Iconic Comics struggles with Trust and Safety – could they be “red flagged?”

Summary

• Iconic Comics announces this may be their last Indiegogo campaign due to issues with Trust and Safety.
• Kamen America’s co-publisher Antarctic Press shut down by Trust and Safety on Kickstarter, speculation circulates of Tomorrow Girl being “red flagged”
• Could Iconic Comics be “red flagged” through their association with Tomorrow Girl?
• Crowdfunding platforms may be cracking down on sexual content

Iconic Comics announces their THIRD battle with Indiegogo’s Trust and Safety team, with campaign funds being withheld for almost three weeks past their due date. Many complain of having similar issues with the platform, including Jon Del Arroz who calls them “late to the party.”

“Late to the party. I’ve been banned there for four years, and they were close to insolvent back then.”

Red Flagging Creator Accounts

Speculation has circulated for years about strikes or “red flags” being issued against indie creators accounts. Creators have narrowed it down to either political discrimination or policies against sexual content.

One such campaign that had everyone wondering about red flags was Ben Dunn’s Tomorrow Girl. If you know Kamen America, it’s likely you know Tomorrow Girl, as Antarctic Press is a co-publisher of Kamen America and the two characters have done cross-overs together. Tomorrow Girl got rejected from Kickstarter for “sexualization and exploitation of a minor” last year, and although he eventually came back with another Tomorrow Girl campaign, Kickstarter cracked the whip and shut down his new project entirely a couple months later with no warning.

If this is indeed the case, one might conclude Iconic Comic’s association with Ben Dunn’s Tomorrow Girl (Antarctic Press) could be the reason for Trust and Safety wanting to take a closer look. If not, we hang in the balance as to what the real reason is. Perhaps the issue is with Indiegogo itself faltering on available funds. as it seems most people prefer the platform Kickstarter for their indie comics titles – with the exception of #Comicsgate.

Tomorrow Girl Getting Rejected From Kickstarter

Stripe Cracking Down on Sexual Content?

Notable 2024 instances of issues with sexual content include:

Iconic Comics’ co-publisher Ben Dunn’s Kickstarter campaign getting rejected for sexualization and exploitation of a minor, followed by a full campaign shut-down.

Steve Kupiszewksi’s (Deep Cover Studios) campaign cancellation of Deep Cover Studios: Anthology #1. Reason given from Stripe: “… adult-themed comics are not supportable on their platform…” This caused quite a stir among the indie comics scene, causing anxiety in some publishers who focused on sexual content.

Stripe has Authority over IGG and KS

While Indiegogo and Kickstarter are separate platforms with separate policies, both platforms use Stripe as a payment processor, who has the ultimate say in what sort of content they will support. Both platforms are under the behest of Stripe’s policies which they must abide by.
Iconic Considers in-house campaigning