Dark Horse Comics dumps Neil Gaiman, cancels Anansi Boys adaptation

Dark Horse Comics has announced that it’s no longer working with author Neil Gaiman, after the writer has become embroiled in a series of increasingly stomach-turning accusations of sexual misconduct. That includes canceling an ongoing adaptation of Gaiman’s 2005 novel Anansi Boys that began running in June 2024, just a few weeks before several women came forward accusing Gaiman of sexual assault and abuse.

In a statement on social media on Friday evening, Dark Horse wrote that, “Dark Horse takes seriously the allegations against Neil Gaiman and we are no longer publishing his works. Confirming that the Anansi Boys comic series and collected volume have been cancelled.”

Although Gaiman’s work with Dark Horse hasn’t been as publicly prominent as his fame-making comics writing for DC Comics, the company has worked with him extensively over the years, often on adaptations of his prose material. That includes an earlier adaptation of American Gods, as well as a series of short story adaptations marketed under the “Neil Gaiman Library” title.

The big question Dark Horse’s move raises, of course, is whether DC will end up following suit. Gaiman’s Sandman—the Netflix adaptation of which is still heading toward its second season, albeit with promo materials that very pointedly did not mention the author when they rolled out late last year—helped build the company’s Vertigo imprint, and still sells well in various collections. (Audible also did an extremely high-profile radio play adaptation of the series from 2020 to 2022.) So far, the Warner Bros. Discovery-owned comics company hasn’t said anything about the allegations against Gaiman, which the author himself responded to in a blog post last week, denying that any abuse took place.

[via Variety]