Milwaukie-Based Dark Horse Comics Severs Ties With Editor Scott Allie Following Sexual Assault Allegations

In a statement issued over a series of tweets, former Dark Horse editor Shawna Gore alleged Allie assaulted and harassed her for years.

Dark Horse editor Scott Allie at Comic Con in 2015. IMAGE: Gage Skidmore/Flickr.

Milwaukie comics publisher Dark Horse is severing ties with one of its longtime editors following new allegations of sexual assault.

Yesterday, in a statement issued over a series of tweets, former Dark Horse editor Shawna Gore alleged fellow editor Scott Allie assaulted and harassed her for years beginning in 1999.

The thread describes, in detail, sexual violence committed by Allie that readers may find disturbing, including groping, subjecting her to sexually explicit conversations, and constant, unwanted sexual advances, which became an implicit condition of her employment.

Allie has been publicly accused of sexual assault before. In 2015, he was accused of sexually assaulting comics writer Joe Harris. The incident was widely reported, and Allie entered rehab.

"My personal approach and decisions for managing stress were bad," Allie wrote in a statement at the time. "Dark Horse and I have taken the matter very seriously and since this incident, we have taken steps to correct and to avoid any behavior like this in the future."

But Gore says Allie has ducked responsibility for his actions. "He has not yet addressed the things he has done that were not related to drinking," she writes. "He has done no work. He has paid no dues. And his actions over the long span of his career have deeply and gravely impacted the work of industry professionals who deserved better and deserve to be believed."

Allie did not respond to WW's request for comment.

But several prominent comics industry professionals have voiced their support for Gore, including Birds of Prey's Gail Simone and Bitter Root's David Walker.

Shortly after Gore published her statement, Hellboy creator Mike Mignola announced he would no longer work with Allie:

Following the statement issued by Mignola—one of the company's most prominent creators—Dark Horse also announced it was ending its association with Allie:

Gore's account comes just a week after former Dark Horse editor Brendan Wright was accused of prolonged sexual harassment by freelance editor Bekah Caden.

In an article published by Graphic Policy, several anonymous Dark Horse employees in 2015 corroborated Allie's pattern of abusive behavior and claimed it was "widely known within Dark Horse" and that "greater emphasis is routinely placed on the need for employees' silence."

Asked for further comment, Dark Horse founder Mike Richardson replied to WW via email:

I believe Shawna Gore. I want to sincerely apologize to Shawna. To my employees past and present, I am also deeply sorry for decisions I have made that have allowed so much hurt, anger and sadness.

The information that Shawna Gore came forward with was unknown to me before now. Her post was a painful eye opener for me.

Scott Allie worked for Dark Horse for more than 20 years. He was an editor that oversaw some of our most important books. I knew he had problems related to alcohol. I also knew he was extremely harsh with those employees working under him. I allowed that behavior to happen. I tend to think I can fix the behavior of people. I thought this with Scott, that I could in some way fix him and change his behavior. A horrible mistake on my part that caused harm that can never be undone.

To ensure that these behaviors never occur again, I am making the following changes, effective immediately:

Dark Horse will adopt an official NO TOLERANCE policy. Dark Horse will not work with employees or freelancers who are responsible for harassment or abuse.

Dark Horse will ensure no one will suffer retaliation as a result of reporting harassment or abuse.

Dark Horse will establish required classes for all staff in respect to harassment and abuse.

Dark Horse will meet with staff on a recurring basis to evaluate how successfully we have achieved our goal of maintaining a safe and harassment-free workplace and also seek input on further improvements.

I truly have the people in this company in my heart. I am deeply committed to changing the culture at Dark Horse so that all our employees can feel safe and proud of our company. I will hold myself to a much higher standard. I ask all of you to hold me to that promise.

—Mike Richardson, Dark Horse Comics

The Oregon Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence's complete list of resources for victims of assault can be found here.

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