Cartoonist Megan Rose Gedris has announced her long-running webcomic I Was Kidnapped By Lesbian Pirates From Outer Space will be taken offline on Nov. 5 due to her desire to break ties with rights holders Platinum Studios.

"This is by my own choice, a very difficult choice," Gedris wrote on her blog. "As you may or may not know, the rights to LPFOS were bought by Platinum Studios in 2006. In the years since I first became involved with them, more and more of their shady practices have been revealed, to the point where I can’t be involved with them in any capacity anymore. I tried to get the rights back through many different avenues, but there is nothing I can do."

Platinum acquired the rights to Lesbian Pirates From Outer Space around 2007, and in her post, Gedris proceeds to outline her frustration and problems with the publisher over the six years following the completion of one small print run. Her decision to remove the comic completely from the Internet stems from her feeling of "being taken advantage of" by Platinum Studios by continuing to work on the comic.

"I won’t let my work be used to boost the reputation of this slimy company even a little bit. I’d rather see it disappear," she said. "This decision was reached after more than a year of trying to salvage the pieces of this portion of my career, and several fits of crying until I’m too exhausted to get off the couch. I want to give you guys some time to say goodbye to it, read it one more time before it goes away."

Gedris ends her heartfelt post with some cautionary advice for young creators: "Young creators, please know that 'getting published' is not the be-all-end-all of doing comics. There are so many people in this industry who will take advantage of your eagerness to be a 'real comic artist.' Yes, you DO need a lawyer, I don’t care how must you trust that publisher, how big or small. Every contract, every time. Don’t sell something for what you think is a fair price. Know what the fair price is. Know what your value is. Know what the industry standards are. If you can’t get a good deal, don’t take a bad deal and hope for the best. Don’t take a bad deal and tell yourself it’s better than no deal at all. There are so many other avenues."

(via Comics Worth Reading)