As ComicsGate found support in alternative news outlets, there was still an open question as to how much legitimacy the group could obtain. Certainly they found some big names in Ethan Van Sciver or Jon Malin, but both of these artists had largely abandoned working for the Big Two after causing such a scene with their online theatrics. The same could be said for Chuck Dixon or Mike Baron, who largely worked independently before being adopted as ComicsGate darlings. The funding campaigns for ComicsGate branded projects would make a great sum of cash, but many projects were left unfulfilled while the creators moved on to newer books or merchandise to raise money. At nearly every instance there was a step forward and a step backward for the fledgling movement. The group desperately needed mainstream appeal and backing from prominent publishers, even small, independent organizations.
Alterna Comics
In late 2018, several Twitter users began noticing the Alterna Comics account had been retweeting ComicsGate posts and even commenting on some of the images (de Guzman, 2018). The company itself never specifically stated anything about ComicsGate and there is a high likelihood they weren’t even aware that most of these tweets were related to ComicsGate in the first place. The online community dedicated to combating the ongoing harassment, however, kept their guard up, often calling out Alterna’s promotion of the movement. The company’s social media policies would be little cause for concern if that’s where this all ended, but, unfortunately, the matter was about to come under much further scrutiny.
Alterna Comics published their updated code of conduct agreement to their submissions page, and later to Twitter in August of 2018 (Bartsch, 2018). Catching the eye of critics were clauses such as: “You are required and encouraged to actively promote your title on social media. We do not condone the use of block bots/blind blocking/block chains or any other kind of program or practice that is used to block thousands of people, blindly, en masse.” The justification for this comes further on, stating: "We have readers of all walks of life and it is paramount to us, that we encourage, promote and stand by our stance that comics are for everyone.” While the need to reach a broader audience and believing that none should be discriminated against is a valid argument, the unfortunate reality is that prohibiting the use of tools like block chains serves the purpose of opening creators to more harassment. Creators and critics pointed out the strange intrusiveness of such a policy, and it’s placement of monetary gains over the safety of the creators. At this point, ComicsGate had been in full swing for quite a while and many artists and writers had faced months of targeted harassment. One of the only ways to combat the barrage of abusive behavior would be to utilize a block chain to immediately block followers of Richard C. Meyer or the hashtag “comicsgate” itself. Banning this practice meant that any creator willing to work for Alterna would immediately be open to abuse. As writer Mark Waid put it, the “creator's only choice is to (a) sort through vicious, ugly personal comments all day long, every day, and then block accounts one by one, rinse, repeat, (b) resort to the imperfect solution of a block chain, or (c) (my own choice, I'm sad to say) largely remove themselves from social media (something forbidden by Alterna Comics, btw) (Matadeen, 2018).” Alterna responded to criticism by pointing that creators could reach out to the company for better support (Bartsch, 2018).
Shortly after, Alterna’s founder, Peter Simeti, took to Twitter to explain that block chains have the side effect of removing people who do not engage in harassment while simultaneously stating that he was aware of a letterer at the company who was defying the new policy (Matadeen, 2018). Just a week after the agreement’s start, that letterer, Micah Myers, claimed to be let go for his refusal to comply. In response, Simeti threatened to take legal action against Comic Book Resources (CBR) via Twitter for publishing an article on Myers’ claims (Simeti, 2018b). In subsequent tweets Simeti claimed people were trying to ruin his life and that he was suicidal over the backlash from this news coming out. Rather than sue CBR, Simeti instead chose to have them publish a prepared statement where he vehemently denies being involved in the firing of Myers, asserts that Myers stepped down of his own accord, and that the use of a block chain opened up the creative team to harassment rather than preventing it (CBR Admin Team, 2018). The entire scenario did little to engender goodwill for the company in anyone outside of the growingly steadfast anti-mainstream contrarians, which included many followers of ComicsGate. Those same people had already felt like they found an ally in Simeti since he had tweeted several times about his disgust for those that would write off ComicsGaters as, in his mind, this sent a signal that comics aren’t for everyone (Simeti, 2018a).
