The Eric July Grift
I first encountered Eric July almost a decade ago when he was arguing with alt right people on Facebook all day. He was an “anarcho capitalist” who spewed the regular libertarian talking points about state tyranny and the free market. This is why it was surprising to me when he recently popped up on a movie review channel I occasionally view.
He was appearing on panels with streamers like The Critical Drinker, Nerdrotic, and others who are part of the “anti woke” youtube commentary circuit. Many of these people are libertarian or centrist leaning but their content, while often very normie, effectively attacks the feminist, LGBT, anti-white messaging in mainstream film and TV. But like all commentators that fail to address the core of the problem, they fall prey to the very “woke” moralizing they oppose.
Often these nerd channels will be dominated by white men. Despite being champions of white male authors, film makers, etc., and opposing “wokism” they still feel the need to prove their anti-racist, anti-sexist status and will invite mediocre women and minorities to speak on their panels. One of these people is Eric July.
Eric July’s long youtube career includes karaoke videos, amature rap songs, conspiracy videos, sports commentary, libertarian commentary, and rap songs about libertarianism. In one video about black people getting shot by police he argued that the problem was “collectivism” and that the police should be abolished. Around 2015 he started to adopt more of the “anti SJW” rhetoric of Trump supporters and right wingers and started to pump out cultural commentary videos. In 2018 he began to work for The Blaze.
As time went on, anti-woke commentary exploded on Youtube. Libertarian-ish right wingers like Andrew Torba have long talked about the need for a “parallel economy”- boycott the woke companies and support the alternatives. July decided to apply this to the comic book cultural sphere and created an “alternative” comic book universe called “The Rippaverse” involving multiple series and creators. In 2022 he launched a crowdfunding campaign and raised over $2,000,000.
Eric July has the temperament and morality of a libertarian “entrepreneur” archetype. In his mind, making money and “providing content for the consumer” is one of the highest virtues. Every video he makes sounds like a sale pitch. He sticks to a consistent script which allowed him to manipulate the comic book nerds. He makes propaganda videos with dramatic music where he presents himself as a normal comic book reader who started from humble origins and a freedom fighter who just cares about the interest of the noble consumer getting their dollar stolen by the woke corporations.
July describes himself as owning a “company” doing an “independent venture” that follows a strict “code of ethics”. He wants to be “competitive in the market” with his “efficient work flow” and “make a mark on the industry”. Endless “black entrepreneur” libertarian consumerist drivel.
His first comic book hero is “ISOM”- a black rancher living in Texas. The story and artwork are both mediocre. After its release, July’s friends gave the comic a half hearted endorsement saying it’s “pretty good” but it wasn’t long until a significant group of vocal critics started to tear it apart on social media. Dick Masterson was one of the first to attack ISOM, causing July to become very defensive and reject all criticism. This led to a back forth escalation between the two. Masterson began to accuse July of lying about his fundraiser and frauding his fans. After July told his detractors to “pull up” and face him in real life, “Young Clippa”- an associate of Masterton- showed up to troll him outside a venue. The police were called and Young Clippa was arrested. July denies calling the cops. July went from an anti woke anarcho capitalist to a woke Karen that calls the cops on trolls.
The attempt of making an “alternative comic book” is reminiscent of something that happened during the gamergate/ alt right era. Vox Day- a prominent alt right commentator- tried to create an alternative comic book universe called “Alt Hero”. It included characters like “Captain Europa” and “Rebel” who would beat up ANTIFA scum and take down globalist powers. It never really took off for a variety of reasons but that was infinitely more interesting than “The Rippaverse”. However, all attempts at consciously creating an “alternative” are going to run into a problem with authenticity and creativity.
After ISOM, Eric July’s grift continued. He released a video showcasing his “warehouse” where he shows his workers busily tying to ship out crates of comic books to the demanding consumer. It zooms in to show July sitting at a table signing his comics books (which people can purchase for a little extra). Every time he releases a new book he announces the sales numbers throughout the weeks. This creates the sense that July is “brining in the community”. He’s not a grifting comic book salesman- he’s a community fundraiser providing independent alternatives to neglected comic book fans. He releases ten different editions of every book- The collectors edition, the signed edition, the “signature series signed gold label” edition, the “concept art” book, and endless Rippaverse merchandise like tank tops and shorts.
Other characters have been added to the Rippaverse, including “Yiara”-a tall, muscular blonde woman, “Alphacore”- a team of generic superheros in ugly green suits, and “Horseman” (Not Horse Man, “Horseman”) a man who dresses like a horse. July has released trailers for animated and live action shows for many of these. Most recently he announced that the Horseman TV show will be voiced by Dean Cain, the guy who played Superman in the 90s. Cain is part of the circuit of B celebrities who grift in conservative political circles when they’re no longer famous. In his announcement video Cain claimed that “well produced, solid, western animation desperately needs to return to form”.
Many have also criticized the content of the comic books. Despite July claiming to oppose lazy mainstream comic industry practices, the artwork is boring with lots of empty space and utilizes “3D assets”- predrawn stock illustrations.
Eric July creates a fantastic illusion of an independent artist taking on an anti artistic, decadent establishment. But when all the noise and smoke fades away you’re ultimately left with a huge pile of mediocre slop. The critics of modern art that emerged from gamergate, the alt right, the anti woke, the Rippaverse, all originate from a deeper problem with culture and story telling that only white identitarians/ racialists have been capable of identifying. Vox Day’s “Alt Hero” was seen by many as an attempt to turn the identitarian ideas into something more tame and civic oriented. It was too reactive, political, and shallow. This problem has become less clear as the years have passed. What’s always missing is the Nietzschean element- the fundamental questions about morality, religion, and race. That is the heart of all mythology, story telling, and art. Creative storytelling must come from something deeper than a desire to react to the woke. The Jews that created the original DC and Marvel comics understood this and packed their stories with their myths, morality, and racial experience.
Grifters like July get picked up and promoted by globalist, zionist corporations like The Blaze and hijack our cultural critiques to produce new forms of creatively bankrupt “product”, but slightly less woke on the outside. Maybe this will appease a certain type of “comic book consumer” but most are still left unsatisfied.
