Roger Langridge Moves On From Marvel and DC Citing Ethical Concerns
Chris Roberson, you're not alone. During a recent interview, Roger Langridge announced that, like the Memorial, iZombie and former Superman writer, he will no longer work for Marvel or DC Comics due to concerns over creator rights at the Big Two.Langridge, whose projects for Marvel have included the critically-acclaimed (and Eisner Award-nominated) Thor The Mighty Avenger as well as the first John Carter mini-series, A Princess of Mars, was talking to the Orbital Comics podcast when he said that "Marvel and DC are turning out quite problematic from an ethical view to continue working with," going on to explain that
I think it's down to everyone's individual conscience but I think those of us who have options, and I do have options, I've got a working relationship with a couple of other publishers, I've got illustration work I can fall back on, I'm not beholden to Marvel and DC for my bread and butter. If you do have the option, you maybe should think hard about what you're doing and who you are doing it for.
I was writing the last issue of John Carter when the news came that Marvel had won a lawsuit against the heirs of Jack Kirby and Steve Bissette wrote an very impassioned post about the ethics of working for Marvel under those circumstances. Pretty much then, I figured I should finish the script I was writing and move on... I think it's beholden on the creative community to ask themselves what kind of industry they want and act accordingly.
Since the interview was picked up online this weekend, he has gone on to clarify that he made the decision last summer, pointing out that "I didn't 'quit' anything because I wasn't doing anything for either Marvel or DC at the time."
"I stand by the decision, though, whether it was made ages ago or not," he added. "I mentioned it on the Orbital podcast because I felt like I needed to stand up and be counted. I suspect the generation of cartoonists who come after me will ask what I did in the war, so to speak, and I'd like to answer them without blushing."
Perhaps to the surprise of those who suspect such decisions are the equivalent to committing career suicide, Langridge continues to be busy; not only is his Snarked! series (which he both writes and illustrates) continuing at Boom! Studios, but the new Popeye series he is writing for IDW has just been upgraded from a four-issue mini-series to an ongoing monthly based on the success of the first issue. His name will also be attached to a Marvel series for the next few months despite his decision, as the company is publishing the final Muppet Show series he created for Boom! before Marvel took over the Disney license.