Via Popverse, AfterShock Comics have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. In a statement, AfterShock said the decision will allow them to pay off their debts, which lie in the region of $10 million to $50 million. They said they “will continue to operate, publish and market comic books and graphic novels to supply to direct market retailers and mass accounts through its distributors in accordance with all federal, state and local guidelines.”
The decision comes a week after the publisher admitted allegations that they had not been paying freelancers on time were true. Over the past month, comics creators on Twitter like Will Robson and Joe Quinones began to raise the issue of publishers (including Valiant) not paying them, when Alex de Campi called out AfterShock by name, causing them to respond, “There are no non-payments. Everyone who is owed money will be paid. We recognize our obligations and consider creator compensation our number one priority. We apologize for this situation and are making our best efforts to rectify it as quickly as possible.” Christopher Cantwell subsequently revealed he had a miniseries at AfterShock fall apart due to late payments (which, as he commented, “at a certain point becomes ‘non’ if your income has a giant hole in it for 6+ months.”)
AfterShock was founded in 2015, and has published books like “Animosity,” “Undone by Blood,” and “Maniac of New York,” by creators such as Garth Ennis, Cullen Bunn, and Zac Thompson & Lonnie Nadler. The company has several comics in the works for movies and TV, including a film version of Steve Foxe, Steve Orlando, and Alex Sanchez’s “Party & Prey,” which was only disclosed last week. According to de Campi, AfterShock owns a 50 percent ownership stake in all the comics they release, plus film/TV and publishing rights: she advises anyone looking to regain control of their work to contact a lawyer first.
Even if AfterShock survives, it will likely struggle to regain the trust of many in the industry, with the filing naming at least 165 people they owe money to. As columnist Forrest C. Helvie puts it, “That massive number of creators who’ve been left high and dry on compensation… Can’t see how you walk away from that kind of damage and ever get a ‘name’ creator again with that.” Zac Thompson commented that he felt AfterShock “gaslit creators until the very end,” while Nadler said, “I am eternally grateful for the stories we got to tell. However their recent treatment toward creators has been unconscionable and selfish.”
Doug Garbark, a colorist waiting payment from AfterShock, reminded readers of the other publishers struggling to fulfil their contracts, stating the company’s filing portends other disasters in the industry. “Worst part is, a lot of the other publishers don’t seem to be fairing much better,” he says. “A lot of late payments, you always assume they will pay eventually but this is proof that they won’t.”
