Ed Piskor Allegations

[Hagbard]

Well, it looks like Ed Piskor has gone from the butt of jokes on this forum to something else entirely. Allegedly.

www.comicsbeat.com/multiple-women-accuse-cartoonist-ed-piskor-of-grooming-and-misconduct/

[GHO]

I think the media spectacle this has created is disgusting. I'm aware that it's enigmatic of the larger media "fuck fest" that is happening at this present moment in history. But I think it also points a light on how insular comic readers are and how much they love drama. The dehumanization from multiple outlets of Molly, seeing her not as a person but as a outside entity trying to "gain" something from this is gross. Molly has stated multiple times, that she is sharing this information to warn other women and to share how these interactions made her feel. But what i've been seeing alot of is people talking about how these allegations are showing "what they've known about piskor all along" or confirming some deep seeded hatred of cartoonist kayfabe with actual proof. I'm completely in support of molly but I am not (and from what i've read and what she's said I don't think she is either) in support of the circus and endless media parade this "story" has created. I don't care about your blog I don't care about comics "news" and I dont give a shit about your opinions.

also I think this whole situation shows a portion of the comics "community" as they really are, conservative brain rotted creeps.

[pentimento]

Breaking my self-imposed exile from these hateful boards to gloat a little, hah! Piskor really turned out to be a real dick, amirite?The radio silence from Eddie/Jim/kayfabe is thunderous!

The real test will be to see if Fantagraphics has the sack to make a public statement by tomorrow. Piskor is undoubtedly among their top sellers, and possibly their most well-known cartoonist to the non-comics "citizens" as Ed P. likes to call the great unwashed. Eric Reynolds might be the "nicest guy in comics" but he's a real ball-washer when it comes to the company, so we shall see.

Then too I await TCJ's weekly "news" link roundup (which is so narrowly and predictably curated as to be useless as news) to see if they even mention the events, or if they link to all five of Kayfabe's weekly vids, as they always do.

Meanwhile, the real shit is going on at the Cartoonist Kayfabe reddit. Ignore the butthurt "Eddie disappointed me" white knighters, and go straight for the gold:












Don't know who's making these, but they're the funniest cartoonist-takedown I've seen since Johnny Ryan's Comic Book Holocaust.

Bonus: A real pic of Edward from 15 years ago. Pale as an albino:



Anyway, good riddance to the "David Silver" of alt comix, hahahaha

[artquest]

You need to go an kick his ass, obviously

[pumpduncan]

During the start of the pandemic the kayfabe videos meant a lot to me. It felt like daily check ins from friends when I wasn't seeing anyone. I wouldn't have gotten hip to Bubbles if not for them sharing it in a mail bag video. The mailbag period got a lot of exposure for new and up and coming cartoonists, probably the best thing to come out of CK.


I was holding out hope that Jim would step up at some point, not that he owes me anything personally, his silence is damning.

[arecomicsevengood]

Here is what I believe Ed should do: Admit that this happened, and express guilt. Concede that the idea that anyone in comics needs "connections" to move forward in their career is bullshit, and that the illusion of the industry's impenetrability is what allows bad actors to flourish. So, in order to allow young women to print their own work, and make their own connections to peers, he will give out money from his earnings, a la the Koyama Provides grant, to young female cartoonists, who he will otherwise have zero correspondence with, as a way of drawing attention to the artists and funding their ability to make art. Probably he hires someone to administer the logistics of this, the reaching out to people to offer them money.

[dominocorp]

Mar 29, 2024 17:16:34 GMT arecomicsevengood said:

Here is what I believe Ed should do: Admit that this happened, and express guilt. Concede that the idea that anyone in comics needs "connections" to move forward in their career is bullshit, and that the illusion of the industry's impenetrability is what allows bad actors to flourish. So, in order to allow young women to print their own work, and make their own connections to peers, he will give out money from his earnings, a la the Koyama Provides grant, to young female cartoonists, who he will otherwise have zero correspondence with, as a way of drawing attention to the artists and funding their ability to make art. Probably he hires someone to administer the logistics of this, the reaching out to people to offer them money.

