Controversial Comic News Website Bleeding Cool Under Massive Fire For Failing To Cover Eric July’s Overwhelmingly Successful Rippaverse Campaign
Bleeding Cool is at the center of controversy again, this time for their failure in coverage of the largest crowdfund comic of all time in Eric July’s Isom #1. Rippa has, as of this writing, raised more than $3.2 million on his comic campaign.
Fans and professionals are reacting, wondering if there might be political and racial bias in the reporting by the salacious comic news website.
The one piece Bleeding Cool published on the Rippaverse includes a passive-aggressive jab at the African-American creator, questioning its price point for a 96-page comic book by comparing it to direct market retail issues rather than other similar crowdfunded books. The author also made comments questioning Rippa’s “ethics” in the article.
RELATED: Eric July Breaks The Bank With The Launch Of Isom, His First Rippaverse Comics Book
As a comic-centric website, readers are wondering why Bleeding Cool isn’t giving the Rippaverse further coverage on Isom #1 like it does other comics from the mainstream.
For other titles, Bleeding Cool either routinely posts preview images, summaries of the plot points, or covers the milestones of sales that those companies have reached.
With more than 30,000 backers, Isom #1 is posting higher sales than many Marvel or DC Comics attain in the stores; a newsworthy achievement, many will agree.
It seems like the Rippaverse should be the biggest story on sites like Bleeding Cool, as it is few and far between we see independent books soaring to such heights in sales. Isom #1 is posting numbers we don’t see outside of The Walking Dead or Spawn when it comes to books other than those “the Big-2” publish.
Richard Johnston, the purveyor of Bleeding Cool, seems more worried about making fun of Republicans than covering comic book news.
He recently took to his personal Facebook page to share a rather inflammatory post, stating, “So… how will Fox News react to the confirmation from DC Comics that Lex Luthor is a Republican?”
“How will Bleeding Cool react to Eric July making a million in a day on a self platformed comic?” read a reply by Dan Fraga, artist and creator of Black Flag, which is another book that has made so many sales in crowdfunding it should have been massively covered by comic news outlets, mocking Johnston’s original comment.
Unwilling to let Johnston’s comment get brushed under the rug, the Black Flag creator took to Twitter to share a screenshot of both the Bleeding Cool author and his own’s comments, followed up with the assertion, “Comic News should cover all comics. Especially when it’s real news.”
Fraga’s comments point out an inherent bias in the comic industry where major comic book news sites like Bleeding Cool, Comic Book Resources, and IGN — to name but a few — blatantly refuse to cover projects made by right wing creators like they do books from their left-wing industry counterparts.
There appears to be a heavy political bias involved in comic reporting, with Bounding Into Comics and Bleeding Fool — whose name is a parody on Rich Johnston’s own comic news outlet — being some of the only publications to cover content by creators like Fraga or July.
Johnston maintained, “If he said he was a Democrat I would have written the same article.”
Fan and comic creator, Richard Embree, found Johnston’s post to be disingenuous, calling out Bleeding Cool and declaring, “If you’re about fairness, where’s your article about @EricDJuly hitting 3 million? That’s huge for a black owned business.
He then inquired, “Aren’t you about inclusivity? Why aren’t you celebrating this amazing achievement in comics?”
Johnston made his most bizarre reply yet to the chain of criticism of his coverage by doubling down on the fact Eric July hasn’t replied to his emails, as if July’s responses were the only way he could possibly cover the comic.
In response to Embree’s follow-up tweet, who questioned the Bleeding Cool author’s credibility, Johnston declared, “I have emails in with Eric that is more than welcome to reply to.”
RELATED: ComicBooks Subreddit Bans Eric July’s Rippaverse Comics For “Supporting Comics From Hate Groups”
It seems clear Johnston doesn’t want to cover Eric July’s Rippaverse in a positive light by his excuses he’s making to comic readers about his lack of coverage. Many comic readers have piled on in the conversation, accusing Johnston and Bleeding Cool of political bias and racism.
Rippaverse creator Eric July had actually addressed the situation a few days prior to Johnston’s meltdown, writing, “Bleeding Cool article attempts to passively aggressively clown on the Rippaverse Isom #1 campaign,” in response to the author’s own coverage of the news.
“We always knew that these disingenuous people would be trying anything they could to take shots or delegitimize what we’re building,” he continued, adding a defiant, “They can’t stop us.”
Whether Bleeding Cool will listen to the fans and adjust their coverage to more fairly represent the comic industry as a whole, including books made by conservative and libertarian creators remains to be seen.
Do you think the comic news industry is fair in their coverage of Eric July’s overwhelmingly successful Rippaverse Isom #1 campaign? Leave a comment down below and let us know.
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