"Good for him"— Marvel fans stunned as Dustin Nguyen calls out industry exploitation and cuts ties

Comic book artist Dustin Nguyen publicly cut ties with Marvel. His profanity-laced Instagram post quickly caught fire, sparking discussions not just about Nguyen himself but also about Marvel’s alleged long history of exploiting artists.

The caption read,

"ok. getting hits earlier than expected from this one, and I'm kinda glad because I got words. but really if this bothers you l'm sorry, @marvel has been undercutting creators from the start, unless you're getting 6-7k a cover- then godbless. I hope you're getting a piece of the MCU and after sales. between them and @cofficial, they are the ONLY one that DOESN'T pay a royalty for overseas sales."

The backlash exploded on social media after the Eisner Award-winning artist, who is known for his work on Descender and numerous Batman comics, announced he was done working with Marvel.

Dustin Nguyen's post was also shared on Reddit where it sparked a thread of comments from comic fans. One Redditor referred to Image Comics and wrote,

“F*king hell. Good for him. If anybody remembers the birth of Image, they know that Marvel and artists in particular have had long-running issues.”

"I get the sense that Marvel really has an attitude towards creators of "f*ck you, we're Marvel, you'll do what we say and work for the amount we give you and you'll be happy about it," another redditor said.

"You'll notice more and more artists are from outside of the US. Places like Southern Europe or South America where the US dollar goes further and in many cases they have universal health care so they don't need to worry about doing work for hire and not having insurance," another user said.

Some argued that Dustin Nguyen wasn’t losing much by cutting ties since Marvel wasn’t willing to negotiate or offer better contracts. One user questioned how smaller artists are treated if even top-tier talent like Nguyen faces these issues.

Another pointed out that Marvel’s reluctance to compensate creators properly discourages new character development, leading to the constant reuse of existing villains instead of introducing fresh ideas.

"It does make it easier when the bridge was never gonna be used, right? Like if Marvel isn’t going to negotiate with you, hold your work’s profit to themselves and continue to try and lock you in on terrible contracts, f*ck that bridge and where it leads," another Redditor added.

"If they do this to one of the best in the game, I'm very curious how they deal with smaller names and up and comers. Glad he's bringing this out," one user commented.

“That’s actually a good point about why the same villains usually get recycled and new characters are rare,” another user said.

Nguyen worked on the cover art for Marvel Comics' Alien: Black, White & Blood #4, among others.

---

What happened between Dustin Nguyen and Marvel?

Dustin Nguyen publicly announced he is cutting ties with Marvel Comics, criticizing the company’s pay structure and lack of royalties for artists.

In the Instagram post, Nguyen stated,

“Everyone I’m NOT working with @marvel can [expletive] themselves. I’ve asked nicely for the past 15 years on behalf of every artist. Stop f—ing creators over, you’re not getting another cover from me until then.”

He also compared his pay as a comic artist to a past job.

“Making $6.25 an hour at my old fast food job was still better than spilling my heart and love on a Spider-Man cover gig.”

Dustin Nguyen’s issue with Marvel centers on compensation. He claimed that the company does not pay royalties for international sales, something he says DC does at least negotiate.

He also brought up merchandise, mentioning that artists do not receive any share from items like lunch boxes and t-shirts featuring their work. Nguyen said he had been pushing for a higher page rate over the past 15 years but was repeatedly ignored. He claimed that he had specifically asked for a $75 per-page raise, but Marvel never responded to his request.

In his post, Dustin Nguyen mentioned that some people warned him to be careful about criticizing Marvel because of its influence in the industry. He dismissed those warnings, making it clear that he was not concerned about the consequences of speaking out.

Dustin Nguyen ended his statement by encouraging more artists to push for fairer deals, calling on those with influence to advocate for better conditions for everyone in the industry.

---

Stay tuned for more updates.