For anyone who ever wanted to know why I and many of my friends left Hiveworks, please read the above open letter that we, the members of the Hiveworks Artist Guild, have penned and shared with the Cartoonist Co-op.
My fellow webcomic creators at Hiveworks were amazing - and their vast reserves of hard work and creativity were used and abused in so many ways. The above Guild Letter is the result of 3 years of trying to save something we thought was worth saving. We failed in one way, but we succeeded in others. Please listen to my peers as they tell their own stories, and support their comic journeys away from Hiveworks. For many, their stable foundation is now gone.
Below the cut is a transcription of my posts from today over on Bluesky, for anyone on Tumblr who wants to see and share. It's long, but it's all here. Please read the open letter before reading my testimony, just for some extra context. My story is one tiny part of a much larger whole.
Thank you for listening to us.
My Experience:
Most of my personal bad experience at Hiveworks was the result of head editor Isabelle Melançon, who is the creator of the massively popular webcomics Namesake and Crow Time. Isa's cumulative internet audience is enormous, and many of us have been wary of saying anything for fear of backlash. I know her work has touched hundreds of thousands, but please take this as you will.
Phantomarine was one of the last comics to join Hiveworks by submission in 2021. Hiveworks creators are interviewed prior to acceptance, and I was told that I could ask for a critique during that interview. I was immediately given one without asking.
Isa said that she had discovered my work the year prior, but she hadn't liked it, so she had specifically not invited me to Hiveworks as she does many others. Someone else at the company liked it, though, and wanted me to join. But not her. Not the head editor. She had other harsh criticisms for the story and characters as well - some of which, in hindsight, made it clear that she had not actually read much of my work at all. But it didn't matter to me at the time. I left the interview in tears.
I was given a chance to 'redeem' myself by making a new prologue for the comic, to "make it less confusing and bad." Which, to be fair, DID make the comic a bit better in the end. But it was clear that I was never wanted in the first place, and that made me feel like an ugly weed in the walled garden. I would never really belong.
To my joy, people flocked to Phantomarine pretty quickly after I was accepted - the 'webring' aspect of Hiveworks still served as a great connecting point for so many incredible comics, and new readers found me through those links. I found an audience that has only grown since. For that much, I am very grateful to Hiveworks.
Over the years it became clear that there were other creators who were also told that their work was inferior from the start. And the belittling didn't really stop for us, even after that first interview. Isa had a habit of going to DMs to neg people who were celebrating milestones - I was no different. No one could shine if they were constantly in her shadow.
Her influence extended to various technical troubles as well. Anyone who ever saw me complain about someone at Hiveworks who gave me lots of conflicting direction on my first book's cover, that was also Isa. Sadly I wasn't alone in this. Several Hiveworks creators got confusing design advice that contradicted itself over and over, leading to some cover illustrations that we weren't very proud of. But she would always be proud of them, because that was 'her' work.
Some advice I received from her:
1) Don't feature the characters on the cover on their own, you have to show them in action in the world
2) Don't show them in action, because the comic is not an action comic
3) Don't show the world because people don't read the comic for the world, they read it for the characters
4) A cover featuring a single character is usually a romance comic
5) Don't feature your characters on the cover at all, because no one knows who they are
Which is all clearly bonkers when lumped together. It was impossible to make a cover that pleased her, unless it was done exactly from her own ideas.
Out of all my concepts for that Volume One cover, maybe it's no wonder that she chose the one where my main character, Phaedra, was the smallest. I could never shake the feeling that making her small was the whole point. I'm still happy with the cover but yeah. Stuff I think about.
It was always just so mind-numbing to hear both: "Do what I do because it's best," and "Don't do what I do, it's not right for your comic." The only kind of comic that was acceptable was one made by her. The rest of us were going to be lesser by default. It was universal.
Troubles outside Hiveworks include Valor 3, a long-unfulfilled Kickstarter anthology that has several Hiveworks’ creators work in it. Take a look at the comments page. Why was something like this left to rot, but her own work was allowed to flourish? If you backed this Kickstarter, maybe ask for your money back. It's been nearly 7 years.
The final volume of our fairy tale comic anthology trilogy about courageous heroines, Valor 3 : Cups.
The excuse, as you might see in various places, was always her health - always always her health. And we always wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt, because we’re all struggling with something. Life gets in the way, and sometimes comics have to take a backseat.
But the financial debt kept piling up, and the time kept passing. And nothing ever seemed to get in the way of the crow comics. There was always time and energy for tons and tons of crow comics.
I want to say how much I looked up to Isa when I first came across her on Twitter. Every time she liked or interacted with my work was a huge boost to my day. I know others have felt this too. She made herself into a daunting presence in the webcomic community. That illusion faded so quickly for me.
