Why I Resigned as Writer and Co-Creator of Seal Team X

Simply put, Hype Comics is insisting upon using the anniversary of 9/11 as a marketing platform… Is your jaw on the ground yet?

Below is an excerpt from the email I sent Hype Comics CEO Scott Ownbey on the morning of September 1, 2011.

Scott,

Because you continue to insist on using the anniversary of 9/11 as a marketing platform for "Seal Team X", a comic series on which I am co-creator, it is with deep regret that I am forced to leave the project and must insist that you remove my name from the book, the website and any and all marketing materials associated with "Seal Team X."

Again, I don't think you understood my previous email. I have no problem with the idea that "Bin Laden reveals 9/11 was an inside job" as a fictional concept, I just think that intentionally doing so during the week before 9/11 in order to promote the book is deeply insensitive to not only the memories of the thousands of Americans who died in the attack but to Americans in general. Given that you have served in the U.S. Navy Reserves, I would think you should have a very good idea what I mean by this. I agree this is a marketing plan that could effectively work, but only if executed outside the shadow of 9/11. Wait 6 weeks and do it. Just don't do it right now.

Right now, in the shadow of the 10th anniversary of the worst terrorist attack on US soil, people are going to be hyper-focused on 9/11 and extremely sensitive about it. And I am horrified by the quote in (your social media advisor's) email that read: "The same reason that retailers release the hottest toys near Christmas, and anything of marketed value is pumped up on appropriate holidays, this too will not be the only product marketed to mark the event of the terrorist attack."

Wow. Comparing Christmas to 9/11 is like comparing Disneyland to Auschwitz because they're both "tourist attractions."

So now it is with a heavy heart that I am now forced to have to publicly distance myself from Hype Comics and Seal Team X, a project that I once felt so passionate about and proudly announced to my friends and followers online.

Even though I am no longer part of this project, I still beg you to reconsider your marketing plan.

Sincerely,

Mark Yoshimoto Nemcoff

Sigh… It sucks. A few days after I released "The Killing of Osama Bin Laden" and the book had hit at least one bestseller list, Scott Ownbey sent me an email asking to talk. He had a project he wanted to collaborate on. I listened. I gave my input. Long story short, we struck a deal. I negotiated my own contract, got myself an advance (non-recoupable, I'm not an idiot), a piece of the back end and the title of "co-creator." I began developing the characters and writing the story for Seal Team X.

I turned in the storyline for the first book and they started churning out fantastic artwork and a killer logo. My first hint that this partnership wasn't going to work out came when Scott told me it would be the artwork that would sell this book, not the story. I shrugged it off. I've never done a comic before. I was here to learn and contribute.

A few attempts were made to generate buzz. Scott wanted to create a "viral" video with actors staging a phony news story of a Seal Team war widow wondering why her husband disappeared. The acting was poor. It was too long. I made several suggestions to only feature the cool footage of the artwork and cut out all the acting bits. My suggestions were mostly ignored. They rushed the video out. It never went viral. It was too long and the phony newsman bit was too fake. They even had a URL on screen that went nowhere. I shook my head. I figured it was an easy mistake, but at the same time wondered how much they had spent creating it, especially given that those costs would probably have to be recouped before the book started showing a profit.

Then came Scott's Ebay auction idea. The winning bidder would be immortalized as the Seal Team X member who shoots and kills Bin Laden. It was very sensationalistic. It certainly wasn't my idea but I figured it would be interesting to sit back see the results. Hype Comics put out a press release and a few comic book blogs picked it up. Going through the comments on those posts about the auction you could see common comment by readers was that the idea was "tacky".

Long story short, the auction failed to catch fire. I think the winning bid was about $250 and the winning bidder never paid up. It probably didn't help that in the auction description they had the wrong dates for the auction (something I kept telling them to change but my pleas fell on deaf ears).

So, months go by. Scott's artists got busy because comics is a side gig for them. The idea was to release an app where you could mash-up the story. If you didn't like the story, you could put your own dialogue in and post the results to Facebook. Sounded interesting. But the programming took forever. The original plan Scott had talked about back in May was to release this comic hot on the heels of the event and get it done by June. Now we were in late August and still nothing. By now, the interest in the whole Bin Laden Death story had cooled considerably. I had originally told them to release a black and white pencil only version of the book as quickly as possible for .99 cents and then when the color interactive version was done months later, sell that for $2.99… Again, my idea fell on deaf ears. I was starting to understand that my input wasn't really welcome. As with most of the CEO's I've ever worked directly with, they seem to like every idea… as long as its their own.

So finally, August 31 2011… The app was done and ready to be submitted. But now they told me they were going to send out a press release promoting Seal Team X with the headline: "Bin Laden Reveals 9/11 Was an Inside Job".

And they wanted to send it out right before 9/11.

Now I'm a fan of using conspiracy theory to drive fiction. I think it's a fantastic marketing ploy that could draw people in… but as I said in my letter to Scott, to do so on the week before 9/11… in the shadow of the 10th anniversary? That's deeply, deeply troubling and offensive to me.

Like I told him. Wait 6 weeks. It would work great. But for fuck's sake, not now!

I told Scott my concerns… and as usual… they were ignored. Once I read the quote in the email he forwarded me from his so-called "social media consultant" (whose name I omitted from the above letter out of courtesy) that compared marketing this Bin Laden related storyline during 9/11 to toy companies using Christmas to promote their strongest toys, I thought I was going to be sick to my stomach. I had a feeling this deeply misguided plan of theirs would result in serious backlash for them, for Seal Team X and for me. I knew the only choice I had would be to distance myself from Seal Team X, Scott Ownbey and Hype Comics… I was heartbroken. Here (again) was something I thought was going to be so cool and yet it got totally fucked up because the people making the decisions were making them rather poorly and not heeding any advice.

I don't think I'm over-reacting. I understand some people like to be considered radioactive, but I value my brand too much to be connected to what I see as being a completely terrible, terrible idea that will only tarnish the Seal Team X brand and everyone involved.

So if Hype Comics does go through with this whorish marketing plan, and anyone is offended by this, I am deeply, deeply sorry and I offer my most sincerest apology. Please know that it was not my idea, I advised against it, do not condone it and am also very offended by it. Hopefully, by now any traces of my name ever being attached to Seal Team X have been taken down because I no longer want any part of it.

And though I asked Scott to reconsider, I received a reply that made it clear they were planning on going ahead. Scott wished me luck (a classy move on his part) and hoped that we could work together again in the future. The guy is no doubt a very talented artist but his total lack of judgement here and what a shitty experience it was working with him and this so-called startup Hype Comics makes it certain there will never be a next time.

Onward and upward…