Former ‘Punisher’ Writer Rick Remender Takes Aim At Comic Book Industry For Mistreating Talent: “Heartless Profit Driven Corporations Do Not Love You”
In adding his voice to the ongoing cacophony of creators speaking out against the corporate comic book industry’s general mistreatment of their talent, former Punisher writer Rick Remender recently offered a reminder to his fellow artists and writers that despite their public-facing rhetoric, corporate comic book publishers such as “do not love you”.
While primarily known for his Marvel Comics work, his respective bibliography including such notable reads as Captain America Vol. 7, The Punisher Vol. 8, Uncanny X-Force Vol. 1, and the Avengers: Rage of Ultron graphic novel, Remender’s nearly 30-year career has also seen him pen titles for practically every other publisher in the industry, including IDW’s Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Vol. 2, Dynamite’s Classic Battlestar Galactica Vol. 1, and DC’s The All-New Atom.
But moreso than just such mainstream works, Remender has long-held an affinity for independent works – an unsurprising fact given how he came up through the scene, with SLG Publishing serving as the home of his first ever book Captain Dingleberry, as co-produced between himself and and Harper Jaten, and his subsequent Black Heart Billy, which was co-created with Kieron Dwyer.
As such, it only seemed natural when in 2017, the prolific writer moved to establish his own Giant Generator studio, a creator-oriented endeavor whose business model sees Remender “co-own [and write] all of the properties with the artist“, usually with a “50-50” split, while Image Comics handles their output’s publishing needs.
Since its establishment, Giant Generator has played incubator to a number of new and genuinely good books, with the cream of the crop (at least in this author’s opinion) including the Sean Gordon Murphy-illustrated Tokyo Ghost, the Bengal-drawn Napalm Lullaby, and The Holy Roller, its story notably co-written by Fall Out Boy guitarist and noted comic book enthusiast Joe Trohman and The Lonely Island member Andy Samberg.
His studio-slash-imprint’s momentum showing no sign of slowing down, Remender took to Instagram on March 11th to promote Giant Generator’s upcoming slate of releases, which is set to feature the work of noted industry creators Steve Epting, Daniel Acuña, André Lima Araújo, Greg Tocchini, and Yannick Paquette.
And it was therein, ostensibly in light of the recent outrage expressed over the topic by a number of artists, Remender let loose on the corporate comic book industry’s treatment of the very people whose work they profit from.
“CREATOR OWNED OR DIE,” began the Secret Avengers Vol. 1 scribe with a rallying cry. “COMICS ARE BETTER WHEN THEY ARE OWNED BY THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE THEM. HEARTLESS PROFIT DRIVEN CORPORATIONS DO NOT LOVE YOU. ALLOWING THEM TO CONTROL THE BLOOD OF YOUR LABOR IS A SHORT-TERM GAME THAT LEAVES YOU WITH NOTHING IN THE END.”
“IT IS BETTER TO PLAY GREAT MUSIC TO AN INTIMATE AUDIENCE THAN TO FEED BULLSHIT TO AN AUDITORIUM,” he added. “I AM DEDICATED TO MAKING GREAT COMICS OWNED BY THE PEOPLE WHO CREATE THEM. I WILL DIE ON THIS HILL.”
Turning down the volume as he drew his post to a close, Remender ultimately asserted, “Giant Generator wave 3 is underway exclusively at our wonderful home, the most dedicated publisher to the promise of pure creator owned comics, Image Comics.”
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