#ComicsBrokeMe Trends on Twitter as Professionals Share Industry Frustrations

The #ComicsBrokeMe movement sweeps social media as industry insiders open up about the frequently parasitic nature of the industry.

Social media discourse lights up over the #ComicsBrokeMe hashtag following the death of artist Ian McGinty.

The hashtag was created in response to McGinty’s passing of natural causes at the age of 38 on June 8, 2023. McGinty worked on various BOOM! Studios titles, including Adventure Time, Bee and Puppycat, and Bravest Warriors, and previously solely produced Welcome to Showside. He was described as hardworking and dedicated by peers and colleagues despite struggling financially, which many have attributed to both McGinty’s untimely passing and to the intrinsically exploitative nature of the comic book industry as a whole.

Some industry insiders, including Eisner Award-winning author David Lasky, authors and former DC editors Kwanza Osajyefo and Paul Kupperberg, and former Marvel assistant editor Heather Antos, offered a more detailed description of some of the standards and practices that are notably harmful for the writers, artists, and creators behind even the biggest and most critically acclaimed titles.

Poor Comic Book Compensation Has Always Been an Issue

The lack of proper payments, royalties, and protections for comic book creators has also been expanded upon with examples from throughout the industry’s history. Fans pointed toward Superman co-creator Joe Shuster’s life, which saw him develop one of the most popular and profitable franchises of all time only to suffer from poverty and die in debt. Acclaimed creator Russ Heath’s Hero in Action: Bottle of Wine has also been referenced as a prime example of classic works being turned into major paydays for everyone involved besides those who actually created them.

The #ComicsBrokeMe movement highlights inequality within the comic book industry at a time when it and other related industries are already under fire. In May, Thomas Woodruff, the former head of the illustration and cartooning departments at the School for Visual Arts in New York City and author and illustrator of Francis Rothbart! The Tale of a Fastidious Feral, declined the four Eisner Award nominations he and the title had garnered. The decision came after allegations of abuse against Woodruff, as well as widespread criticism of his self-proclaimed “graphic opera” in both concept and execution.

These developments have coincidentally taken place during the ongoing Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike, which began on May 2 after negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) fell through. On June 5, the WGA expressed its open disappointment in the deal negotiated between their sister union, the Directors Guild of America (DGA), and the AMPTP. In a statement regarding the deal, Jack Ryan and Warrior Nun writer Amy Berg explained, “We proposed a number of these terms before the AMPTP cut off negotiations in order to hand a deal to the DGA… But we have needs in areas they don’t, and will secure a deal that works for us. This isn’t it.”