Pro-CG websites like Bounding into Comics leapt to Simeti’s defense, while simultaneously downplaying the actions of Richard C. Meyer (Baculi, 2019a). In an article titled “Alterna Comics Accused of Supporting White Supremacy Due to Neutral ComicsGate Stance,” author Spencer Baculi points to a fan on Twitter that had accused Simeti of supporting white supremacy before deleting the tweet in question. Alterna Comics fans and ComicsGate supporters flooded the fan’s timeline, and even posted his personal information. Baculi dismisses this as insignificant since the information could be found on LinkedIn or elsewhere, but this obfuscates the issue. Whether or not the information is readily available if sought out, it was made available for a group of people who were angry and harassing someone online. Publicizing an address or a phone number is an invitation to harass that person in this new venue. Simeti’s response to this individual follows a similar thinking. He began by asking how he could help, but when he received a response Simeti told the fan:
“Sure thing. But first…you're accusing me, my company, and our creators of viciously disgusting things that have caused all of us a lot of pain and turmoil. An apology would be great. Thanks!” (Simeti, 2019a)
Rather than apologize, the fan pointed out how these actions did little to dissuade them since a great deal of the responses were only continuing the harassment (Baculi, 2019a). According to them, their emails were hacked and calls were even coming into their place of work. To the fan, this proved they were dealing with a hate group. The action and reaction were not equivocal. Stating a strong opinion, even one that is as harsh as labeling someone a supporter of white supremacy, is dwarfed by a group of people continuing to bombard this person on social media with the help of the publisher of a comic book company and adding their personal information into the mix. Depending on your view of this situation, Alterna’s reputation either took another deep dip or drastically endeared themselves through engaging with such discourse. For the ComicsGate movement, it was a strong indicator that a publisher would, at the very least, stand by them. For Spencer Baculi, this was seen as a moment that could exemplify why accusations of hatred should not be trusted. His article ends by directly linking this situation with the claim that Richard C. Meyer was in Charlottesville for the “Unite the Right Rally” as well as defending Mike Baron from allegations that he was a ComicsGate supporter. Interestingly, both of these points had evidence to back their claims.
In Baculi’s previous post about Mike Baron’s supposed ties to ComicsGate, it’s revealed that he refused to disavow their actions and claimed that his only problem was with the name (Baculi, 2019a). Gail Simone wrote about their conversation on the matter, which formed a large chunk of the basis for which Baculi wrote his piece. The majority of the article focused on Simone’s disdain for ComicsGate and claiming that this was due to blind hatred for the group instead of any actions taken by anyone associated with them, while simultaneously stating that it couldn’t be considered a hate group. While Mike Baron may not have stated he was throwing his support behind the movement, his actions indicated that he was in agreement with their stance, even to the point of only stating he disagreed with the name. This article was published exactly one day prior to the article where Baculi claims Mike Baron’s ties to ComicsGate are a “false assumption” (Baculi, 2019b). Baron would even later go on to work with Richard C. Meyer on a comic project and agreed to be interviewed for ComicsGate.org (Shannon, 2020). Regardless of how entrenched Baron was or wasn’t in ComicsGate, there were definite indicators of his at least tacit support for their stances and actions.
