In what might be the primary firm to fall in a 2023 market correction, Aftershock Comics has filed for Chapter 11 chapter within the state of California. Citing between $10-50 million in money owed, and the identical quantity in property, Chapter 11 is the type of chapter that permits for operations to proceed whereas money owed are reorganized.
Among the biggest collectors, $514,326 to UK distributor AS Comics, and $398,887 to Canadian printer Imprimerie L’Empreinte. Other collectors embody a listing of creators, conventions, and different comics corporations you’d count on to see. (Modern Fanatic, The Beat’s advert reps, are listed as a creditor.)
Also immediately, Rive Gauche Television, a sister manufacturing firm that merged with Aftershock in 2020 additionally filed for Chapter 11. Rive Gauche was run by Jon Kramer and Lee Kramer, who had been the house owners of Aftershock, and had produced in style cable fare reminiscent of The Dog Whisperer and Homicide Hunter prior to now. Rive Gauche’s prime creditor is Jupiter Entertainment, the corporate behind such exhibits as Snapped and In Pursuit With John Walsh, to the tune of almost $1.5 million.
You can learn the whole submitting beneath, (creators addresses have been redacted) and we’ve reached out to Aftershock for remark, however the common emotion that has been conveyed to us as information unfold is one among disappointment – however not surprising disappointment. Aftershock put out some good books and labored with some nice creators and had good folks on the firm, like Joe Pruett, Mike Marts and Steve Rotterdam. But their latest monetary difficulties as despatched ripple results all through the business, as this tweet thread from Christopher Cantwell, creator of the cult TV present Halt and Catch Fire, confirmed:
Late funds to the artist successfully killed / paused indeterminately an unique 4-issue I co-created with Aftershock. Have had good religion convos w/ EIC Brian however w/ 2 points carried out, no motion. If inside a 12 months you don’t have artwork prices to complete 2 points inside your finances…
— Christopher Cantwell (@ifyoucantwell) December 14, 2022
The full thread reads:
Late funds to the artist successfully killed / paused indeterminately an unique 4-issue I co-created with Aftershock. Have had good religion convos w/ EIC Brian however w/ 2 points carried out, no motion. If inside a 12 months you don’t have artwork prices to complete 2 points inside your finances…
…then your entire enterprise must be known as into query. This assertion says all underneath contract might be paid… however when? No phrase on that for months now. Zero direct communication. “Late” at a sure level turns into “non” in case your revenue has a large gap in it for 6+ months…
Artists, colorists, letterers, & writers mustn’t must be bookkeepers and accountants for imprints with enterprise affairs, accounting, and authorized departments.
On the TV / movie facet, unions have received essential contract phrases like “timely” and “pay or play.”
I’ve been taken care of throughout the board by each imprint I’ve labored for, together with Aftershock, the place I’m paid out on the sequence after delivering all contracted work.
But it rankles when colleagues endure, taken benefit of for selecting to pursue a vocation they love…
…ignored as in the event that they don’t exist……and when our most dear property—our concepts & efforts—languish within the mismanaging fingers of these corporations (and folks!) we trusted with them.
That—and all this armchair devaluing by AI lovers—is frankly dispiriting and pretty infuriating.
And look TV / movie isn’t any greener moral pasture. Entire streaming sequence are being wholesale deleted to be able to escape paying residuals, one thing unions have simply barely carved out in new media (search for the distinction between cable / TV resids vs streaming in WGA settlement)
And the quantity of free work and writing I’ve carried out chasing TV / Film pitches and tasks that didn’t occur can be staggering and extraordinary if it additionally weren’t completely bizarre. I’ve been paid to pitch exactly as soon as… for the one time I labored on a online game.
It was so surprising to me that I used to be truly anxious and felt at any second a mistake can be realized and I must give the cash again.
Unfortunately, concern of reprisal / overcompensation has been baked into the inventive commerce as a pathology at this level.
If we let that fester, and settle for continued devaluation in any type, then corporatized slight-of-hand and exploitation will solely persist and get bolder and extra egregious.
At the top of the day, it’s essential to recollect: they’ll’t do what we do.
So they need to pay us for what we do.
On time.
And they need to deal with us with respect, via correct skilled communication about mission standing / monetary points.
Anyway, the struggle for truthful compensation, the one American pastime I really like greater than baseball.
Aftershock is the primary main comics firm to file for chapter in a while (nevertheless it might not be the final – one other firm is informally reorganizing as we communicate.) Obviously this might be matter 1 for some time – we’ll up date the story as occasions warrant.
Note: a listing of unsecured collectors with residence addresses has been faraway from each these paperwork.
Redacted – AfterShock Comics, LLC-22-11456
Redacted – Rive Gauche Television-22-11457 copy
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