Tom Brevoort reveals that Deadpool, X-Force, and Cable were retitled to keep royalties from Rob Liefeld. Greg Pak launches new series Lawful from BOOM! Studios. Ed Piskor accused of misconduct. All on Comic Book Club News for March 26, 2024.
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Episode Transcript:
Rob Liefeld’s royalties reneged through renaming.
Greg Pak gets Lawful.
Ed Piskor accused of misconduct.
This is Comic Book Club News for March 26, 2024.
Bill Jemas Kept Royalties From Rob Liefeld By Renaming Titles:
Here’s a weird, twisting story from comic books past: Marvel editor Bill Jemas renamed several X-Men titles in 2004 so as to not pay Rob Liefeld royalties.
The news cropped up via Tom Brevoort’s newsletter, where he was explaining the genesis of the title Cable & Deadpool. Said Brevoort: “In the year or two prior to this, in a misguided and unsuccessful attempt to avoid paying creator incentives to Rob Liefeld, with whom he’d had some bitter encounter, Bill Jemas had decided to relaunch and rebrand the three ongoing series that Rob had creator participation in: CABLE, X-FORCE and DEADPOOL. So CABLE became SOLDIER X, X-FORCE became X-STATIX and DEADPOOL become AGENT X. And all three of them suffered failing sales and were ultimately discontinued.”
Reporter Brian Cronin had previously debunked this rumor in his CBR column, meaning it’s possible though not likely that Brevoort is misremembering a piece of comic book lore.
However, when reached for comment by Bleeding Cool, Liefeld noted he had, “denied it at the time because it seemed inconceivable given the low sales that those titles were experiencing. Then, months later, I was informed of a first hand experience of them trying to figure out a way to do it by someone who was in the very room.”
Conversely, Liefeld maintains that he only had pleasant interactions with Jemas. So what is the truth? The world may never know.
Greg Pak Launches New Series Lawful From BOOM! Studios:
Writer Greg Pak is good at his job. But he’s about to get Lawful for BOOM! Studios. That’s the title of his new book, Lawful! Which is a reference to “lawful good” and not “awful” so I don’t know what I was trying to accomplish there.
The book takes place in a magical, walled city, and follows two kids who keep pushing the line between doing the right thing and the lawful thing, potentially transforming into monsters as they do.
Said Pak via press release: “Lawful may be simultaneously one of the most personal and fantastical stories I’ve ever written, and I’m so grateful to be working with this brilliant team to bring it to life. If you’re a fan of gorgeous, lush, organic art that takes you somewhere you’ve never been and tales of young heroes struggling to do the right thing in a world of impossible mandates, this book is for you.”
The new book features art by Diego Galindo, and hits stores on June 12.
Ed Piskor Accused Of Misconduct By Multiple Women:
Our final story of the day is a serious one, and we’ll add a trigger warning here for discussions of misconduct and abuse. Cartoonist Ed Piskor, best known for books like Hip-Hop Family Tree and X-Men: Grand Design, has been accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women, at least one of whom provided the screenshots to prove it.
While we won’t include specific text here on the podcast, there is a full rundown with screenshots of the associated social media posts on The Beat. The gist is that Piskor has been accused of grooming and propositioning women, including underage women, since at least 2020. Those include prospective artists he’s promised favors to in exchange for sexual acts.
Since the first accusations involving screenshots of DM chains with the creator came out on Instagram this past weekend, other women have posted about Piskor as well, alleging that he offered his agent’s number in exchange for sexual acts, as well as offering to draw another woman in the nude, unprompted.
As reported by The Beat, Piskor deleted his X (formerly Twitter) account, and the YouTube channel he shares with artist Jim Rugg was briefly taken offline. Additionally, what is suspected to be a burner account for Piskor has been defending him on X.
Obviously, this is a story with a great deal of sensitivity, and there is more to come on this as it continues to develop.
For Comic Book Club News, I’m Alex Zalben. No pithy jokes at the end here! Be kind to each other, folks.
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