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Several Image Comics employees share an open letter formalizing their plans to form a union called Comic Book Workers United.
A number of Image Comics employees signed an open letter announcing the formation of a union.
“For years, comics publishing workers have watched our professional efforts support creators and delight readers,” the Comic Book Workers United letter reads. “Sadly, we have also watched that same labor be taken for granted at best and exploited at worst. Keeping our heads above water was the new normal before the pandemic and since its onset we have been expected to take on even larger workloads with fewer resources. Our workforce, and the comic book and publishing industry as a whole, is overtaxed and undervalued.”
“This is detrimental not only to general staff but also to the creators we are paid to serve and the audiences they in turn work to entertain,” the letter continues. “Our labor is integral to the comic book industry. It requires specialized skills, dedication, and makes quality publishing possible. We love what we do. But loving what you do doesn’t mean you can’t or shouldn’t ask for improvements to your working conditions. It is with this in mind and with great hope for the future of Image Comics and the comic book industry itself that we announce our intent to form a union and request voluntary recognition.”
The letter, signed by Ryan Brewer, Leanna Caunter, Marla Eizik, Drew Fitzgerald, Melissa Gifford, Chloe Ramos, Tricia Ramos, Jon Schlaffman and Erika Schnatz, goes on to note that the group looked to the very founders of Image Comics for inspiration. “Their dreams of self-determination and more equitable treatment in the industry they loved and helped make successful are also our dreams,” it reads. “We are honored to grow their legacy by taking this step to give all comic book industry professionals, regardless of title, the same rights, guarantees, security, and protections which the founders sought when they broke away from the big two to start their own company. In fact, several months into our organizing efforts, Jim Valentino made a comment on social media celebrating union accomplishments. That was the moment we knew this could work.”
Founded in 1992 by Erik Larsen, Jim Lee, Rob Liefeld, Todd McFarlane, Whilce Portacio, Marc Silvestri and Jim Valentino, Image Comics marked a major shift in the comic book industry by focusing primarily on creator-owned work. In the years since then, it’s gone on to become the third-largest comic book publisher in the United States, behind Marvel and DC.
Source: Comic Book Workers United
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