I don’t think people understand that once Ed thought he was going to lose being in the comic industry, he literally lost the will to live. There was no “we’ll I can just be a…” for him. That was it.
Ed's letter is heartbreaking. I can't stand the "guilty until proven innocent" viciousness of online hate mobs. I'm a mostly-Polynesian woman with dreadlocks, so I've been targeted by security ever since I was 12, people always assuming I was a thief just because of the way I look, so I can grok how unfairly some people can judge other people without ever knowing the facts. I think I used to hope that -- maybe -- people had learned something from Alec Holowka's tragic death; but it seems online hate mobs have only gotten worse. I wish people would _think_ before they post vicious things. . .
Cartoonist Kayfabe was and is so special because of the passion of the people involved. Their passion is infectious. Ed's passion was infectious. Ed's passion for the medium got me more interested in it, learning about it. It's history, and the creators who made them. Ed Piskor's death hit me in a way I can't quite articulate. I didn't know him personally, but I watched Kayfabe regularly and read his work. The whole situation is just truly heartbreaking. I have a lot of anger toward those who dogpiled him. I have a lot of anger toward those who knew him and didn't stand by him. And I have a lot of anger just for the simple fact that someone with such passion for the industry and the craft is gone. Gone because of hate mobs on the internet that just had to show to everyone how virtuous they were. Ed Piskor made mistakes. But those mistakes were not worthy of his death. The whole situation makes me sad. Honestly. A special, powerful force in the comic world has been lost. I watched an old episode of Kayfabe last night. And like always, it drew me in. Ed and Jim's passionate commentary about the art and those who created it - with such genuine love of the craft is a treasure. Ed's death cannot be in vain. We have to stand against these cancel mobs. This cannot be allowed to happen again.
My favorite Kayfabes of all time are the pandemic era weeklies, debriefing their McFarland and Claremont interviews and talking about how they are doing personally. There’s an episode where Ed lays out how much free time people had to pursue their ambitions and if they didn’t take advantage of that they misused time so poorly it was offensive to him. An all time classic
I rewatched some Kayfabe of Ed talking about doing Wizzywig entirely on his own, we know he had SS and RR on the Patreon monetized as purely digital, UA-cam CK would have continued had they chosen to. So the avenues existed even if they aren’t the equivalent of a $76k book deal or such. That’s really the point I was aiming for, even though it wouldn’t have changed Ed’s mind
To anyone who believes that cancel culture isn’t real, or that whisper networks are fake and for those who deny that night letters are fake, I say to hell with you. Regardless of wether Ed was guilty or not, a human being is gone. Social media has poisoned pop culture and now loud vocal individuals can target people to the point of death.
Well said. I still can't believe he is gone. The events of the last week and a half, no other words come to mind than "harrowing". He had it all and it all got taken including him in 10 days. Very scary.
This is a more nuanced video and I appreciate it. I made my own take on this and I agree with yours. There are some dumb as hell videos about Ed’s passing and this isn’t that. So thanks. I guess we’re all suffering from it. 😔
Thank you for posting this. You hit on so many things that I was thinking and couldn't articulate. I went through a similar situation getting bullied by everyone in my hometown because I stood up to an abuser and successfully got a PFA (protection from abuse order) and put him jail. Ed and I are from the same area btw and I knew him. You would think friends would come to your side considering they knew I was a good person, they didn't, they actually called me a liar and started harassing me. I know what it's like to feel like a pariah BUT I also knew I did nothing wrong. That experience forced me to change my path. I was in that same mentality just stuck and struggling to overcome my feelings. I felt like I was drowning and the worst part is I didn't know who to trust. I felt completely alone and it was so unfair what was happening to me. But the blessing is that I found out who my real friends were, I grew as a person to become resilient, compassionate and protector of my own happiness. I learned to love myself finally by being at rock bottom. I CHOSE to move and start over. Best decision ever! Now those people are just shitty people I used to know and nothing more. I wish I could have told him things will be bad for a while but it does get better and when one door closes another opens. I'm so grateful to what ever universal power there is that I did not give up my life for those who didn't deserve me. I'm so in love with my children. They are my purpose and I'm going to finish my degree finally and become my own boss like I always said I would. There is always another way! It my not be the life you expected but it could be better than you imagined. Love you Ed. We will miss you. ❤
I believe Ed. I believe what his said in his suicide note. That said, let's say, for the sake of argument that all the allegations against him were true. Was a death sentence a reasonable punishment for the claims made against him? How is this a good outcome for anybody? Nothing claimed about Ed even reached the level of being criminal. Why are people in these online circles so bloodthirsty and vicious? As the saying goes, "words are like arrows, once shot they cannot be called back." Sadly, in this case, the arrows found their mark. Are those people satisfied? Was this what they wanted? Or did they only want to assassinate his character and ruin his life, condemning him to live the rest of his years in misery?
