This is hilariously accurate. Though dudes like this actually have a place in comics--as long as they don't harass or antagonize anyone else. The problem is that due to bigotry and a lack of self-control they cannot stop doing just that. https://twitter.com/SamMaggs/status/1286539675167989761

Comics SHOULD be like television (which is still far from perfect) where there is a place and platform for all types of stories. It is not. Several factors led to the exclusionary nature of the comics medium and now every action taken to prevent complete stagnation is shut down.

Baywatch is streaming on Netflix. So is I May Destroy You. Fans of Baywatch don't hurl insults at Michaela Coel on Twitter all day for having a platform on Netflix. But if you are a black creator at Marvel you'll be called a race hustler or be sent a Klan photo by Comicsgate.

And that's a serious problem. It harms the medium and prevents diversity by trying to strike fear into black creators or to exhaust them so much with racism that they leave the industry entirely to tell stories elsewhere.

The internet and the bookstore have replaced the newsstand and now a much wider variety of fans want stories via comics again. Because the audience is no longer limited to people lucky enough to live in a neighborhood with a specialty shop in their area.

The clubhouse must become a storefront. That means variety in how IP is approached and variety in who enjoys these projects. Bigoted fans become virulently angry about this and attack creators who look different or try new things. Even when they still have access to the old ways.

Companies have been walking on eggshells around these bigoted fans. Sometimes to their own financial detriment. They limit new minority creators to side projects featuring B-list characters or YA ventures that will never see a comic shop.

And yet racist fans still seek out these creators via social media to harass them. Even when these are books they will not read and do not impact their favorite series. They are furious that a black woman has access to a platform (DC, Marvel, etc.) that they consider theirs.

The bigoted harassment by reactionary groups must be disavowed and shut down. If not, the direct market will absolutely collapse. Bigots are burning down the clubhouse rather than let anything new inside like a racist pouring acid into a desegregated pool.

It is very tempting to want to fight back against this relentless bigotry by building a new clubhouse and tossing away classic tropes and takes just because a few dozen racists and misogynists love them. But you don't toss aside the foundation of the medium over violent idiots.

You can disavow the bigoted harassment that Comicsgate fans and creators engage in while still providing those who love classic superheroic themes with the stories they adore. While clearly indicating that there is space for those who do not unite under a bigoted banner.

I take this seriously. Unstable fans have sent me disturbing email. They have come to MY HOME. They have driven me from projects because I knew I would not be protected. All because I speak out against racism in a medium I love.

And yet even with all of that I know that the classic stories they love are not the cause of that behavior. I know that those stories are not rooted in the bigotry in the decrepit hearts of those people. Because I love those stories too. And I come from a better place than that.