Writer Al Ewing has publicly severed his relationship with Immortal Hulk artist Joe Bennett over a 2017 illustration Ewing called "reprehensible."The Immortal Hulk scribe didn't link to the illustration by Bennett, though Ewing did describe what takes place. "An armoured swordsman, which I assume represents Bolsonaro given Joe's commentary, slaughtering tiny, scurrying people, with the buck teeth and ears of rats," Ewing wrote. "And big noses. One of them is cosplaying Dracula." Ewing also called out the anti-Semitic caricatures in the art, which has an undeniable political agenda. "I'm assuming these are political enemies of some kind, but even if not, the tropes are apparent," he said. "Human beings as vermin being exterminated. Even if it's no longer up, that it was drawn in the first place, signed, and so proudly displayed by Joe speaks volumes."
Ewing stated this isn't the first time he's been made aware of issues with Bennett, a reference to the controversy that flared up when a panel was published in Immortal Hulk #43 that included anti-Semitic imagery. At the time, Bennett expressed remorse over the artwork, calling it "wrong, offensive, and hurtful in many ways," though he also claimed it was "an honest but terrible mistake."
The writer said he's spoken to Marvel behind the scenes, though he recognizes "that's no comfort to people at the sharp end of this kind of brutal propaganda." To show his commitment to an apology, Ewing shared screenshots of donations he made to Rainbow Railroad and the Rainforest Trust. The Rainbow Railroad donation was in the sum of $2575 US dollars, with the Rainforest Trust donation totaling 2000 UK pounds. He ended his Twitter thread by stating he will not be working with Bennett again.
The art in question features Jair Bolsonaro, President of Brazil, riding atop a horse with sword in hand as he threatens caricatures of his political adversaries including ex-President Dilma Rousseff, ex-President Luiz Inácio "Lula" da Silva, ex-Governor and Senator Aécio Neves (who appears to be sniffing cocaine), and ex-president Michel Temer. Two other figures are also represented, one of which may be Minister Dias Toffoli. Bolsonaro's chestplate displays the Brazilian Republic symbol, and the red flags of the opposition are PT's, one of the biggest left-wing parties in Brazil.
Source: Twitter