FANTAGRAPHICS obituary to ED PISKOR says a lot about Fantagraphics in all this. I've completely changed my opinion about what used to be my fave publisher. Fantagraphics are complicit in stacking the odds against Ed at a hugely sensitive time by publicly announcing they had no plans to work with Ed Piskor in future - - instead of just announcing what their future projects ARE, or simply not making a public announcement. But even setting that aside, consider this: Fantagraphics police their post forum under Fantagraphics Ed Piskor obituary. Many expressed their grief for Ed. Some took the opportunity to further character assassinate Ed. One woman in repeated postings dumped on Ed by pathologising Ed and his work as [forbidden word here but not on Fantagraphics but starts with 'P']. When I replied to this in a reasoned manner & questioned her pop psychology & shallow art analysis to slur Ed Piskor, Fantagraphics deleted my analyses & let this woman's character assassinations stand. My objections were articulate, analytical & not hysterical. Fantagraphics then closed down the forum under the obituary as others too objected to character assassinations on the deceased on the posts. That Fantagraphics allowed their obituary page to be a voice for character assassinations of Ed Piskor while deleting OBJECTIONS to that behavior, says something crucial about Fantagraphics lack of a moral compass. It's beside the point that Fantagraphics printed some great books. I'm saying Fantagraphics has no moral compass - - none in acting as they did which added to Ed Piskor's desperation when he was distressed; & none in hosting character assassinations under their obituary page on Ed Piskor & deleting those who defended Ed against these slurs. Shame on Fantagraphics. Scandalous. Scurrilous. Insidious. Those are words I now associate with Fantagraphics' behavior. Many comic book artists cannot afford to say any of that without losing one source of income. Fair enough. I can say it. Readers can say it.
I read his explanations but couldn't read beyond that because I found I was fighting back tears, which surprised me. It seemed like too many didn't care enough about hearing his side but only with making quick judgments, even a guy he thought was his friend and who knew him. It's a shame how the internet makes gossip travel so quickly. Personal note: never give up your love for creating art.
I agree with you, i can understand what it means when they try to take away what is your life, but i honestly believe thsi was a pilling situation. he must had been dealing with more issues and he was unable to deal with it. people don't understand in such situations you loose the grip on things and you don't think rationally.
Ed Piskor was too good, great and kind to take the barrage of hateful bullshit all these self proclaimed SJWs online spew because it’s all they have to contribute to society- quite unlike their target in this instance who had reams of amazing visual storytelling and a wealth of knowledge about the history of Graphic Arts to share, often for free, to us all. We didn’t deserve Ed and that’s the god damned truth. His ‘victim’ was not a child, she was an ambitious young comic maker who knew exactly what she was doing when she communicated with Ed, and all Ed did wrong was to flirt online, and WITH her, not AT her. It’s unbelievable, the self righteousness and hypocrisy of the mob is truly heinous, as is the manner Ed’s ‘victim’ presented the offending material, out of context and plastered over with her own sensationalist commentary, and the timing of it, too, which was calculated to have maximum impact on his career. Ed’s suicide note is full of so many uncomfortable truths, he knew there was NOTHING he could do, no statement he could make, that wouldn’t just make the mob’s braying for blood even more intense, and he couldn’t take it because his work and standing the industry was the guy’s whole world. R.I.P. Ed, and my sincere condolences to Jim and the Piskors. Praying for you brother. 💔
Man really sucks i juts got into comics this year was learning all the cool histroy about the icons of comics and kayfabe was one of the channels i discorved and just 2 days ago i learned of ed piskor passing and fuck that stings. Wish him the best wherever he is now
I don’t think people understand that once Ed thought he was going to lose being in the comic industry, he literally lost the will to live. There was no “we’ll I can just be a…” for him. That was it.
That kind of says it all. I hope it's just more kayfabe and he's really off hiding in Japan, making comics no one else will ever see.
I think it was also about taking control of his narrative which had suddenly spun out of his hands.
Ed's letter is heartbreaking. I can't stand the "guilty until proven innocent" viciousness of online hate mobs. I'm a mostly-Polynesian woman with dreadlocks, so I've been targeted by security ever since I was 12, people always assuming I was a thief just because of the way I look, so I can grok how unfairly some people can judge other people without ever knowing the facts.
