Batman: White Knight creator Sean Gordon Murphy issued a call for a comics cease fire. He asked people in the comic book world to “unblock everyone in exchange for zero negativity for 30 days.” He added, “And we all promise to be on our best behavior. See how we like it.”

He didn’t stop at just calling for a cease fire. He also explained his own “no block” policy. For those that haven’t been following the Twitter battles in the comic book industry, many creators and editors have begun block chaining people. Basically, they block everyone who follows someone else. This is mostly done to followers of Diversity & Comics and people involved in #Comicsgate, who are outspoken critics of the current state of comics. They’ve even created a boycott list of the people they feel are toxic to the industry.

Murphy eloquently explains that he is running a business and he understands that when you run a business you have to deal with customer service.

He even has solution for dealing with potential unruly customers.

Sean Gordon Murphy Tweet

Most people seemed to agree with Murphy’s “No Block” policy.

However, Tamra Bonvillain found Murphy’s characterization of dealing with unruly people as customer service “offensive.”

Others disagreed with the whole idea of the Comics Cease Fire.

Some simply called the suggestion “naive” and “childish.”

The comic book industry at the moment has really become a battleground in a much larger culture war. Many comic book creators have gotten away from the idea of escapism and adventure and simply making good comics. Instead many are focused on turning comics into pure propaganda by pushing radical agendas into their stories. But not only are they focused on turning the industry into a propaganda outlet, they are also trying to force creators who disagree with their political beliefs out of the business. We saw conservative comic book creator Will Caligan lose his job. CBR journalist Kieran Shiach has made it his mission to get “moderate Republican” Ethan Van Sciver fired from DC Comics. More recently, he’s even targeting Howard Chaykin. Bane co-creator Chuck Dixon is even on an alleged black list at Marvel Comics. This type of behavior is absolutely unacceptable. People should not be trying to ruin others careers over a disagreement in political beliefs. A ceasefire could really help and bring some sanity back to the comic book industry.

Do you think a ceasefire would work or would only one side participate? I’m leaning that a ceasefire wouldn’t really accomplish much. It’s a great idea, but I don’t see people like Kieran Shiach stopping his aggressive pursuits to get comic book creators fired from DC Comics and Marvel Comics.

 

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    About The Author

    John F. Trent
    John F. Trent
    Founder and Editor-in-Chief

    John is the Editor-in-Chief here at Bounding Into Comics. He is a massive Washington Capitals fan, lover of history, and likes to dabble in economics and philosophy.

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