Artist Joe Bennett (Immortal Hulk) is no longer working on Marvel's Timeless one-shot after posting an anti-Semitic image on social media.
CBR has confirmed Joe Bennett is no longer a part of the Timeless creative team, and is not on any future Marvel projects. Bennett's Immortal Hulk collaborator Al Ewing publicly severed his relationship with the artist last week after becoming aware of the image, which Ewing called "reprehensible."
"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 when describing the 2017 illustration by Bennett. "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."
There was an earlier controversy with Bennett in February 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."
Ewing said he had spoken to Marvel behind the scenes, though he recognized "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.
Timeless #1 by writer Jed MacKay and artists Kev Walker, Greg Land and Mark Bagley goes on sale Dec. 22 from Marvel Comics.