Update, December 14, 2018:
DC have informed retailers that issues #5 and #6 of “Border Town” have been canceled, and the previous issues are now returnable. Original story is as follows:
Public allegations of sexual assault made against “Border Town” writer Eric M. Esquivel earlier this week have prompted the art team to leave the book. Tamra Bonvillain, series colorist, and Ramon Villalobos, artist, both resigned from the title in the wake of the accusations made on Dec 9th. Bonvillain’s final issue as colorist will be issue #5, coming in January. Villalobos has yet to say what his final issue will be, but he is listed as the sole artist on issue #6. Esquivel has yet to respond publicly to the allegations, and DC Vertigo has not made any statement about the issue or the future of the title as of this morning.
In the last 24 hours, both members of the art team made public their thoughts about the situation. Tamra Bonvillain called the actions of the accused “disgusting and inexcusable” via her Twitter account. Ramon Villalobos made a longer statement, first expressing his “practice to believe women, full stop,” elaborating:
The bravery and strength it took for her to write that letter is probably not strength or bravery i would have. There have been vague rumors about Eric and his treatment of women and although I was given no specifics, I insisted to Eric that he come clean to me and our team about any inappropriate interactions he may have had. I think now that I did not give enough weight to those rumors and I can’t state enough how much I regret that… I want to be clear that neither me, Tamra, or anyone in editorial knew about what came out and it’s very disheartening… ‘Border Town’ meant a lot to me because it was a confluence of so many of my interests… I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that I’ve poured everything I had into this and it’s the best work of my young career… But this is not about me.”
Bonvillain and Villalobos’s full thoughts can be respectively read here and here. You can read the initial allegations about Eric M. Esquivel here, but be aware that it contains descriptions you may find upsetting.