I think I used to hope that -- maybe -- people had learned something from Alec Holowka's tragic death; but it seems online hate mobs have only gotten worse. I wish people would _think_ before they post vicious things. . .
never imagined a day without the kayfabe, such a shame and loss of history knowledge and talent.
life is hard no matter what, compassion and mercy and empathy goes a long way. we need it, we are lacking it
Exactly, well said.
Was in a state of shock at Ed's passing and the reasons why.You're missed Mr Piskor-RIP : Ed Piskor and condolences to his family and friends.
Cartoonist Kayfabe was and is so special because of the passion of the people involved. Their passion is infectious. Ed's passion was infectious.
Ed's passion for the medium got me more interested in it, learning about it. It's history, and the creators who made them.
Ed Piskor's death hit me in a way I can't quite articulate. I didn't know him personally, but I watched Kayfabe regularly and read his work.
The whole situation is just truly heartbreaking.
I have a lot of anger toward those who dogpiled him. I have a lot of anger toward those who knew him and didn't stand by him. And I have a lot of anger just for the simple fact that someone with such passion for the industry and the craft is gone. Gone because of hate mobs on the internet that just had to show to everyone how virtuous they were.
Ed Piskor made mistakes. But those mistakes were not worthy of his death.
The whole situation makes me sad. Honestly.
A special, powerful force in the comic world has been lost.
I watched an old episode of Kayfabe last night. And like always, it drew me in. Ed and Jim's passionate commentary about the art and those who created it - with such genuine love of the craft is a treasure.
Ed's death cannot be in vain. We have to stand against these cancel mobs.
This cannot be allowed to happen again.
My favorite Kayfabes of all time are the pandemic era weeklies, debriefing their McFarland and Claremont interviews and talking about how they are doing personally. There’s an episode where Ed lays out how much free time people had to pursue their ambitions and if they didn’t take advantage of that they misused time so poorly it was offensive to him. An all time classic
Super insightful, caring video from someone who not acknowledges Ed not only as an amazing artist, but a human being lost way too soon. Rip Ed Piskor
Rip Edward R Piskor Jr, you will be missed
I'm really saddened and shaken by this Met him once and he was so kind and gracious.Such a unique talent. Rest Well
I don’t like how easily these things can be taken from you… it’s almost as if you never had it to begin with.
I rewatched some Kayfabe of Ed talking about doing Wizzywig entirely on his own, we know he had SS and RR on the Patreon monetized as purely digital, UA-cam CK would have continued had they chosen to. So the avenues existed even if they aren’t the equivalent of a $76k book deal or such. That’s really the point I was aiming for, even though it wouldn’t have changed Ed’s mind
To anyone who believes that cancel culture isn’t real, or that whisper networks are fake and for those who deny that night letters are fake, I say to hell with you. Regardless of wether Ed was guilty or not, a human being is gone. Social media has poisoned pop culture and now loud vocal individuals can target people to the point of death.
1000000000%
You sound really genuine. Not like a lot of those grifting on Ed's cancelation
Well said. I still can't believe he is gone. The events of the last week and a half, no other words come to mind than "harrowing". He had it all and it all got taken including him in 10 days. Very scary.
This is a more nuanced video and I appreciate it. I made my own take on this and I agree with yours. There are some dumb as hell videos about Ed’s passing and this isn’t that. So thanks. I guess we’re all suffering from it. 😔
Thank you for posting this. You hit on so many things that I was thinking and couldn't articulate. I went through a similar situation getting bullied by everyone in my hometown because I stood up to an abuser and successfully got a PFA (protection from abuse order) and put him jail. Ed and I are from the same area btw and I knew him. You would think friends would come to your side considering they knew I was a good person, they didn't, they actually called me a liar and started harassing me. I know what it's like to feel like a pariah BUT I also knew I did nothing wrong. That experience forced me to change my path. I was in that same mentality just stuck and struggling to overcome my feelings. I felt like I was drowning and the worst part is I didn't know who to trust. I felt completely alone and it was so unfair what was happening to me. But the blessing is that I found out who my real friends were, I grew as a person to become resilient, compassionate and protector of my own happiness. I learned to love myself finally by being at rock bottom. I CHOSE to move and start over. Best decision ever! Now those people are just shitty people I used to know and nothing more. I wish I could have told him things will be bad for a while but it does get better and when one door closes another opens. I'm so grateful to what ever universal power there is that I did not give up my life for those who didn't deserve me. I'm so in love with my children. They are my purpose and I'm going to finish my degree finally and become my own boss like I always said I would. There is always another way! It my not be the life you expected but it could be better than you imagined. Love you Ed. We will miss you. ❤
So sad. A great loss. RIP ED
I believe Ed. I believe what his said in his suicide note. That said, let's say, for the sake of argument that all the allegations against him were true. Was a death sentence a reasonable punishment for the claims made against him? How is this a good outcome for anybody? Nothing claimed about Ed even reached the level of being criminal. Why are people in these online circles so bloodthirsty and vicious?