Richard C. Meyer’s reasons for being near the “Unite the Right Rally” in Charlottesville, however, are a little harder to discern. When prominent anti-ComicsGate creator Renfamous posted screen captures of Meyer’s own videos and tweets showing that he was at the rally, the intent was to have Indiegogo halt any working relationship they had with him (@renfamous, 2018). At the time, Indiegogo had canceled and refunded a project by Vox Day for violating their Terms of Use (Indiegogo, 2018). While no cause was ever made public, the most likely reasons were Day’s association with the Alt-Right, his long history of hateful rhetoric, the fact that the comic book was specifically about and for the Alt-Right, or a combination of them all. By tying Meyer to the march of neo-Nazis in Virginia, Renfamous attempted to garner the same response. Meyer’s tweets show that he was at an intersection where people were run over by cars during the rally and the video he uploaded to YouTube was titled “KKK Fails to Stop Me From Buying BLACK PANTHER Comic in Charlottesville”, which was a strong signal of the troll-like nature of his visit (@renfamous, 2018). Meyer’s defense was that he was in Virgina to visit family that lived in Lynchburg, which is a city about 70 miles southwest of where the rally took place (Trent, 2018). In an interview with PJ Media (2017), Meyer claims he had only made the trip in search of a sold out comic book and just happened to be caught in the Unite the Right rally at the moment the highly publicized event started. The tweet intimating his involvement in the rally provoked outrage from Meyer and the larger ComicsGate community, culminating in Ethan Van Sciver claiming it as proof Renfamous accused Meyer of murdering a woman (Van Sciver, 2019d). This is demonstrably false, but it helps to perpetuate a narrative of oppression from detractors.
These are the elements that Baculi, and by extension Bounding into Comics, use as examples for how others demonize ComicsGate. The story of a random twitter comic book fan’s accusation stands as a model for the unjust mistreatment of their followers in an attempt to create a cautionary tale of how similar accusations should not be believed, thus creating a useful deflection for negative stories about those the movement needs to protect. An added benefit is coming to the defense of a publisher that has shown a refusal to disavow their actions. Moreover, at least one creator had their titles dropped by the publisher due, in their words, to speaking out against ComicsGate (Pangburn, 2018). While Simeti claimed to keep a neutral stance in the campaign, it was clear that the party benefiting from these changes was ComicsGate. Alterna Comics gained allies in their public relations nightmare, while ComicsGate came closer to gaining legitimacy.
Swatting claim
While Peter Simeti continued operations as normal, a new wrinkle was about to be introduced into the Alterna Comics saga. On February 12th, 2019, local police interrupted a live stream hosted by Simeti with their guns drawn (Simeti, 2019b). Someone earlier in the night had called the police, reported to be Peter Simeti, gave his address, claimed to have stabbed their girlfriend, and was suicidal. The stream has since been made private, but the news made the rounds on comic book sites (Trent, 2019). Someone had “swatted” Peter Simeti.
In the aftermath, Simeti took to Twitter to ask everyone to remain calm while an investigation into the event was underway (Simeti, 2019b). Ethan Van Sciver, however, took a different route. Just one day after the horrific event, Van Sciver uploaded a video to YouTube where he mocks anti-ComicsGate voices as a direct response (Van Sciver, 2019c). It’s a short video, but I cut a few clips for us to listen to. The first is Ethan’s introduction to the controversy.
*clip one*
The next clip immediately follows the first and is titled “The Harassment” where EVS reads tweets from the anti-CG crowd:
*clip two*
The derisive tone Van Sciver uses while reading these tweets underlines the way he wants these people to be seen. The tweets can’t make the point he wants to convey alone, so he adds a silly voice as a way to dismiss their character outright. This is all done while ignoring his or his cohorts behavior that we have already covered. While all of this may seem foolish or funny, he wants you to understand how serious he actually is.
*clip three*
Van Sciver’s video lays the narrative perfectly. Without any evidence, he has implied that this was an attempted murder specifically brought forth by the anti-ComicsGate crowd (Van Sciver, 2019c). Further, he directly asserts that this act is an act of attempted murder. To be clear, there are actual deaths associated with swatting, like the accidental shooting of a man in Wichita, Kansas, in 2017 (Queally, 2018). Attempted murder, however, is a high bar to overcome. What Van Sciver is arguing is that someone intentionally set up this situation for Simeti to be murdered by the police. The act of swatting, itself, is awful, but intent is hard to ascertain. Van Sciver wants his viewers to see this as attempted murder, though, so it fits with the earlier section of the video where he mocks the anti-ComicsGate movement. The intent is to connect the swatting attempt to anti-ComicsGaters like Renfamous. By linking these two events in his viewers’ minds, he has effectively provided an excuse for any actions they take to be seen as justified. This is all publically stated while no information on the event is available. In fact, no more information was ever released about this incident and, as far as can be told, no one was ever arrested or charged in relation to the crime. Unfortunately, this means that skeptics had a lot of opportunities to disagree with Simeti’s version of events.
