Mario Gully (O.M.G) quits ANT due to racy fight scene.

Back in 2012 O.M.G sold his beloved ANT to Erik Larsen, and the two had decided that they would conclude the series with one final issue that would tie up the dangling plot lines from the previous series. After that Erik Larsen would reboot the series, and go his own direction with the character.

So O.M.G would get a script along with breakdowns from Erik Larsen, and O.M.G being the creator felt he knew his character best would follow Erik’s script, but made small tweaks that he felt would show his flavor and ultimately give his character a proper sendoff. 

The changes had ANT in a deadly match against a villain where she got her foe into a leg strangulation with her legs and the bad guy has his tongue come out licking her vagina. Here is the image below.

Here is the page that steered the hornets nest? What do you think?

Erik Larsen was not quite as thrilled about the scene and almost worried that he could get sued, along with retailers which I felt was a odd response considering that Image Comics had published Howard Chaykin’s Black Kiss II that had very explicit sex scenes, erect penises left and right, hardcore sex scenes, blowjobs and crotch shots.

Here is what Erik said:

Erik Larsen I like Mario's work--make no mistake--and this is sexy as all shit--but panel two would mean this book would be on the porn shelf. Retailers would hit the roof if this showed up without having been told about it. I'm not saying the book needs to be suitable for a six-year old--but I don't want retailers being sued for selling adult material to minors either. It can be sexy--WitchBlade is sexy--but it can't be obscene and panel two with a tongue out at her crotch and panel three with a dripping cooch is asking for trouble.

Then he shows what his scripted breakdown page looked like, and what he expected O.M.G to draw, and didn’t want any deviations of the completed page. He felt that the page was awkward.

Here's the page Erik had laid out and wanted O.M.G to follow.  You decide?

 Mario felt that he was censored but Erik argued it was the other way around.

Erik Larsen This isn't a case of me "censoring Mario"--it's a case of him not following the script. If you're writing a story and ask for a shot of a character kicking a bad guy and you get back a shot of the bad guy licking her crotch--it's unreasonable for the guy who made the change to argue censorship. He's censoring me--not the other way around.

Mario charged back.

Mario Gully: I'm a keep this shit real. Erik, first off..I was helping you out. My storytelling isn't flawed, its that you don't know Ant at all. First.. Ant is bulletproof. Her Suit is her SKIN harden to armor. She is bulletproof to small and heavy gunfire bro. She blocks bullets because she can. I'ts fun for her. So, Having her use a "human shield" is cute but I decided to put some stank on it. For your info.. she jumped on his shoulders/ blocked bullets and broke his neck... and yes his tongue slobbered on her Pussy. That's ANT bro. Are you serious? In the following panel.. where she is running...Ant don't run bra. She fought a whole army remember? Issue 5? I guess you guys-- think I was just bullshitting huh? Why would she run from a few guys with gun?? Instead, I appealed to your ego and made her get a better position. I don't run from fights. She don't either. Now about the Pussy licking? Who in here don't eat pussy? Honestly..RAISE YOUR HANDS IF YOU EAT PUSSY!! We all do. If you don't either are a lie or pussyless. I hate censorship and this is a sad example how far Image has fallen. I not changing your book. BTW didn't even get my imput on it which in itself is dumb. You don't know Ant better then I do. Just like that time you drew a tumbnail of Ant and Spawn cover#3. I drew it flawed for me to not correct my idol and drew a bad ass ANT IN SPAWNS LAP!! Same thing happening here ..yeah, And it's funny how a few post ago how that very cover was posted here! My last point. I think people are tired of seeing the same old shit. I KNOW i'm tired of looking at it. I also tired of be underestimated. I think nobody can draw Ant better then I can. Because Ant has soul. I've had letters from ministers and from single parents that got her. I don't think you get it Erik and that's cool. You will find out like the rest. Now. Respectfully I would like very much to draw this book and end with Image with a conclusion and teaming up with you will be nice. But I'm O.M.G man...Mario been gone for some time. So if I draw Ant..your story of not, I got to do my thang. Breaking a neck instead of shooting a guy is still killing him. If you think that I'm really going left then we do have a problem. I got to play my way. Shit, if I can't keep it real then comics are doomed. None of ya is a real as I am and one of these days you will appreciate it. Erik you can make Ant like a all ages Spiderman if you want to. But I know the bitch! People remember when in Ant unleashed her roomate sucking dick. If you turn Ant into a billiondollar girl it will forever trickle down to O.M.G. and I'm raw and uncut so...yeah. They want to see that shit. What gets me the most is everyone passed on Ant and thought it was a bad idea. You even said that " Ant was "too urban" and "Ant was the worst book at Image"! After me proving everyone wrong a million...lets say Thousands times over you guys still think you are right? I hope you are. I hope you can make a sucessful ANT without me. Nobody else did. It's you who should ask me how to make an Ant book. Not the other way around. You'd fuck it up.

Then Erik said.

Erik Larsen This is a free country. If Mario doesn't want to draw my story he can absolutely choose not to that.

Erik Larsen Hell, I encouraged Mario to do his own stuff. I wasn't twisting his arm to do this story.

Ultimately O.M.G relented and just let the topic go.

Mario Gully Honestly I'm over it. Especially now. I'm a do my own books my own way and see how it goes. Tongues?? Shit it gets way worst then that!?! I'm way beyond all this. Erik do Ant the best you can and I wish you the best. 

O.M.G

Erik Larsen Thanks, man. Sorry it went down this way.

Erik Larsen I do think folks deserve something of an explanation: Mario sold the character Ant to me last year. The book hasn't been published in years. Mario was NOT going to continue working on the book. He was done. He was going elsewhere to start something new. I was going to restart the book fresh--and do a new series that I would write and draw. 

Mario offered to do a last issue of his series to tie up the loose ends. I'd already laid out a bunch of pages for an issue #12 some years back and he agreed to work from those.

So--this wasn't a situation where it would have been an ongoing book with Mario back onboard. He was moving on. All this would have done is a single issue. We'd finish off the old series and honestly--it was an odd fit--an odd publishing choice on our part. It really didn't make a lot of sense to do a final issue of a series that had been discontinued long ago just to give it closure and then restart it. But I hate dangling plots and Mario seemed willing to do it so off we went.

But the book was a general audience title and the book will be a general audience title and it makes even LESS sense to do an isolated mature readers issue to cap off a book that ended a few years ago.

In any case--it is what it is. I'm not going to force Mario to draw my story and he's not going to force me to change my story so that's the end of that. As far as I know Mario's drawn just the one page so it's hardly the end of the world.

So that’s with the main thrust of the conversation between both Erik Larsen and OMG aka Mario Gully?

What do you think? Were the images to racy?

In my personal opinion, sure the images were racy, but Ant had always been a racy book, especially the later books. Furthermore, we all know that Image comics do publish comics that have hardcore sexual themes, but to suddenly have Erik Larsen be this squeamish is almost too odd.  However, he owning the character now does give him certain rights. Yet do you think he is being too squeamish? It''s a shame we will never see another Ant by Mario. What could have been. Seeing as he is walking away from the title to pursue new future projects. Let me know what you think.

Good luck, O.M.G.

To follow O.M.G go this his page: HERE

Thank you.

Jake Estrada

Any questions please email at estradajake@yahoo.com