Marvel Cuts Staff From Editoral, Production, and Digital Staff To Cut Costs. Frown.
Marvel laid off a bunch of employees yesterday in what is being called a cost-cutting measure. G’damn.
Multiple staff members were laid off from Marvel Comics yesterday as part of what’s reportedly a cost-cutting measure at the company. According to multiple sources the layoffs do not reflect the performance of the individuals in question.
Among those let go were editors Alejandro Arbona (Casanova, Iron Man 2.0), Jody LeHeup (Deadpool, Strange Tales)and assistant editor Rachel Pinnelas (of the Spider-Man office). Layoffs from the production end of the company included Taylor Esposito, Scott Elmer (known as “Pondscum” to his friends), Damien Lucchese and Special Projects’ Production Coordinator Jerry Kalinowski. Two workers from Marvel’s trade paperback collections department, as well as digital compositing employees Maritsa Patrinos and Eric Bloom. These layoffs follow the termination of Chief Operating Officer Jim Sokolowski earlier this month.
Social media feeds have been full of support for those affected by the layoffs, with numerous Marvel creators and remaining staff celebrating their talents and value to the industry. Casanova creator Matt Fraction announced on Twitter that Arbona would continue to be the editor of the Icon series. Likewise ex-Marvel employee Jim McCann noted that Lucchese will contribute to his upcoming Image series Mind the Gap.
A rather dismal reminder that we are not living in the halcyon times of comic books’ yore, no matter how many 1990s trends the industry tries to bring back from the muck.