About Unscrewed!

About Unscrewed!

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About Unscrewed!

Unscrewed! is a project born of corruption, frustration, and disappointment.

Unscrewed! is also an unprecedented collaboration between people of all walks of life and all stripes of artistry, authorship, publication, and even simple fandom.

And it all began with a man, a convention appearance, and a LOT of missing payments.

The man was Rick Olney - a publisher and convention promoter of questionable repute.  Through various venues such as his website, his comic book publishing company, and his often canceled conventions, he has sucked many up-and-coming as well as solidly-established professional creators into what has become an intricate web of deceit.

The convention appearance involved Gail Simone, noted comic book author and moderator of the "You'll All Be Sorry" forums at Comic Book Resources.  Revelations from other creators’ negative experiences with Olney encouraged Gail to speak out against him in December 2006 by posting some of the abuse, both personal and professional, he has hurled at her since the 2003 Mighty MiniCon Olney hosted and she graciously attended.  Olney had promised Gail compensation for expenses and then failed to pay, peppering Gail with excuse after excuse as to why he couldn’t come up with the money and then later insulting her for continuing to expect payment.

The missing payment stories started there and just kept going.  Ronée Bourgeois, actress and columnist of “What a Girl Wants” (now hosted at Mike Netzer's “rEvolution” site), shared how she had resigned as Olney's Public Relations Representative, citing lack of payment and intimidating legal tactics during the 7 months of her tenure.  Tim Tobolski, cartoonist and former toy reviewer for Olney's website, entered the discussion when he found himself being dragged into another of Olney's self-publicized arguments through Rich Johnston’s “Lying in the Gutters” column at CBR; he, too, had not been paid for columns he did 3 years ago.

Suddenly, others began admitting what they had been through in their association with Olney and others like him.  The floodgates broke open as more and more creators either emailed Gail privately because of feared legal repercussions or openly joined the public venting:  creators, both small press and well-known professionals, web-designers, former columnists, letterers, editors, retailers, convention-goers, and people behind the scenes of his yet-to-be released comic book line.  The monetary totals mounted with each story: a conservative estimate puts Olney’s debt at well over $50,000.  The emotional tolls are much, much greater.

Then - something incredible happened.

A suggestion was made to redirect the negative energies into something positive, something to help those who have little or no chance of seeing what they're owed in the foreseeable future.  A comic book anthology for the summer convention season accompanied by an on-going auction immediately sprang to mind.  Offers of contributions to both began pouring in.  Larry Dixon proposed the name “UNSCREWED!” in direct reflection of such heart-felt determination to 'unscrew' the unscrupulous actions of Olney and other dishonest publishers and promoters.

Cartoonist Jim MacQuarrie immediately took it upon himself to register a domain name and provide hosting, web design work was donated, and volunteers from all areas of the comic industry and fans began offering their time and support.  Scott Shaw! and Sarah Beach have joined the editorial staff.  Tom Stillwell is assisting with the publication. Small press groups such as Lance Boucher's InterFan organization are throwing in their support.  Many convention-goers, convention organizers and retailers have already committed to promoting the benefit comic everywhere they go.

You can help, too.  Contributions from professional-quality creators are still being accepted to both the Unscrewed! Anthology and the auction.  Webstrips are being sought to help ease the tensions with a touch of humor.  A forum is running here for constructive discussion.  Fans and retailers are invited as well - even if all you can offer is moral support.

As we go along, we learn of more and more individuals operating with similar dishonesty.  Our focus is shifting from the actions of one man to the actions of several individuals throughout the industry.  We may not be able to alleviate the financial binds created by all of these “publishers”, but we can spread the word and help prevent more creators from being taken advantage of in this manner.

This has truly become an inspiring event, despite its origins in deception, disaster, and disgust.  The number of creators coming together in the name of a good cause represents an unprecedented collaboration and an unflagging belief in what is great in comics.

NOTE: Any funds raised by these benefits in no way relieve Rick Olney or any others from their financial obligations to the multitude of creators that have been “screwed”.  Anyone seeking further legal actions against these people should continue until all debts have been settled.