Report: Antarctic Press Editor-in-Chief Ben Dunn Admits Mark Waid Directly Influenced Decision to Drop Jawbreakers – Lost Souls in Newly Released Messages
Following a declaration of victory by Mark Waid regarding the ongoing lawsuit filed against him by Richard C. Meyer, new private messages from an Antarctic Press insider indicate that Antarctic Press publisher Joeming Dunn may have committed perjury during a deposition which was subsequently used in support of Waid’s defense.
On April 24th, comic book and pop culture critic ThatUmbrellaGuy released a series of private messages exchanged between himself and Antarctic Press Editor-in-Chief (and brother to Antarctic Press publisher Joeming Dunn) Ben Dunn. The messages were exchanged in June of 2018, shortly after Antarctic Press had announced their decision to drop Meyer’s Jawbreakers – Lost Souls from their publication line-up:
https://youtu.be/JAR_G5oDoUM?t=3634
Dunn, who initiated the conversation by reaching out to ThatUmbrellaGuy, indicates in these private messages that Waid’s now infamous phone call to Antarctic Press and the unrelenting pressure applied by Waid and his supporters directly influenced the decision to drop Jawbreakers:
I want to thank you for your fair assessment of the situation overall. Truth be told AP has always been on the fringe of the comics industry yet somehow we survive. We had high hopes for the success of JAWBREAKERS but the virulent attack on my brother from the SJW side was unprecedented. Something we had NEVER experienced in our 33 years in business. It was like Pearl Harbor for us. You have to understand that there were personal considerations as well. My brother’s decision was heartbreaking because after the Waid call he was afraid of the future of some of friends [sic] who worked for Marvel. Normally, we would have ignored such attacks but it began to intrude on his other job and that is when he had to make the decision to cancel the book. Then the other side attacked and we were caught in the middle. I twas a no-win situation for us. So we thought it best just to remain silent. This of course led to much speculation of the course of action we took. I wonder what if we had stuck to our guns or if Waid had kept his nose out of it Would [sic] we even be having this discussion? If nothing else, it exposed the seedy under belly of the comics industry so at least some good came out of this.
These statements appear to contradict the testimony given in Joeming Dunn’s deposition, wherein he stated:
Q:And so, again, there were factors that led to Antarctic Press’s decision that had no relationship to Mark Waid; correct?
A:Yes.
Q:And those factors were concern that your staff and freelancers had expressed; correct?
A:Correct.
Q:And including Mr. Meyer’s own conduct; correct?
A:Correct.
Q:And those factors that led to AP’s decision are factors unrelated to Mark Waid; correct?
A:Correct.
[…]
Q:Did –you made the decision for Antarctic Press; correct?
A:Correct.
Q:And that was your decision; correct?
A:100 percent.
Q:And you made that decision voluntarily?
A: Correct.
Q:And Mark Waid, did he do anything to prevent AP from publishing Mr. Meyer’s book?
A:No.
It is important to note that portions of the publicly available deposition of Joeming Dunn were redacted by both Meyer and Waid’s legal team. It is currently unknown if Joeming Dunn addressed his brother’s statements during said deposition.
According to ThatUmbrellaGuy, these statements have been provided to Meyer’s legal team and subsequently logged. As of writing, no response has been provided regarding this development by either Meyer or Waid.
What do you make of this new conversation between That Umbrella Guy and Ben Dunn?
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