Evan Dorkin Opens Up About Comic Book Industry Hardships

Evan Dorkin is a veteran comic book creator best known for his original creations Milk & Cheese and Beasts of Burden. Having worked in the comic book industry since 1989, Dorkin is no stranger to the inner workings and professional hardships that his job entails. Recently, Dorkin took to his Twitter to express his honest feelings on the devastating hardships and oft ignored downsides of working in the industry:

Dorkin begins by discussing the financial difficulties that his career has entailed:

He then turns to discuss the frustrating situation regarding the delay of additional Beasts of Burden stories due to the work ethics of his Beasts of Burden co-creator Jill Thompson:

The latest release in the core Beasts of Burden series, What the Cat Dragged In, was released on May 4th, 2016. The latest story from the Beasts of Burden universe, titled Wise Dogs and Eldritch Men, came in 2018 from Dorkin, with Benjamin Dewey providing art in place of Thompson.

This is not the first time that Dorkin has commented on his frustration with Thompson’s schedule. In an interview with CBR in 2014, Dorkin stated:

“Basically, when Jill’s available to work on the book we work on the book. I have three notebooks of material right now, the entire storyline is pretty much sketched out, with room for diversions and side-trips. If I had my way I’d be working on Beasts full-time, it’s my favorite project and the one I’m always thinking about. It’s a labor-intensive book and Jill’s in high demand so it takes awhile for us to get these stories out there. I wish we were on a regular schedule, but unfortunately I don’t see that ever happening.”

It is interesting to note that while this quote appears both in a link to the original CBR interview as a result of a Google search and on the Beasts of Burden Wikipedia page (which cites the CBR article as the source of the quote), the quote appears to have been deleted from the current CBR page.

Dorkin concludes his thoughts by detailing the heartbreaking effects that these issues have had on him personally:

Dorkin’s comments stand as a stark reminder to many that though the comic book medium is one of the most conductive to creativity, the industry itself is still a business. Dorkin’s comments are not to dissuade creators, but to give an honest insight into the reality of working in the industry. A creator may fall victim to adverse partnerships or unsatisfactory publishing agreements, and for those reasons, creators should remain ever vigilant in protecting their works and ensuring fair partnerships.

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