YouTubers Comic Book Hut and Cap’n Cummings began publicly questioning, or, in the case of Cap’n Cummings, outright denying that Simeti was ever swatted (del Arroz, 2020). After the event took place, Simeti quickly made the stream private, meaning anyone who had not witnessed everything unfold now only had his words to go on. For most, there was no reason to question the events, but this left some unwilling to blindly accept what they had been told. The ComicsGate community had started to split, with Peter Simeti in the middle. Demands for the release of the police report, the stream, or anything that could prove the swatting actually took place were made, even though Simeti had already made a statement that he was unwilling to interfere with the investigation. Ultimately, though, the official Alterna Comics YouTube channel released a video featuring part of the stream where the police entered Simeti’s home, and a brief glimpse of the police report written by the lead officer (Alterna Comics, 2020). The case had been closed after 15 months of investigation with no arrests. While the question of whether or not Simeti was swatted had been closed, this, unfortunately, was not the end to the troubles coming front that night.
Less than a month after Alterna Comics provided proof of Simeti’s claims, Renfamous posted a copy of a similar report where Peter Simeti specifically stated she and an unnamed individual should be considered when investigating leads (Renfamous, 2020). Simeti stated he believed the swatting to be related to the “politically-charged atmosphere” of the comic book business and an apparent ongoing harassment campaign against him and his company, with Renfamous listed as a vocal proponent. Interestingly, the only thing Renfamous had commented on, at that time, was the social media policy changes Alterna Comics had put in place. Renfamous was, however, very vocal in combating ComicsGate members online.
No more information was provided by Simeti or Alterna, which did little to endear the company to anyone that wasn’t already sympathetic to ComicsGate.
Hawaii Representative
Surprisingly, this is not the only time we have to discuss swatting. Shortly after the Peter Simeti incident, another prominent figure in ComicsGate came forward with a shockingly similar story. During a livestream with Ethan Van Sciver, Edwin Boyette described how, after returning home from night at a convention where he was the loudest person in the room, he was jolted awake by a banging at his door (Van Sciver, 2019b). Upon answering, Boyette was greeted by police officers with guns drawn. They explained how they’d just received a call from someone claiming to be Boyette who had killed his wife and was suicidal. Boyette was able to calm the situation and send the officers on their way, but the similarities to what happened with Peter Simeti were not lost on the ComicsGate crowd. Boyette admitted that it was strange, and Van Sciver even questioned if these two events were perpetrated by the same individual. Ultimately, nothing ever seemed to come from what happened. Little information was ever given as to any investigation that was underway or how any of it was concluded. In fact, other than a blurry image of a document with some handwritten notes along the top, no actual evidence was ever given to prove the event took place. What is, perhaps, the most interesting isn’t even Boyette’s claims.