As the saying goes, "words are like arrows, once shot they cannot be called back." Sadly, in this case, the arrows found their mark. Are those people satisfied? Was this what they wanted? Or did they only want to assassinate his character and ruin his life, condemning him to live the rest of his years in misery?
The respect you showed gained my sub
REST IN POWER, ED PISKOR!!!
FANTAGRAPHICS obituary to ED PISKOR says a lot about Fantagraphics in all this. I've completely changed my opinion about what used to be my fave publisher. Fantagraphics are complicit in stacking the odds against Ed at a hugely sensitive time by publicly announcing they had no plans to work with Ed Piskor in future - - instead of just announcing what their future projects ARE, or simply not making a public announcement.
But even setting that aside, consider this: Fantagraphics police their post forum under Fantagraphics Ed Piskor obituary. Many expressed their grief for Ed. Some took the opportunity to further character assassinate Ed. One woman in repeated postings dumped on Ed by pathologising Ed and his work as [forbidden word here but not on Fantagraphics but starts with 'P'].
When I replied to this in a reasoned manner & questioned her pop psychology & shallow art analysis to slur Ed Piskor, Fantagraphics deleted my analyses & let this woman's character assassinations stand. My objections were articulate, analytical & not hysterical.
Fantagraphics then closed down the forum under the obituary as others too objected to character assassinations on the deceased on the posts. That Fantagraphics allowed their obituary page to be a voice for character assassinations of Ed Piskor while deleting OBJECTIONS to that behavior, says something crucial about Fantagraphics lack of a moral compass.
It's beside the point that Fantagraphics printed some great books. I'm saying Fantagraphics has no moral compass - - none in acting as they did which added to Ed Piskor's desperation when he was distressed; & none in hosting character assassinations under their obituary page on Ed Piskor & deleting those who defended Ed against these slurs. Shame on Fantagraphics.
Scandalous. Scurrilous. Insidious. Those are words I now associate with Fantagraphics' behavior.
Many comic book artists cannot afford to say any of that without losing one source of income. Fair enough. I can say it. Readers can say it.
I read his explanations but couldn't read beyond that because I found I was fighting back tears, which surprised me. It seemed like too many didn't care enough about hearing his side but only with making quick judgments, even a guy he thought was his friend and who knew him. It's a shame how the internet makes gossip travel so quickly.
Personal note: never give up your love for creating art.
R.I.P ED
I agree with you, i can understand what it means when they try to take away what is your life, but i honestly believe thsi was a pilling situation. he must had been dealing with more issues and he was unable to deal with it. people don't understand in such situations you loose the grip on things and you don't think rationally.
Ed Piskor was too good, great and kind to take the barrage of hateful bullshit all these self proclaimed SJWs online spew because it’s all they have to contribute to society- quite unlike their target in this instance who had reams of amazing visual storytelling and a wealth of knowledge about the history of Graphic Arts to share, often for free, to us all. We didn’t deserve Ed and that’s the god damned truth. His ‘victim’ was not a child, she was an ambitious young comic maker who knew exactly what she was doing when she communicated with Ed, and all Ed did wrong was to flirt online, and WITH her, not AT her. It’s unbelievable, the self righteousness and hypocrisy of the mob is truly heinous, as is the manner Ed’s ‘victim’ presented the offending material, out of context and plastered over with her own sensationalist commentary, and the timing of it, too, which was calculated to have maximum impact on his career. Ed’s suicide note is full of so many uncomfortable truths, he knew there was NOTHING he could do, no statement he could make, that wouldn’t just make the mob’s braying for blood even more intense, and he couldn’t take it because his work and standing the industry was the guy’s whole world. R.I.P. Ed, and my sincere condolences to Jim and the Piskors. Praying for you brother. 💔
Man really sucks i juts got into comics this year was learning all the cool histroy about the icons of comics and kayfabe was one of the channels i discorved and just 2 days ago i learned of ed piskor passing and fuck that stings. Wish him the best wherever he is now
Rest In Peace , Mr. Piscor.
Thank you🙏
Ed Piskor died from an overdose of Internet mobocracy.
RIP
Never apologize to the mob, RIP.
Whens the funeral?
"They can't take what you don’t let them have." Ummm...obviously false.
With friends like Jim Rugg who needs enemies. I’m done with comics