Artist Ramon Villalobos and colorist Tamra Bonvillain have spoken out about the sexual abuse allegations that recently surfaced around “Border Town” writer, Eric M. Esquivel with Bonvillain announcing her departure from the project.

Bonvillain made it clear issue #5 would be her final work on the wildly popular comic book series from DC/Vertigo in a Twitter post. It appears Villalobos may have made a similar decision based on his post.



a few thoughts pic.twitter.com/mh1olhWvmr — Mr. Vertigo Comics (@RamonVillalobos) December 13, 2018

It shames me to have spent so much time and energy working with someone who is capable of such actions, and I'm sorry if the delay in response caused some confusion about my feelings. — Tamra Bonvillain (@TBonvillain) December 13, 2018

Both Bonvillain and Villalobos expressed their support for Cynthia Naugle, who posted about alleged sexual, emotional and mental abuse on Dec. 9.They also said they were hoping Esquivel would step up and address the allegations but when he didn’t, they felt compelled to come forward.



In her post Naugle called her abuser “X,” and shared that he works in the comic books industry. While she didn’t identify her abuser by name, others identified the person as Esquivel.

Since the allegations surfaced, DC/Vertigo told Cafe con Leche Nerds they are taking the allegations seriously and are investigating.

Since Naugle’s post, Esquivel has locked down or completely removed himself from his social media accounts which had been public at one point.

Esquivel is part of the team that created “Border Town,” a Vertigo comic that has been receiving critical acclaim for it’s story and art. The fourth book in the series was just released last week. It’s unclear if the project will continue as scheduled or if DC/Vertigo will be making changes in light of the allegations.

