Dark Horse Workers Unionize: The Letter That Tells You Everything About What Embracer Did to This Company
Dark Horse Media staff announced today the formation of Dark Horse Workers United, affiliated with Communications Workers of America Local 7901. Fifty-nine eligible employees signed a letter sent to interim CEO Jay Komas requesting voluntary union recognition by June 3, 2026. If Komas does not voluntarily recognize the union, Dark Horse Workers United will petition the National Labor Relations Board for an election.
The full press release reads:
“MILWAUKIE, Ore. — Today, a supermajority of staff at local comic book publisher Dark Horse Media, including associated comics retailer Things From Another World, announced their intent to unionize with Communications Workers of America (CWA), Local 7901. Dark Horse Workers United sent a letter to interim CEO Jay Komas requesting that he voluntarily recognize the union by June 3rd. Absent voluntary recognition, Dark Horse Workers United will petition the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for an election.
In a show of solidarity, 59 eligible employees signed onto the letter, which explained the staff’s motivations for forming Dark Horse Workers United. Among these is a desire for equitable pay, workplace democracy, and a continued commitment to creator-owned comics.
‘We, the workers of Dark Horse Media, have come together to form one union, Dark Horse Workers United (DHWU), with our parent union, the Communications Workers of America (CWA). In solidarity we stand together to contend for our rights as workers, vote as a democratic body, and improve our material conditions.’
Founded by Mike Richardson in 1986, Dark Horse has remained one of the world’s premier comic book publishers for 40 years. The company has earned a massive fanbase publishing creator-owned titles (Hellboy, Umbrella Academy), licensed books (Star Wars, Aliens) and manga (Berserk, Trigun). Dark Horse was purchased by Vanguard Visionary Group in 2018, and then by Embracer Group in 2022.
On March 4, 2026, it was announced that Richardson was no longer with the company. In their letter to interim CEO Jay Komas, Dark Horse staff expressed their desire to improve conditions for workers and maintain Richardson’s legacy of publishing creator-owned comics.
‘The looming uncertainty from recent layoffs, wage/hiring freeze, change in leadership power, emergence of artificial intelligence, and return-to-office policies (despite their economic impact on employees) have fueled us to organize and collectively address our concerns. These are just a few examples of why we are seeking a democratic workplace.’
Meg Ward, President of CWA Local 7901, said: ‘CWA Local 7901 is proud to support the staff behind the beloved comic book publisher, Dark Horse. Dark Horse Workers United was formed because of the love Dark Horse employees have for their work, their colleagues, and the comic book industry. DHWU wants to see the company be a leader well into the future. We look forward to working collaboratively with Dark Horse leadership.’
Dark Horse Workers United looks forward to joining their fellow unionized workers at Image Comics and Seven Seas Publishing in bringing the labor movement to the comics industry, ensuring that comics publishers continue to thrive.”
The letter’s most important sentence is buried in the middle: “The looming uncertainty from recent layoffs, wage/hiring freeze, change in leadership power, emergence of artificial intelligence, and return-to-office policies have fueled us to organize.”
That sentence describes what Embracer did to Dark Horse after acquiring it for approximately $30 million in 2022. The Swedish gaming conglomerate that bought Dark Horse as part of an aggressive acquisition spree with over 20 companies in a single year, valued at over $1 billion, before they ran into catastrophic financial trouble in May 2023 when a planned $2 billion investment from Saudi-owned Savvy Games Group collapsed. Embracer announced a comprehensive restructuring including layoffs and studio closures, spinning the company into three separate entities: Asmodee Group, Coffee Stain & Friends, and Middle-earth Enterprises & Friends. Dark Horse landed in the Middle-earth Enterprises division.
Mike Richardson had assured staff in 2023 that Dark Horse was self-funded and insulated from the Embracer turmoil. That assurance did not survive contact with February 2025, when Dark Horse confirmed sweeping layoffs of approximately twenty staff members, citing “increasing overhead, changing market conditions, and external economic factors.” The cuts came after new demands from Embracer, per Bleeding Cool’s reporting at the time.
On March 4, 2026, Richardson himself was removed from the company he founded forty years earlier. No successor has been announced. Jay Komas holds the interim CEO title. The employees who built the publisher’s editorial reputation under Richardson are now organizing to protect the conditions that remain.
Then there was the incident where three physical store locations Richardson opened in the 1980s, which funded the original launch of Dark Horse Comics, closing by September 2026. The stores are going. The founder is gone. The staff is now asking a corporate interim CEO to recognize a union before they petition the NLRB.
The union announcement names Image Comics and Seven Seas Publishing as fellow-unionized publishers. Image Comics workers won their NLRB union representation election under CWA Local 7901, becoming the first comic book workers to form a union in the United States. Dark Horse Workers United would be the second publisher to complete that process.
The comics industry in 2026 is not healthy. Diamond’s bankruptcy removed the single distribution infrastructure that had served the direct market for forty years. Hundreds of comic stores closed between 2020 and 2025. Dark Horse’s retail chain is shutting down. Its founder was fired on the company’s 40th anniversary. Its staff is unionizing against a Swedish gaming conglomerate’s interim CEO, citing wage freezes, AI concerns, and layoffs.
The letter from Dark Horse Workers United explicitly invokes Richardson’s legacy of creator-owned comics as part of what they are trying to preserve. The employees understand what Embracer is. They watched it happen in real time. The union is their answer to a corporate owner that bought an institution, stripped its management, froze wages, and handed it to an interim CEO while the founder’s retail stores were shuttered.
What do you think Dark Horse Workers United’s chances of voluntary recognition are before the NLRB deadline? Let us know in the comments.
450 pages of classic superhero storytelling that puts character first. The Flying Sparks Omnibus collects the complete saga of Meta-Girl — the kind of cape comic the mainstream forgot how to make. Sign up to get your copy.
