Comics Lowdown | Cameron Stewart dropped from projects after sexual misconduct allegations surface

Plus: News on the Eisner Awards, new dates for Free Comic Book Day and more.

Multiple women this week accused artist Cameron Stewart of sexually preying on them, including one who was 16 at the time.

Artist and model Aviva Maï said Stewart groomed her, which is when an adult befriends a child to lower the child’s inhibitions with the objective of sexual abuse. She said this started in 2009, when she was 16. Following Maï’s post on Twitter, many other women, including creator Kate Leth, made similar accusations against Stewart.

As a result of the allegations, Bleeding Cool reports, Stewart has been removed from an unannounced project from DC Comics. In addition, Martin Morazzo, artist of Ice Cream Man, said they will no longer use a planned cover by Stewart for the comic’s 20th issue. “We will be donating the commission cost of the cover to Safe Horizons,” Morazzo said on Twitter. He also revealed the replacement cover, which features a parody of The Cat in the Hat cover:

Stewart has not commented publicly on the allegations and has not responded to requests for comment.

Awards: Voting for the Eisner Awards has been “closed abruptly,” according to a report on Newsarama, due to “an anomaly with the site hosting the Eisner’s voting.” Comic Con International is investigating the situation.

Events: Free Comic Book Day for 2020 will take place July 15 through Sept. 9 — which is obviously more than one day. Now billed as “Free Comic Book Summer,” the new approach is designed to give comics retailers some flexibility.

Comic shops “will receive five to six Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) titles in their weekly shipments during each week of the promotional window. Release of these titles may vary from shop to shop, as retailers are encouraged to release the books as they see fit for their unique circumstances. Retailers may release one free title a day, may make all of that week’s free titles available at once, or any other plan that works for them,” the FCBD site says. Marvel had previously announced their two FCBD titles would arrive in July.

Publishers: Retrofit Comics has announced that all sales through their website for the next month (starting June 14) will go to bail funds and Black Lives Matter charities:

Awards: The International Association of Media Tie-In Writers has announced the nominees for the 2020 Scribe Awards. The nominees in the graphic novel category include:

  • Blade Runner 2019: Los Angeles by Michael Green and Mike Johnson
  • Doctor who—the Thirteenth Doctor: Old Friends by Jody Houser
  • Pet Noir by Anne Toole, Christie Yant, and Pati Nagle
  • Star Trek—Year Five: Valentine’s Day Special by Paul Cornell
  • The Wrath of Fantomas by Olivier Bouquet

Awards: Tripwire Magazine has announced their 2020 award winners, which include Grant Morrison as best writer, Joelle Jones as best artist and Alex Ross as best cover artist.

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