Artist Frank Cho says he has been banned from working at Marvel Comics for the past three years — and that the order did not come from Marvel itself. Speaking on the New York Comic Con special episode of The Marvelists podcast, Cho claimed former Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy personally demanded the ban after he angered her with his Star Wars sketch covers.
"I'm banned at Marvel. I've been banned at Marvel for three years," Cho said on the podcast. "Everyone at Marvel loves me. It's Kathleen Kennedy... she demanded Marvel ban me."
The sketch covers at the center of the claim
Cho built a side business drawing original cartoons on Marvel's blank sketch-cover variants — comic editions printed with empty covers meant for artists to draw on at conventions and on commission. His Star Wars blanks often carried cartoons that made fun of the franchise, and Cho says those drawings are what set Kennedy off.
"Because of the sketch cover, she killed the entire sketch cover program for the Star Wars line," Cho claimed. He described himself as an easy target for a studio head under pressure, saying Kennedy was "looking for a puppy to kick" while Star Wars films underperformed and The Acolyte drew criticism.
Marvel still publishes blank sketch variants for other titles, including recent Spider-Man and Avengers releases, but blank Star Wars covers have indeed been absent from its line for years. Cho expects the surviving Star Wars blanks to climb in value on the collector market.
A timeline that raises questions
Cho's account, however, does not line up neatly with the public record. His most recent Marvel work appears to date to 2022, including Fortnite X Marvel and Moon Knight material — roughly when he says the ban began, but also before the flashpoints he cites.
The last Star Wars blank variants Marvel published were Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #1 and Star Wars Vol. 3 #1, both from 2020 — years before any three-year ban would have started. And The Acolyte, the series Cho points to as part of the pressure on Kennedy, did not premiere until 2024.
Kennedy, who led Lucasfilm from 2012, stepped down as president earlier this year. Neither Marvel nor Lucasfilm has commented on Cho's claim, which currently rests entirely on his own telling.
Who Frank Cho is
Cho is the creator of Liberty Meadows and one of Marvel's best-known cover artists, with work spanning Shanna the She-Devil, Mighty Avengers, Savage Wolverine and Totally Awesome Hulk, plus creator-owned series like Fight Girls and Skyborne. His claim echoes one earlier case: writer Chuck Wendig was dropped from Marvel's Star Wars books in 2018, though no cover program was ended in that instance.
Whether Marvel ever confirms or disputes the story, Cho is not backing down from it — and the sketch covers he says caused the trouble are now collector's items.
Source: The Marvelists
