Action Lab Entertainment Sued to Nullify Contracts

Last year, a lot of scuttlebutt was going around about Action Lab Entertainment treating creators badly, delaying payments, and abusing contract terms. (A lengthy summary can be found at Women Write About Comics.)

Now it has been reported that “Nearly 40 content creators have signed on to a proposed class action in which they allege beleaguered comic book publisher Action Lab Entertainment has fallen far short of satisfying a laundry list of contractual obligations.” These obligations include timely payment, promotion, accounting, and communication. “[T]he proposed class action paints a picture of a terminally mismanaged comic book publisher who allegedly failed to do right by its content creators at even the most basic level.”

A large part of this dispute is that Action Lab would apparently promise creators print publication, then release the books only in digital form. They would also refuse to provide documentation around sales, particularly those made at conventions. They also shut down during the pandemic without notifying creators. A full copy of the complaint is at the link above.

Remember, there are a lot of tools available to comic creators today. Before you sign on with a publisher, make sure you know what they are promising to do, and that they can do it better than you can.