I don't know who would want to accept money from this though, people would be accused (or feel) that they were benefiting from something that exists to wash away prior bad actions. 

Although...I guess Alfred Nobel started the Nobel prize because he felt so guilty for inventing dynamite, so maybe...

Otherwise, though, a good idea that someone else should do, but if Ed did it people would attack it, intent on all sides would be obscured, right or wrong. 

[grubcubman]

Rugg posted on Instagram saying he has "ended his working relationship" with Piskor.

[pumpduncan]

Was glad to see he made a statement.

[Hagbard]

When I opened this thread I had no idea how big of a story this had become, as referenced by GHO. My friend texted that comicsbeat article to me, saying that he thought I knew Piskor. I don’t know Piskor or anyone involved in this story, but I did know of him, and recognized his name from the jokes on this forum as much as I did from his comics or youtube channel. Anyway, the same friend just sent a message that Piskor posted a suicide note on facebook. I haven’t seen it, but if that’s true that is obviously not an outcome anyone would want. From what GHO mentioned above, it sounds like that includes at least one of the women who accused Piskor of bad behavior.

Now that I have seen many people plugging their vlogs and blogs on social media discussing the situation I regret bring it up here (I hadn’t logged into facebook in a long time and I don’t have twitter). I think the general tenor and compulsivity of simultaneously condemning and perversely enjoying drama like this a pretty disgusting part of social life, especially online.

I have no idea what the facts are in this case. I think women should be heard and whisper networks have long existed due to obvious necessities, including the need to warn other women about potential predators. However, I don’t think that means every person who behaves badly deserves to be shunned from their community for all time. There needs to be a recognition of the scale and severity of bad behavior when thinking about “just” desserts.

I occasionally teach college courses at a prison. While almost all of my students (both men and women) insist on their innocence, I strongly doubt they are all truly innocent. However, I’ve only met one person in prison who I felt like their sentence was actually “just.” Instead, the entire justice system seems constructed out of this false idea that if we punish others, including perpetrators, their suffering becomes our healing. As someone who has witnessed extreme violence and has been affected by it, I can attest that is simply not true. Creating a safer society may include ostracism and social exclusion, but it’s a totally different thing to find pleasure in it.

Anyway, we live in a sick society. The pervasiveness of schadenfreude in how we interact with each other is evidence of our illness. There needs to be a way to talk about bad behavior and warning others of potential harm without finding pleasure in it.

[Hagbard]

Immediately after posting my latest reply, the same friend posted to our friend chat that Ed Piskor’s family has confirmed that he killed himself today.

Again, there is no justice in this. Nor do I believe this is merely manipulative behavior from a predator. It’s a tragedy. It’s a tragedy that may have been avoided minus the media circus. Nor did this circus really do anything to protect women, because now the narrative will likely switch to this just being an example of “women destroying men” and other cg bullshit.

I deeply regret even mentioning the news on here given some of the petty and mean spirited comments that followed on this thread and elsewhere. I hope the mods do with it, and my comments however they think is best.

[jporcellino]

It's going to take a long time to come to some kind of reckoning with what just happened to the comics community. I only hope that it can somehow be a catalyst for positive change.

My heart goes out to everyone involved.

[milo1999]

I often try to bury my head in the sand when it comes to particular aspects of the comics community, but it becomes impossible when terrible things like this happen. As said earlier in this thread, hopefully this acts as some catalyst for change. Certain people ought to be looking hard at themselves right now.


Such sad sad news, I can't imagine what his family are going through right now.

RIP Ed

[wearcleandraws]

how I'ma remember him -- goofy hard-working kid in an apartment as blank as fresh bristol: youtu.be/gBLdrP8p_Ek?si=FlOLeno7TzSYdMmM

[daisyjaberi]

This was all so sad. Fuck the internet