This past Friday, Antarctic Press announced it would be publishing Jawbreakers–Lost Souls, a comic book written by Richard C. Meyer and drawn by Jon Malin and Brett R. Smith. Crowdfunded through Meyer’s fanbase, the comic has currently raised $248,906 on IndieGogo. Following Antarctic’s announcement, several comic book shops announced they would not sell Jawbreakers due to Meyer’s involvement in what is widely viewed as a harassment campaign against diversity in comics.

In the wake of the announcements, several retailers said they found themselves the victims of harassment, prompting Antarctic to announce late Saturday evening that it would, in fact, not publish Jawbreakers. Though the company stated it is a “staunch believer in Creator’s Rights,” the retailer boycott and subsequent harassment campaign caused it to reverse its decision, leaving the book without a publisher.

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Later that evening, Antarctic tweeted a statement in response to the rumor that Marvel Comics writer Mark Waid had “threatened” the publisher in order to coerce it to cancel the book. According to Antarctic, while Waid did indeed contact the company, he simply left a message, and no one at the publisher felt bullied into scrapping Jawbreakers. Rather, this was a decision made of its own volition.

Currently, Jawbreakers has no publisher, and Meyer says he plans to file a complaint with the Fair Trade Commission.

FACTS: Mark Waid put a call in to our office. Staff took a message and told Mr. Waid our publisher would be informed. Nobody at AP contacted @CBCebulski or @Marvel nor felt threatened in any way by Mr. Waid's call. We have not been bullied into a decision by any comics pro.

— Antarctic Press | Comics And Chill (@AntarcticPress) May 12, 2018