Way back in February of 2024, a slew of comic book artists abruptly and publicly cut ties with Cadence Comic Art, an art dealer who had previously represented everyone from Zoe Thorogood and Tula Lotay to Mike Norton. While at the time there were no publicly revealed specifics as to why this was happening, thanks to a press release sent to Comic Book Club yesterday (August 14) and confirmed due to state court filings, we have a better idea of what’s happening, thanks to a lawsuit that has been filed against the company in the state of New York.
The suit itself was filed back on August 7, and is docketed as Cloonan et al v. Cadence Comic Art Inc et al, 1:25-cv-06513-JLR. Per the release, “A copy of the publicly filed complaint is available through the court’s electronic records system (PACER).”
The full list of plaintiffs includes notable artists who have worked with Marvel, DC, Image, and many more, including: Pia Guerra, Jill Thompson, David Marquez, Becky Cloonan, Joelle Jones, Elena Casagrande, Tyler Crook, Wesley Craig, Leila Leiz, Rafael Albuquerque, Jenny Frison, Valerio Schiti, Allesandro Cappuccio, Mahmud Asrar, Paolo Villanelli, Yildiray Cinar, and Danai Christina Kilaidoni.
Represented by Polina Ivko of the firm Adwar Ivko, the suit alleges that art dealer Paolo Belfiore and Cadence Comic Art, “engaged in systematic fraud and misconduct. The defendants are accused of violating fiduciary and statutory obligations under New York’s Art and Cultural Affairs Law by misappropriating funds, failing to provide accurate account statements, commingling trust funds, and withholding unsold art. Artists seek damages, injunctive relief, and accountability for these breaches.”
As of now, an initial pretrial conference has been set in New York City for November 18, 2025, at 10:30 a.m. in Courtroom 20B of the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse. And a summons has been issued for Belfiore.
Previously (this being back in February of 2024), The Beat reported multiple instances of customers complaining about unfulfilled orders on their end, as well as a lack of communication from the company. And Bleeding Cool noted that Manager Andrew Christman resigned from the company on January 29, 2024, though at the time was still working to get the artists their art back.
We’ll have more on this as it develops.
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