A full and final settlement resolving all claims has been reached in the Cloonan v. Cadence Comic Art Inc case. Judge Jennifer L. Rochon of the Southern District of New York has filed an order of dismissal. The plaintiffs have until February 12, 2026, to reopen the case per the proposed order filed with the court.
The plaintiffs, seventeen comic artists and Cadence Comic Art, asked the court for an extension of time and an adjournment back in December 2025, as both parties sought to resolve the suit without a trial.
The full list of plaintiffs includes notable artists who have worked with Marvel, DC, and Image, including: Pia Guerra, Jill Thompson, David Marquez, Becky Cloonan, Joelle Jones, Elena Casagrande, Tyler Crook, Wesley Craig, Leila Leiz, Rafael Albuquerque, Jenny Frison, Valerio Schiti, Allesandro Cappuccio, Mahmud Asrar, Paolo Villanelli, Yildiray Cinar, and Danai Christina Kilaidoni.
The plaintiffs joined forces and filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against Cadence Comic Art and its owner, Paolo Belfiore, on August, 2025. The suit accused the defendants of “violating the New York Arts and Cultural Affairs Law by failing to remit over $473,000 from the sale of artworks delivered to the defendants on consignment. According to the complaint, the defendants sold the works without informing the plaintiffs and refused to respond to repeated requests for information about the status of the works.”
Art dealer and gallery Cadence Comic Art and owner Paolo Belfiore were sued by more than a dozen comic book artists on Aug. 7 in the New York Southern District Court. The suit, brought by Adwar Ivko, accuses the defendants of violating the New York Arts and Cultural Affairs Law by failing to remit over $473,000 from the sale of artworks delivered to the defendants on consignment. According to the complaint, the defendants sold the works without informing the plaintiffs and refused to respond to repeated requests for information about the status of the works. The case is 1:25-cv-06513, Cloonan v. Cadence Comic Art.
Cloonan v. Cadence Comic Art Inc listed grievances that the artist had towards Cadence and Belfiore, including comingling of funds, over $236,253 in commissions for their services going back to 2008, “secret sales and secret transfers” which weren’t reported, unsold consigned artwork and inventory records that didn’t make it back to the artist and holding over 49 pieces of art which had not been sold then refusing to return the items even after being sent a formal demand by lawyers.
According to the initial lawsuit, Belfiore and Cadence Comic Art would sign artists to exclusivity deals, sell original art on their behalf, and handle commissions and convention appearances. The Beat had previously reported on customers complaining about unfulfilled orders, as well as several artists announcing they would no longer work with Cadence.
Comic Book Club talked to Polina Ivko, a New York-based lawyer and one of the co-founders of Adwar Ivko, who is representing the seventeen comic artists in this lawsuit, and explained the situation as such:
“In February of 2024, the artists exited Cadence Comic Art for several reasons: the company “failed to hold the artists’ works and sales proceeds in trust”; “misappropriated over $473,000 through unreported sales and unauthorized commissions”; “commingled trust funds of artists and failed to provide accurate account statements to them”; and “refused to return some of the unsold artworks and inventory records despite repeated demands.”