This video is a fascinating look at how fickle the ComicsGate movement can be, at least pertaining to Ethan Van Sciver. EVS highlights the fundraising efforts of Earthworm Jim creator, Doug TenNapel, for nearly clearing $200,000 for one issue of his new ComicsGate project (Van Sciver, 2019b). Not long after this, TenNapel and Van Sciver would have a deep falling out over a sudden lack of ComicsGate support from TenNapel and several misunderstandings between the two (Rekieta Law, 2019). After their feud began, Van Sciver publicly commented on TenNapel’s very antigay sentiments. For instance, spread throughout his Breitbart articles and twitter activity were long diatribes against gay marriage and gay rights (Hughes, 2017). When one of his games was criticized by a trans author, TenNapel misgendered her, claimed she suffered from “madness,” and decided that her article was nothing more than a “passive aggressive hit-piece.” These comments drove much of the criticism that Van Sciver would throw at TenNapel, but, interestingly, he never backed down nor hid his deeply held bigoted beliefs even before his involvement in ComicsGate. Criticism from a conservative like Van Sciver doesn’t seem to even register as noteworthy since, in his own words, "transphobe (like homophobe) is a made-up word used to slander conservative people of faith with a mental condition, and is only used by SJWs (Tamburro, 2020).” It seems, by this definition, being anything other than antigay is tantamount to communism. Nearly all of these comments were public at the time EVS proudly supported TenNapel at the start of the video, yet, none of them seemed to matter while they were on good terms.
Van Sciver repeatedly called the antiComicsGate crowd “mob-like” and dangerous, causing one of his guests to comment:
“These people have hundreds of thousands of followers. They have influence with them and when they’re spreading out these- these lies, I mean, it’s very… they just put them out there, and it’s like they’re not…they’re not… being held responsible for their own actions.” (Van Sciver, 2019b)
The insinuation of the culpability of a social media figure for how their words affect others is another moment of a quiet admission that there is a responsibility one has when they have an audience. If this same thought process was applied equally, it would mean that Van Sciver would have to recognize his own words as a problem. Telling others online to kill themselves, implying Renfamous accused Richard C. Meyer of murder, or even implicating his own perceived enemies as those that called the police on Peter Simeti would require drastic repercussions for the mental turmoil they have caused. Van Sciver, however, refuses to acknowledge the responsibility he has as a leading figure. The man who loudly adopted the nickname “Caesar” and smiles as his acolytes greet him with pronouncements of “hail” couldn’t even accept his role in platforming someone who stood in direct opposition of gay rights until after it was convenient (Van Sciver, 2019b; Rekieta Law, 2019).
As for Edwin Boyette, Van Sciver repeatedly praised his guest as a “godly, kind man,” a “peacemaker,” and “a calm, compassionate voice of cool (Van Sciver, 2019b).” This was all after Boyette found himself in some trouble involving his own project, IndieCron, which would track the sales of indie books through their crowdfunding campaigns and promote projects to find new backers (del Arroz, 2018). A campaign on the site was delisted due to a problematic figure being included as part of the editorial team, which sparked a controversy over censorship (Van Sciver, 2019a). IndieCron would find itself in hot water again, later, when Micah Curtis demanded to be delisted due to Boyette’s association with Vox Day and Jon Del Arroz, two men that Curtis described as providing philosophies that were “a gateway to white nationalism (Curtis, 2019).” Boyette’s frequent erratic behavior, coupled with the promotion of these ideologies, led to the ComicsGate community and Boyette severing ties. Shortly after, Van Sciver began ridiculing him by giving nicknames like “Methwin Boyette,” because he believed he looked like someone on meth (Van Sciver, 2021). These insults and complaints didn’t appear until after Boyette’s departure from ComicsGate. Prior to this, Van Sciver offered only kind words. The transition happened swiftly and decisively. Boyette had lost what was once a group ready to rally to his defense and fawn over his seemingly quiet demeanor.
