Writer Chuck Wendig, author of the Star Wars: Aftermath trilogy and other books, as well as the Marvel Comics translation of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Darth Vader Annual #2 and next year’s five-issue mini series Shadow of Vader, was fired by the company over his tweets, he revealed on Twitter.
(Photo by Gage Skidmore)
In a lengthy thread Oct. 13, Wendig, who has written issues 1-3 of the Shadow of Vader mini, set to debut in January, wrote that “So, here’s a thing that has happened – I just got fired from Marvel. Taken off issues 4 and 5 of SHADOW OF VADER, and taken off an as-yet-unannounced SW book. This might be a long thread, so apologies in advance.”Wendig, a prolific and robust user of Twitter, explained how he got the call from Mark Paniccia, who took over as editor of Marvel’s Star Wars comics line earlier this year, on Friday.
“Today I got the call. I’m fired. Because of the negativity and vulgarity that my tweets bring,” Wendig wrote on his Twitter feed. “Seriously, that’s what Mark, the editor said. It was too much politics, too much vulgarity, too much negativity on my part.”
Marvel didn’t respond to an email from Coffee With Kenobi seeking comment.
Wendig drew acclaim for adding new characters to the Star Wars Saga, including those of different backgrounds, beliefs and more, a move that drew criticism from a small yet vociferous crowd.
Wendig added that it was his understanding that the decision to fire him “… was that this was a Marvel decision, not an LFL decision, but I can’t really confirm that,” adding that “The editor said he had made the call. He seemed genuinely upset at my tweets and profanity, so maybe that’s accurate. And again, that’s his right to do so.”
There was no immediate word as to who would fill in as writer on issues #4 and #5 on Shadow of Vader.
Scores of people reacted to the news, offering Wendig apologies and words of praise, along with solidarity from other writers.
“Hey thank you all for your very kind words — it’s all a lot to process right now, but you’re all making me feel a lot more okay than I felt like, 30 minutes ago, so thank you, very seriously,” he wrote.
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