Remembering Ed Piskor
Protecting our communities and our artists
TW: Grooming, Suicide
When news (and receipts) of comic artist Ed Piskor’s online chats with a young woman were released last week, it was an immediate problem for me.
I’m a dad. I run a progressive store in a progressive art community. I believe victims. I also believe in redemption, making amends and changing for the better. If that would happen for Ed, it would take time. So I took his X-Men Grand Design poster off the wall at our store and put his autographed copies of Red Room spine-out on lower shelves. We didn’t do this to diminish his storytelling or art, but to avoid the conversations they would bring. We chose to avoid the appearance of supporting someone who was clearly in the wrong.
I’d met Ed a couple of times and seen a few episodes of his Youtube series, Cartoonist Kayfabe. Kayfabe is the term for keeping up the “act” of professional wrestling, not letting on that it’s fake. Ed’s personal kayfabe was strong. You didn’t necessarily know when you were hearing from him or his carefully engineered persona. It’s a trick sensitive people have used for a long time. I just didn’t know it applied to Ed until now.
Passionate about his home city, hip hop and comics culture (especially the often maligned 1990s independent comic boom), he breezed between worlds as a fan and a professional comic creator masked behind a Pirates cap and oversized sunglasses. In his videos, he celebrated misrepresented and underrepresented artists. But he could also be mean and cynical. So I stopped watching. Even if it was the act, it wasn’t for me.
But my personal interactions with Ed were mostly positive. First, there was ComicsPro 2023, where Ed and his Kayfabe partner Jim Rugg talked about their upcoming projects one-on-one, doling out signed book plates and asking about our store and how they could help us. As time started to wane, Ed put on the hard sell for the Hip Hop Family Tree Omnibus. That hard sell was also on display the next time I saw him, at HeroesCon in Charlotte. There was no line at his booth, but he seemed distracted and a bit too much like his “cool guy” persona. When I mentioned our chat at ComicsPro, I got the sell on Family Tree again. Selling was a part of this act. It seemed steering talk toward his work avoided having a real conversation.
And in fairness, Hip Hop Family Tree is an amazing history of the movement and art form. Ed’s kraft-toned pages, muted palette and sly jokes make going to school fun. His X-Men Grand Design does the same thing, transforming the distant and mythical into relatable characters and stories. Wizzywig was one of the shop’s first big hits. Red Room wasn’t for me, but it sold well despite the aggressive content.
After the art, the most important thing I got from Ed was a Facebook group that spun off from the Youtube channel. Cartoonist Kayfabe Ringside Seats (currently CKRS) was full of people that liked outlaw comics, underground work and the spirit of independent cartooning. That group continues to thrive, even though they’ve parted ways with the Youtube show. It was in that group I learned of Ed’s transgressions. It’s where I saw Ed’s suicide note posted. And it was in that group I received word that his body had been found.
Being sensitive, or being an artist, isn’t justification for misbehavior. There is a long history of “geniuses” (talented men) misusing their influence to hurt people. As more and more people are outed for their actions, I’ve slowly learned to separate the art from the artist when I can. But sometimes, the art is tied too closely to deeds or the creator plays the victim. That is hard to forgive.
After the accusations against him broke, days passed without hearing Ed’s side of the story. It wasn’t like his persona to hide. Some of his close friends publicly distanced themselves. Articles were written. Family members were harassed. When we finally heard from him, it was a long goodbye letter. A sad, incredibly depressing goodbye. He didn’t see a way back, so he left. His sensitivity won out. His kayfabe was dropped.
I don’t pretend to know the answers. Bad actors should be held accountable. Our most vulnerable people should be protected. In many cases, that includes our artists - even when they may be the perpetrators. His victim was also an artist, compounding the impact on our community. Comics is a small world and Ed’s mistakes hit hard just like his death hit hard. People who create are people who feel. Sometimes too much.
If there’s a lesson here, it’s to be kind. To treat people with respect. To live a life that makes you proud. To keep this from happening again, we all need to be better.
Thanks for the comics, Ed. We all missed out on Act Two.