Conclusion
I ultimately left Hiveworks after seeing the full extent of financial turmoil (to the tune of $340,000 in debt) but because of Isa, I never really felt like I was part of Hiveworks to begin with. A sad number of people feel the same. We jumped ship when the ship became unsalvageable, but much emotional damage had already been done.
Please check out others' testimonies here and on Bluesky, and you'll see far worse stories than mine. Whatever you take from all of this, take this: please, PLEASE do not ever work professionally with Isa or Hiveworks CEO Xellette Velamist. I have had to hold my tongue for five years, and I will not do it anymore. The damage they've caused extends far beyond Hiveworks. Please don't let it spread further.
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It's the person who's "out of line" who is always told to, "Get back in line!"
I'm "out of line," and the students tell me to, "Get back in line!" But I say, "No, " and I saw a smaller line, and they all seemed happy and stood out as different. They were dressed in school uniform. So I started making my way over there. And the teacher of the line I left came and asked me to, "Get back in line" and when I replied, "No", immediately that teacher took it to the principal and now the principal and teachers from my original class started threatening me in front of the students. Who were trying to scare me to get back in place. When I started to break down and cry, my original classmates and other students of that class said, "If you would have stayed in line, this wouldn't have happened to you!" Even with that being done, I kept making my way to the other line. Now, the teachers became furious, and bullies from that school approach me, telling me to turn around. Once again, I refused, so the principal gave a "signal" to the bullies, and they said, "Fine, you could go." As I turned and walked a couple steps further, they added by yelling, "This school dressed you! So we're taking your clothes from off your back!" They started ripping the clothes off of me in front of my classmates and other students. "Hahahaha," they would all laugh as I became naked. Once, I was stripped, and the students of that class noticed the scars and bruises on my naked body. The bullies moved aside so all could see, and I saw pointing, I heard whispering and laughing, and from the laughing crowd, words came out, "How long you had that there!" followed by more laughter. I even heard the ones that had pitty for me say, "If he would have only stayed." At that exact time, I got up from off the ground and turned my back against them
You thought it was funny at first, teasing your quiet, blushing boyfriend about how thorough he is. How he keeps a little leather-bound notebook in his toolkit. How he mumbles measurements under his breath
like a prayer.
Then you commissioned him to make you something personal. And Freminet? He treats it like a dive. Methodical. Obsessive.
Beautifully focused.
He measures you with his fingers first. Calls it "calibration." His thumb presses slow circles while his middle finger sinks knuckle deep into the trove of your pussy. he's counting seconds under his breath like you can't hear him. You can. You want to hear him.
"Three point two centimeters to your clit," he murmurs, forehead pressed to your thigh.
"Seven minutes forty-one seconds average to first orgasm."
You laugh breathlessly-and then he holds you right there on the edge for twelve agonizing minutes just to test your refractory window.
And he takes notes after.
The Repercussions
Here's the thing about Freminet. He's shy.
He stumbles over dirty talk. He goes pink when you grab his belt loops.
But his hands have memorized you.
Every ridge. Every flutter. The specific angle that makes your vision white out. The exact pressure that pulls those pretty little gasps he pretends not to collect like seashells.
He doesn't need to be bold. He just waits.
One night you're teasing him about being too gentle. "Come on, Fremi-"
He doesn't speak. Just slides two fingers inside, crooks them that way, and watches your mouth fall open. No movement. Just pressure. Just knowledge.
You cum in six seconds flat.
He blinks at you. "You were saying?"
The Bullying Tax
You learn fast: every time you tease him in public, he repays it in The Bullying Tax
You learn fast: every time you tease him in public, he repays it in private.
Call him "cute" during a fight? He'll edge you until you're crying his name, then stop completely and ask "Who's cute, again?"
The worst part? He looks sincere. Like he's genuinely asking. Like he hasn't already calculated exactly how many seconds until you break
Message or hold to speak
He builds you something eventually. A toy shaped from silicone he hand-poured, weighted perfectly, curved exactly to that spot he found on the third test run.
But you barely use it.
Because why would you, when Freminet already knows-when he can make you cum with two fingers and a look? When he can map your pleasure like the ocean floor he loves so much, every trench and current memorized?
He's not controlling.
He's just so thorough.
The sweet spot he found on the third test run.
But you barely use it.
Because why would you, when Freminet already knows-when he can make you cum with two fingers and a look? When he can map your pleasure like the ocean floor he loves so much, every trench and current memorized?
He's not controlling.
He's just thorough.
And you? You've stopped teasing him.
Mostly.
(He's got a new notebook page ready for when you slip.)
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality
Anya is LIVE right now
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New Zealand has used witness anonymity in some court cases where safety was a concern. Witnesses could give evidence by video link with a distorted image, so their names and identifying details stayed hidden while the court still heard their testimony.
