Neil Gaiman’s comics editorial breaks with the author for accusations of sexual aggression | Culture

The Dark Horse publishing house, a habitual seal of the British author Neil Gaiman (Portchester, the United Kingdom, 64 years old), announced last Saturday that he stops publishing his works and cancels the launch of the comics series Anansi’s children.

This was announced in a publication on the social network X: “Dark Horse takes the accusations against Neil Gaiman and we will no longer publish his works,” you could read. “We confirm that the comic series Anansi’s children And the compilation volume have been canceled, ”they added.

The announcement occurs after an article in the magazine New York Magazinedated January 13, in which several women accused the author of sexual aggression, detailing complaints that were already circulating since the summer, following the podcast Master: Accusations against Neil Gaiman. The author responded in a statement that relationships were always consented, although he acknowledged that “he had to have done things better.”

Among the abuses that the victims report are degrading facts such as the obligation to lick the vomit caused by oral sex, have painful sex during urinary infection or maintain sex in the presence of Gaiman’s little son. “Degradation, slavery, domination, sadism and masochism, although they may not be the pleasure of all, is legal among adults who consist of sadomasochism,” said Gaiman’s team. Although some of the complainants declare having explained their refusal.

Series of rejections

The first volume of Anansi childrenseries based on a homonymous novel by Gaiman of 2005, was published last June, and for the moment seven of his eight volumes had seen the light. There will be no more. It is not the first rejection that Gaiman faces in relation to the accusations: television adaptations had already been canceled (for example, the series Dead detectivesand Netflix) o Projects in Hollywood (Disney stopped the development of the animated film The cemetery book), while some publishers, such as Marvel, WW Norton or Harpercollins, refused to work with him. Many booksellers also stopped selling their books. “I have always lived in a world in which it is a possibility that your work is canceled,” Gaiman himself said in an interview with this newspaper in 2021, long before the start of the scandal. Although, curiously, he referred to the cancellation of a series of comics for lack of sales, not for accusations of sexual assault.

Some authors have pressed to withdraw awards. “Normally, I am not in favor of revoking prizes. But Neil Gaiman should take away the Newbery. As one of my colleagues pointed out, the children who investigate him for their reading reports will be surprised. We better stand out another book of that year. We do not need a new generation of wounded fans and with a broken heart, ”authorized author Martha Brockenbrough on Facebook on January 13. Other authors such as JK Rowling or Jeff Vandermeer criticized the temperate response of the literary world to accusations.

One of the women who have accused Gaiman, Katherine Kendall, 36, told The Times that “Neil’s works were his bait, and promotional acts were his hunting ground. While its editors and professional collaborators keep silent, Neil will continue to have no restrictions on vulnerable women. ” Most of the women were in the twenties when he met Gaiman (the youngest was 18), two of them worked for him and five were followers of his work. The stories, except for an exception, happen when Gaiman exceeded 40 years and passed by a defender of women’s rights.

Neil Gaiman, one of the greatest names of the comic and fantastic literature, is the author of famous works such as the comics series The Sandman And novels like Stardust, Coraline y The cemetery bookand has received some of the most notable science fiction awards such as Hugo, Bram Stoker or Nebula.