Warren Ellis Relaunches Newsletter, Talks Mediation And So Many Of Us

Last week, the website So Many Of Us issued an update regarding Warren Ellis, reported by Bleeding Cool. In the update, they stated;

• SMOU-TJ entered into a mediated conversation with Warren Ellis in August 2021. It has taken a great deal of effort and foundational work in order for us to begin communicating effectively with Ellis. We acknowledge this slow, challenging process and also acknowledge that it is simply too early to report where it is heading or where it may end up. We would like to emphasize that Warren Ellis has the option of working on healing and recovery independently, and this work is necessary whether or not he continues to work with us.
• Here is the clarity we can offer: our goal is to transform harm, not “cancel” Warren Ellis (or anyone else). We cannot and will not sign off on his moral progress. We decline to be the authority on who is allowed to work in what context. We reaffirm our support for the right of creators to be paid for their work, as well as the right of publishers, creatives, and others to determine who they work with.

Over the weekend, Warren Ellis relaunched his newsletter, from a new provider, Button Down in which he linked to the So Many Of Us update and website. He stated;

The mediated conversation with SMOU progresses. It’s been a learning experience working with the mediator, who I’ve been talking with since August, and I have to thank them for their dedicated and empathetic work. SMOU completed their internal work and made a substantive response on Jan 27 2022, for which I thank them. I remain committed to the process.

In June 2020, the website SoManyOfUs.com collected and collated dozens of accusations of grooming young women by the comic book writer Warren Ellis over the past two decades. Further coverage saw them record, even more, over a hundred. In the wake of this news, and despite the site stating they did not want Warren to be “cancelled” but to learn, a number of projects (but not all) dropped Ellis as a contributor, or he pulled out. Most recently, after the return of the comic book Fell was announced by co-creator Ben Templesmith, Image Comics stated that they would not publish Warren Ellis’ work again until he had made accepted amends. These events also partially led to the creation of the Comic Book Workers United union at Image Comics. Warren also issued a statement last June accepting the website’s offer to work on a method of transformative justice. Where things go now, we wait and see.