault and, as far as I know, havenāt been working in the industry since:
Cameron Stewart, Jason LaTour, Brandon Graham, Eddie Berganza, Scott Allie, Brian Wood
None of them were ācancelledā for expressing right wing opinions.
I think Millar was pointing out that writers in that era were in a constant state of anxiety over how their work would be perceived and held against the prevailing orthodoxies of the time: systemic racism oppresses people of color; women need to wield their agency against the stifling patriarchy; representation and inclusion of LGBTQ characters is required to redress historical exclusion; writing outside of oneās identity is prohibited as a harmful form of cultural appropriation. It reasonably follows that writers and editors engaged in self-censorship with respect to these rules in order to avoid the mob descending upon them. I remember JG Jones and Mark Waid receiving significant flack for their miniseries Strange Fruit about a Black Superman figure landing in the Great Depression-era Deep South. Both creators are not Black but were born in the South (https://www.panelpatter.com/2015/07/booms-strange-fruit-1-is-bitter.html?m=1). Or I recall Garth Ennis being questioned about the legitimacy of his writing the story of the Tuskegee Airmen in Dreaming Eagles (https://www.cbr.com/exclusive-garth-ennis-flies-high-with-tuskegee-airmen-in-dreaming-eagles/). According to Millar, the pressure from these cultural dictates has abated, which allows for more creative freedom and less handwringing about navigating these sensitivities.
In some of the cases commenters mentioned aboveāWarren Ellis, Cameron Stewart, Jason Latour, Brian Wood, Ed Piskorāthere didnāt seem to be accusations of rape or assault. Instead, they were allegedly exploiting their fame into sexual relationships; this behavior was manipulative and just sleazy for lack of a better word. Once accused, their reputation was ruined, their career prospects were diminished, and they were in effect exiled from the field of mainstream comics.
My biggest gripe with cancel culture in incidents such as these is that there is no chance offered for redemption or rehabilitation: the internet judge, jury, and executioner has spoken, and thatās that. Reading Ed Piskorās suicide note is gut wrenching because he feels that there is no coming back from these allegations against him: he will be forever tainted with the accusations of being a groomer, and his career as an artist is over. In his despair, he calculated that his life was forfeit and chose to end his life. It was beyond tragic.
A person who engaged in despicable but not illegal acts still deserves an opportunity to reflect soberly on the damage they caused and make authentic changes to their life. They should listen and respond to those whom they have harmed in order to reassess their actions and values. And I donāt mean like the So Many of Us mediation with Warren Ellis, which sounds like the equivalent of Bart Simpson writing āI am a bad boy and will not use my position for sexā 60 times on the chalkboard (https://bleedingcool.com/comics/so-many-of-us-website-updates-for-2023-regarding-warren-ellis/#google_vignette). I would prefer to see someone rehabilitated rather than banished, reformed rather than condemned. It is also sad to see those facing allegations abandoned publicly by their friends at a time when they are needed the most to effect a turnaround. As far as I can tell, it doesnāt seem these accused men I listed were given a second chance though I also donāt know if they are truly contrite and ready to make amends. I know they brings up the question of who decides that a person has repented sufficiently and made meaningful changes to merit a second chance. But I would argue that it should be wholly apparent by word and deed when someone has faced their mistakes and determined not to repeat them. So many of our superheroes share a conviction in the power of redemption (looking at you, Supes) so I wish we could, too.
Self-censorship is not automatically a bad thing. If a writer feels they have to self-censor their religious faith (or their atheism), that’s not good; if they decide against putting that super-funny rape joke into their next story, that might be a good choice.
I agree there needs to be a path of redemption. It would involve, say, apologizing (to those you’ve harmed, not announcing on social media how bad you feel); any religious atonement your faith requires; fixing the wrongs you’ve did; and taking steps to insure you don’t do it again.
This takes serious work. Most supposedly canceled men just want and get “dude process,” where the primary concern is making sure they don’t suffer unduly. Case in point, disgraced preacher Jim Bakker. After he got out of prison he wrote a book confessing how badly he’d fallen short of what a man of God should be. Now he’s back scamming people (huckstering a cream that can cure STDs, even AIDS!) and portraying himself as “the first victim of cancel culture.” Ultimately his flaws one out over repentance.
And what about the victims? Lots of people leave jobs due to harassment; the concern that the harasser not have to suffer any career setbacks never applies to them.
An excerpt from Ed Piskorās suicide note:
āBig titty Taff? Yeah, I would draw you naked all day and never apologize for wanting to. I like drawing tits and tattoos when Iām not drawing comics.ā
A peach of a man, to be sure.
Meanwhile, Cameron Stewart was going after goddamn high schoolers – and this was common knowledge in Toronto!
Both Wood and Latour forcibly kissed women in front of witnesses.
Iām honestly a bit annoyed on Ellisās behalf – heās just an emotionally manipulative shitbag!
Nowhere near the likes of Stewart.
I’m not up on modern comics enough to add to what’s been said above. FWIW, I followed Cartoonist Kayfabe and my limited take on the Piskor situation was: although he was stupid and creepy, he didn’t deserve that. A warning/parable for our internet age.
In wider pop culture, Graham Linehan, who co-wrote sitcom Father Ted about Irish priests on ‘Craggy Island’ (it’s very good) was cancelled/condemned for his general support of JK Rowling’s trans views (this is a precis. I haven’t looked into it deeply, am just aware of it).
Given the recent UK supreme court verdict I guess Linehan has been partially vindicated (again, too complicated to go into here).
But in the meantime he still used to pop up on podcasts and YouTube, etc, bemoaning he was cancelled, so what does it actually mean to be cancelled? So you’re not allowed to go on certain social media? Sounds like a holiday.
I’m not belittling his situation. He’s no doubt lost work and friends. Some of you may say “good”.
I’m not anti-woke by any means. I just don’t like extreme views on any side. Life is more complicated than that, “Mr A”.
There’s a long tradition of people insisting they’ve been shouted down and repressed … and saying it in the New York Times. Or one pundit claiming she was telling you what the media never would … and saying this on Fox News, America’s top news network (shudder).