On that page, a collective of “over sixty women and non-binary individuals” revealed a history of reported power abuse by Ellis that was done “for the purpose of serial predatory corralling, emotional manipulation, and grooming.” Days after Templesmith’s announcement of Ellis returning to Image Comics and public outcry against it, the publisher has finally responded.
“While finishing Warren Ellis and Ben Templesmith’s FELL is something we’ve been looking forward to for years, Image Comics will not be working with Warren on anything further until he has made amends to the satisfaction of all involved.
On the SoManyOfUs.com website they detail a 20+ year history of Ellis “using his celebrity status and vast public platform as catalyst and shield to manipulate and groom targets under false pretenses, and to coerce private pornography and sexual exchanges.” When news of Ellis returning to Image became public they released an update on June 23 noting that Ellis had not taken responsibility for his behavior nor attempted contact to begin making amends.
The writer also specifically made note to readers of his work that have spent time defending him online, adding: “Please don’t defend me anymore.
When the SoManyOfUs.com collective first published their statement last year they noted four specific things that they’d like to see Ellis do, including: Acknowledge his actions in their entirety; Acknowledge his pattern of harmful behavior; Acknowledge that he has callously hurt people; and Contribute to transformative work to dismantle the systems which allowed this to go on.