Eric July Reveals Comic Studio Cancels Fifteen Rippaverse Projects Because They "Became Conscious Of Some Controversies"

A major problem for non-leftists trying to gain a foothold in entertainment—especially the comic book industry—is the pressure faced by talent who will refuse to work for anyone the establishment deems a threat. Eric July found this firsthand with his Rippaverse, as a studio has quit because of “controversy” associated with him.

Eric July built a giant audience off of his pop culture commentary and music background. Teaming with The Blaze, he propelled his brand to new heights before ever starting the Rippaverse with his hit book Isom #1, a comic that made millions and began an empire. He didn’t rest on his laurels but built an entire universe with Alphacore, Yaira, Goodyng, and more, as the company is on track to sell even more books in 2025 than it has in any year prior.

He's hired industry legends Chuck Dixon and Joe Bennett to work with him, as well as former Marvel artist Bart Sears, teaming with The Soska Sisters who also penned a Black Widow mini-series for the big 2 comic company. With such talent involved, and a line that has endless work involved, one would think any studio would be honored to work with The Rippaverse. It’s practically guaranteed income for a long time if they do a good job.

However, success doesn’t come without detraction, and Eric July faces a ridiculous online mob who attack his every move and dedicate their lives to hating his comic books. It’s borderline mentally ill, and led by several jealous fomer DC Comics artists who seem to want him to fail for their own feelings.

It’s led to some problems recently, as Eric July posted to X yesterday,

For the sake of respect and professionalism, I will not name the agency involved.

As many of you know, the Rippaverse has a mountain of projects coming down the pipeline for 2025 and beyond. This creates a lot of opportunity for artists.

We recently started communication with a decently known Western comic book agency that manages a lot of solid talent. Some of this talent is very well-known.

At first, they were enthusiastic about this opportunity; this especially applied to those looking for work at the moment. We eventually assigned about a dozen artists on 15+ projects. This included pencilers, inkers and colorists for both covers and sequential art. Some of these projects had already kicked off.

Today I received an email from the agency head that they are pulling all of their artists from their various projects. Why? Because, and I quote, they "became conscious of some controversies." I didn't ask what those controversies were, and it is unimportant. There's no sense in trying to work with people that don't want to work with you.

Though this delays several projects, I wished them well and will not do anything to spite them. I bring this up as a reminder to you all. We've seen a LOT of success, but we are still up against it. Though the Rippaverse leaves its politics at the door, the individual politics of people like me, Chuck Dixon and others will always be held against us. We all know what the "acceptable" politics are in the Western comic book industry.

That said, some of it isn't just a left v. right issue. We always have people contacting and besmirching our business to our vendors, partners, and anybody that dares to say anything positive about us. Some of these will even claim they're "anti cancel culture."

This is why we typically only contract and work with Westerners that are close in proximity. They're either already fans of The Rippaverse or they're professionals that know of and support our vision. They are mentally prepared to handle whatever will be unfortunately thrown out them, simply because they work with/for us. Everybody else are Easterners and South Americans that are completely disconnected from a lot of the nonsense and cultural problems that plague Western entertainment.

Despite all of this, I look forward to giving some hungry artists these projects. The Rippaverse will continue to grow despite the challenges or hurdles. Let's Be Great!

It’s tragic to watch cancel culture in action even in 2025, at a point where even Bleeding Cool is recognizing Eric July’s prowess in the industry. The books for the Rippaverse can’t be considered to be offensive by any political standards, as he’s merely presented a fun superhero universe, making the situation more ridiculous.

Eric July, however, noted that there are a large number of artists who responded because of the situation, leading him to comb through different portfolios almost immediately to fill the vacancies presented by this studio. He said in a follow up, “Though I didn't plan this, I'm spending the front half of the day going through this mountain of artists that saw the most recent post, reached out, and they are ready for work. Shoutout to all of you, and this is one of the more awesome things the success we've been blessed with. It creates a lot of good-paying gigs for artists, in an industry that many feel needs to be rekindled. WE MOVE!”

It's good to see the Rippaverse continuing on despite setbacks and cancel attempts. Eric July provides and example to go forward and get the work done and not bow to pressure. It pays off to stand by a vision.

What do you think of a comic studio canceling Eric July and his Rippaverse? Leave a comment and let us know.

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