Richard Meyer, the man behind the Comics & Diversity YouTube channel, filed a lawsuit in federal court against comic book writer Mark Waid. He claims Waid committed “tortious interference of a contract” upon him. It’s related to the incident when Meyer announced Antarctic Press was going to publish his comic Jawbreakers: Lost Souls only to have the publisher back out of the deal that same day. Meyer alleges it was because Mark Waid contacted the publisher and forced them to cancel the agreement.
Richard Meyer also claims Waid defamed him. Meyer is seeking damages exceeding $75,000.
I don’t see the point of this lawsuit. What could Mark Waid say that would defame Richard Meyer more than he’s already defamed himself? Meyer has a bad reputation in the comic book community, and he’s worked hard at earning it. He has hundreds of videos on YouTube where he says terrible things about people. Meyer refers to this activity as “roasting.” He focuses much of his roasting on women and minority comic book professionals, particularly members of the LGBT community. This roasting seems disproportionate, considering most comic book professionals aren’t women or minorities.
Had Antarctic Press spent any time watching Meyer’s more disturbing videos? If they had, they probably would not have wanted to do business with him.
Where are the damages?
Because Meyer could not find a publisher to publish Jawbreakers: Lost Souls, he focused on selling the book solely through Indiegogo at a minimum of $35 per book. So far, he’s made $397,104 on Indiegogo. That’s far more than he would have made if he found a conventional publisher such as Antarctic Press to publish the book. Customers can still be purchase the book on Indiegogo for $35.
Part of the book’s appeal is that social justice warriors (SJWs) don’t want people to read the book. As one of the leaders of Comicsgate, Meyer complains passionately on YouTube about the atrocities of SJWs. He claims SJWs are ruining comic books and causing comic book shops to go out of business.
If Mark Waid caused Antarctic Press to back out of its deal with Richard Meyer, he should thank Waid, not sue him. There’s no doubt Meyer has significantly benefited from publishing the book himself.
Where’s the GoFundMe campaign?
Now that news of the lawsuit has been made public, and I’m sure Meyer will start a GoFundMe campaign so Comicsgators can help pay for the case. That’s what leaders in Comicsgate do when they want to sue someone, they create a GoFundMe campaign and ask people to give them money. Maybe Mark Waid will create a GoFundMe campaign. Comic book Internet drama fans can then see which campaign raises the most money. Considering how many comic book professionals Meyer has maligned and insulted, my money’s on Waid.
Update
It didn’t take very long. Richard Meyer has a GoFundMe to pay for this lawsuit against Waid. He didn’t create it. Ethan Van Sciver started it. I don’t understand why Comicsgate guys cannot create their own GoFundMe campaigns. It seems like they always go through an e-friend.
You clearly have no understanding of the law. This entire article had nothing to do with the lawsuit. Being a jerk isn’t illegal. Directly interfering with a contract in Texas is however. Just liberal smear clickbait BS. You’ll be flipping burgers by the end of the year.
Thanks for the kind words. Happy New Year to you and your people.
“If Mark Waid caused Antarctic Press to back out of its deal with Richard Meyer, he should thank Waid, not sue him.”
By the same token, if a Texas jury awards Meyer a jackpot, Waid should actually thank him for bringing this to trial.
After all, Meyer’s doing Waid a huge favor by helping him shed some of that wicked privilege he feels so heavily burdened by.
Happy Easter to you and your people. Christ is risen!