That is not the end of Boyette's story, though. In early January of 2021, the official Twitter account of the Hawaii Republican Party gained a lot of attention, thanks to a few tweets coming to the defense of Q Anon followers (Thiessen, 2021). One tweet read:
“We should make it abundantly clear — the people who subscribed to the Q fiction, were largely motivated by a sincere and deep love for America. Patriotism and love of County (sic) should never be ridiculed” (Thiessen, 2021)
This tweet was authored by the Hawaii GOP Vice Chairman, Edwin Boyette (Thiessen, 2021). While some, including Van Sciver, took this to mean Boyette was a follower himself, the tweet actually proves the opposite (Van Sciver, 2021). Boyette had always been clear that he thought everything to do with Q was fiction. His tweet was a show of support for those fooled by the conspiracy. Van Sciver took this opportunity, however, to start a livestream where he repeatedly mocked the man he had once treated as a paragon of peace in his movement. Boyette resigned from his position shortly after the tweets were deleted, and little has been heard from him since (Thiessen, 2021). What should be abundantly clear is Boyette’s show of compassion to others that were ridiculed and mocked for their beliefs, which is something Van Sciver once praised, became the vehicle for his own derision. The controversy itself largely stems from poor wording on Boyette’s part and the proximity of them in relation to the attempted insurrection at the Capitol, largely driven by Q adherents. These followers do, in fact, deserve to be held accountable for their actions, but Boyette’s comments never say the opposite. It’s impossible to tell the exact motivations he might have had in forming these tweets, and using the official Twitter account of his party demonstrates an extreme lack of judgement, but there is an actual conversation to be had on how we, as a society, can reach out to those controlled by what is essentially a cult.
ComicsGate operates in some areas the same way Q Anon does. The hateful actions of the individuals should be disavowed, the misinformation should be combated, and, above all, the followers should be given an opportunity to see where it all went wrong. Q holds authority because these followers believe a secret, powerful individual is the only one speaking the truth. For the followers, this offers them a chance to feel special in being some of the few who see through the lies. ComicsGate believes they, and the stories they love are victims. Out of the confusion and hurt come individuals like Ethan Van Sciver or Richard C Meyer who offer an opportunity to revel in rebellion by acting out against their perceived enemies. These men become leaders and the followers gain strength from being some of the few who fight back against the lies. One way of exposing just how removed from reality these groups are, especially to their adherents, is to detail the facts and point out the calculated manipulations employed and the utterly ridiculous and cartoonish nature of their leaders.
Boyette’s resignation was well earned, but Van Sciver’s lack of principles have never been clearer. He is an opportunist, one who holds allegiances only to those that serve his best interests under the guise of furthering the ComicsGate cause. His followers demand absolute adherence and will swarm any that dare dissent, all while claiming themselves the victim. Caesar, the great dictator, might actually be a fairer nickname than he imagined.
And we will learn more about ComicsGate’s crumbling empire on the next episode.
You can find more information, including all of the sources for today’s episode at ComicallyPedantic.com. You can also follow us on Twitter and Instagram by searching @PedanticCast and @DerekLChase on both platforms. New episodes come out most Sundays on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and at ComicallyPedantic.com. This show is entirely listener supported. If you’d like to support the show, help us stay ad-free, and possibly be mentioned on air you can check out the Patreon link at the top of ComicallyPedantic.com. If you have any comments or questions you can send them in text or audio recording to comicallypedantic@gmail.com. Please indicate if you’d like your name or question read on the air.
Next episode we’ll dig into more publishers' ties to ComicsGate, more lawsuits, and the complete embarrassment of Richard C. Meyer, but until then you can find more exciting adventures at your local comic shop.
References
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Van Sciver, E. [ComicArtistPro Secrets]. (2019b, February 23). Edwin Boyette was just SWATted. LIVE chat. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsER3ZdtvcM&feature=youtu.be
Van Sciver, E. [ComicArtistPro Secrets]. (2019c, February 13). PETER SIMETI OF ALTERNA COMICS WAS SWATTED. The consequences of vile harassment. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPBE6nZ2-0w&feature=youtu.be
Van Sciver, E. [ComicArtistPro Secrets]. (2021, January 25). TELLING ABOUT FUDGE: The Edwin Boyette Story! Live! [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DC5KSKTBg4
Van Sciver, E. [@EthanVanSciver]. (2019d, February 24). That’s a good point, Thor. Lauren Cooper, AKA Renfamous, not only incited the SWATtings that Peter Simeti and [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/EthanVanSciver/status/1099720676649377792?s=20&t=PtitNDYk-5gyQh7iq6jhOQ
