The Delegitimization Era…

I want to take my time with this one because there’s a lot to unpack. Matt Denneman, the author of Dungeon Crawler Carl, publicly stated that he regrets any association with The Critical Drinker and wants his contribution to book 3 removed entirely. The Critical Drinker responded by pointing out that Denneman was very excited to work with him and claimed to be a big fan — when it benefited him. Now that TV adaptations are on the table, suddenly it’s all regret.
I don’t have insider information on their specific collaboration, but I can speak from my own experience because we’ve dealt with this exact dynamic at the Rippaverse. I’ve had the opportunity to work with The Critical Drinker, and he’s been nothing but awesome and professional. I’ve also collaborated with Chuck Dixon, the Soska Sisters, Joe Bennett, Jack Herbert, Will Conrad, Dean Cain, Zachary Levi, and many others across comics, TV, and film. Between all those conversations and my own experiences, I’ve come to a very clear conclusion about how this industry works.
The Rippaverse has turned down as much money as we’ve made. We’ve had opportunities that were right there — right at the finish line — that never materialized because we are seen favorably by people they despise. I’ve been told directly that potential collaborators wanted us to either disassociate from people like Geeks and Gamers, Nerdrotic, The Critical Drinker, and others, or explain ourselves. It doesn’t matter how many books you sell. It doesn’t matter how large your audience is. If you’re associated with alternatives, the mainstream pipeline treats you as contaminated.
This is what I call the delegitimization era. They paint a narrative — he hates women, he hates diversity, he hates everything — and anybody who actually follows these creators knows it’s verifiably false. But the narrative isn’t about accuracy. It’s about creating a justification for exclusion. Once the narrative is set, they pressure people to disassociate with you, and if you refuse, opportunities disappear. It’s not about the quality of your work. It’s about power. Alternatives being allowed to exist and succeed is a threat to them.
We’ve had artists — people who’ve worked at the biggest publishers — ready to collaborate with us, and at the last minute their representation reaches out to say they’d rather not be associated with our publication. That’s the game. And if you have aspirations to be on TV or in Hollywood, you understand why people play it. Some creators have spent their entire lives hoping for that live-action adaptation or that award, and being in the good graces of the gatekeepers requires cutting ties with anyone deemed unapproved.
The only true alternative is building your own infrastructure. Going around the pipeline entirely. That’s what we’re doing at the Rippaverse. That’s what Zachary Levi is trying to do with Wildwood out in Austin. It’s the hardest path, but it’s the only one that doesn’t require permission from people who were never going to give you a fair shake anyway. However bad you think this dynamic is — from what I’ve seen and experienced — it’s worse.