Is Eric July the New Stan Lee With His Multi-Million-Dollar Rippaverse Comics?

Eric July took the comic world by storm, releasing his Isom #1 to unprecedented success. His graphic novel sold more than many Marvel and DC books on the stands, poising him as one of the few people who could pose an actual threat as a competitor to what the comic industry calls “The Big 2.” This week, July hit a milestone with his third comic, Alphacore, which garnered more than a million dollars in sales. This is the third book July’s released to do so.

Alphacore is special because it features two A-List creators from Marvel and DC, Chuck Dixon and Joe Bennett, both of whom were blacklisted from those companies over their conservative politics. July hired Dixon to write and Bennett to draw the book, which spun out of his smash hit, Isom, deploying characters who made cameos in that book in their own adventures. Chuck Dixon said that Alphacore is a police procedural but for superheroes and the problems they face.

PJ Media interviewed Eric July to tell us a little about his experience and what "Alphacore" is about.

How did you get into comics and why do you think it’s such an important part of the cultural struggles going on right now?

I first got into comics at an early age. The Flash caught my eye and was my #1 character for a long time, especially as I became a track runner. Comics are just as important as any other escapist entertainment — people need and desire escapism. We like looking up to characters who we can relate to and be inspired by when they push through struggles and come out the other side; it’s something that is universal, no matter your background or incidental characteristics. For comic books specifically, I think it’s a unique medium as a blend of visual storytelling while having dialogue on the page as well. When those two things are balanced, it allows for great “show, don’t tell” stories.

This is your third comic and the first of a new title. How does your experience with your first two Isom campaigns help with what you’re doing with Alphacore?

We tightened up a lot of our processes, internal workflows, and took in the feedback from what fans wanted and how. Isom #1 and #2 cemented that there was a market for comics. As we move forward, we can likely improve, and we’ll keep asking ourselves to do that while reaching out to our customers to make sure they are getting what they want from us. It’s thanks to them that The Rippaverse is a thing, and I want to keep making them happy.

Between Chuck Dixon, who was the first major creator to be blacklisted from Marvel and DC over his conservative politics, and Joe Bennett, who was ushered out of Marvel because he supported Brazil’s President Bolsonaro, Alphacore seems like a conservative dream team for comics. Do you feel you’re working hard to lift talented people who are victims of cancel culture as part of the Rippaverse?

I never approached it like that. Rippaverse LLC isn’t political, and we aren’t here to share our thoughts or views on that kind of ecosystem. We are here to create stories our customers want to read. Anyone who signs up with us knows that as well. I knew Chuck and Joe had great talent and skill and hoped they’d be willing to work with me on creating something great. I can’t say enough about how humbling it is to have these legends agreeing to create stories for Rippaverse and watch how they work together. I wish you could see it — it’s amazing how well these two get s**t done. Whether you’re canceled or not doesn’t matter to Rippaverse. What matters is, can you tell a story and tell it well? That’s what we care about and will always focus on.

What do you think is happening over at Marvel and DC Comics? Why are they pushing identity politics so hard?

Who knows, man, who knows. I’ve given up trying to follow it and focus my attention and energy on other things. It’s tragic to see these characters I grew up with being altered and changed into something they never were, but they made a great opportunity for me, and I am thankful for it.

Your stated opinions on politics aren’t very extreme. Why do you think you have so many haters on the left?

People like you if they like you and don’t if they don’t. The latter do all kinds of mental gymnastics to justify it. I could speculate on that for hours, probably days, but I’d rather not. Trying to figure out why people dislike and attack you isn’t a great place to put your mind. I don’t recommend that kind of reflection since most of these people don’t come from a genuine place. Again, I would rather focus my energy and attention on creating, so that’s what I do.

You’ve succeeded with music, working for The Blaze and YouTube. Did your media work prepare you for the success you have now?

Every single avenue is different, though there will be some crossover in certain ones. My YouTube commentary and work with The Blaze, for example, share some similarities. But starting Backwordz showed me what the pushback can be like when you see how an industry traditionally operates, see fundamental issues within that, and decide that doing it differently makes more sense. Obviously, the success of The Rippaverse was something that eclipses anything else that I’ve done up to this point, but that same pushback applies. Mainstream comics have operated on an archaic model that didn’t make sense to me, so I chose to do things differently. Even among those whom many would consider my “peers” in the independent space, I got pushback. I was told at nearly every turn, “No, you shouldn’t do it that way; you need to do it this way.” In every single case, the reasoning always amounted to, “You need to do it this way because that’s how it’s done,” instead of it being because it actually made the most sense. I’m not going to uphold a status quo that makes no sense just because that’s how other people have been doing it.

What’s the inspiration for Alphacore?

Superheroes doing superhero things. I don’t want to say more than that since the readers are going to meet this cast, and we can talk about those details after they do.

Why is it important for conservatives to back creators like Chuck Dixon, Joe Bennett, and yourself?

What is important to creators — political leanings don’t play a part in it — is creating something people can enjoy and lose themselves in. These guys have done so much and left their mark on the industry. No matter what you think of them, they created something fans love, and that’s what matters.

Will your comics eventually be made into animation or movies?

Maybe. Who's to say? I don’t like to commit to things until I know they can happen. Keeping the cart behind the horse is how I like to operate.

Is there anything else you’d like PJ Media readers to know about you, your work, and your company?

I want this company to become something that allows our fans to have great comics to look forward to again, whether they follow one or two characters or are like I was with DC and Marvel and buying just about everything that came out. I also want The Rippaverse to give our growing stable of employees a place where they’re always excited to work hard and where they can flourish. I can’t do this without them, and we can’t do this without the fans, and our fans are the best in the world.

You can check out Alphacore on the Rippaverse website here.