Ed Piskor gallery showing ‘indefinitely postponed’ after misconduct allegations

Multiple women have accused the creator of ‘Hip Hop Family Tree’ of inappropriate behavior, including grooming an underage artist.

A planned exhibit of Ed Piskor’s artwork from Hip Hop Family Tree has been “indefinitely postponed,” according to the Pittsburgh City Paper, following allegations of misconduct that were revealed this past weekend.

The exhibit was scheduled to begin in April at the 707 Penn Gallery in Pittsburgh and would have run through August.

“The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust learned yesterday of allegations of misconduct made by an individual against artist Ed Piskor, whose work was scheduled to be on exhibition at 707 Penn Gallery starting April 6, 2024,” a spokesperson for the Trust told Pittsburgh City Paper. “The Trust takes the allegations very seriously and has decided to postpone the exhibition indefinitely.”

Both Hip Hop Family Tree and Piskor’s Red Room were published by Fantagraphics. When Smash Pages reached out to the publisher, they shared this statement: “Fantagraphics has no future projects in the works with Ed Piskor.”

Continue reading “Ed Piskor gallery showing ‘indefinitely postponed’ after misconduct allegations”

Controversial ‘Red Room’ variant cover won’t be published

Fantagraphics, Ed Piskor and Jim Rugg decide not to release a cover that parodies Art Spiegelman’s cover to ‘Maus.’

A variant cover for the third issue of Ed Piskor’s “splatterpunk” comic series Red Room: Trigger Warning has been cancelled by its publisher, Fantagraphics, and the creators involved.

The cover, for Red Room: Trigger Warnings #3, was one of several covers that debuted in a post at The Beat yesterday — which they’ve since removed. It parodied Art Spiegelman’s Maus, the multiple award-winning autobiographical comic about his father’s experiences as a Polish Jew and Holocaust survivor. It’s not the kind of comic that would be a good idea to parody on a splatterpunk gore comic, given the subject matter or the recent controversy in Tennessee.

The backlash on Twitter was swift, with a tweet from artist Ramon Villalobos garnering several responses from other comics creators. His tweet also includes an image of the cover in question.

Continue reading “Controversial ‘Red Room’ variant cover won’t be published”

Fantagraphics to publish Ed Piskor’s ‘Red Room’

The comic series will be 12 issues of ‘subversive, stand alone stories that are all part of a larger, twisted narrative.’

Hip Hop Family Tree creator Ed Piskor will debut his first creator-owned, shared universe in a new comic, Red Room, which debuts in May from Fantagraphics.

“Red Room is a cyberpunk, outlaw, splatterpunk comic that you can’t unsee once you feast your eyes on the mayhem,” said Piskor in a press release. “Think of Red Room as modern day E.C. Comics, infused with the dream of Black Mirror. These are subversive, stand alone stories that are all part of a larger, twisted narrative.”

Piskor has been sharing pages from the new project on his Patreon, where he describes it as an “epic in the funnybook tradition of Faust, The Crow and other comics that make parents nervous.

Continue reading “Fantagraphics to publish Ed Piskor’s ‘Red Room’”

Fantastic Four gets the ‘Grand Design’ treatment courtesy of Tom Scioli

The two-issue series kicks off in October.

Fans of Tom Scioli‘s creative and inspired approach to comics are in for a treat — the creator behind American Barbarian, Go-Bots and Transformers vs. G.I. Joe will turn his attention to Marvel’s first family in Fantastic Four: Grand Design.

Fantastic Four is like the Magna Carta of Marvel, this founding document, so being allowed to get my hands on it is thrilling,” Scioli told Comicbook.com. “They’ve given me a tremendous amount of creative freedom to just go for it.”

Continue reading “Fantastic Four gets the ‘Grand Design’ treatment courtesy of Tom Scioli”

Clowes, Piskor get Studio Editions in October

You’ll find original art scans, process pieces and more in two new Studio Editions coming in October.

Fantagraphics has announced Studio Editions for two popular comic artists — Daniel Clowes and Ed Piskor.

Much like IDW’s popular Artist’s Editions line, Studio Editions contain un-retouched original art scans — letting you see the artist’s originals in a way that you’d otherwise only see if you had direct access to them. “These full-size reproductions retain original pencil marks, corrections, and marginalia—fascinating imperfections that provide insights into the creative process of these master cartoonists,” the press release reads.

Continue reading “Clowes, Piskor get Studio Editions in October”

Paul Maybury contributing Chapel back-ups to ‘Bloodstrike’ relaunch

‘I don’t have friends.’

We don’t have a lot of information yet on Michel Fiffe’s revival of Bloodstrike, but a few details have started to emerge. In addition to new Bloodstrike material, the comic will also feature the return of Chapel, another character created by Rob Liefeld who debuted in the early days of Image Comics.

Paul Maybury announced he’s creating back-up stories starring the skull-faced character, handling writing, art, colors and lettering. He also shared a teaser image:

Continue reading “Paul Maybury contributing Chapel back-ups to ‘Bloodstrike’ relaunch”

Ed Piskor brings his distinct style to Nike’s Air Force 1 sneaker

The ‘Hip Hop Family Tree’ creator covers both the shoe’s box and creates a new comic about its creators.

Hip Hop Family Tree and X-Men: Grand Design creator Ed Piskor is teaming up with Nike to put his stamp on a special edition Field Air Force 1 Mid “For Baltimore” sneaker.

“If I do work for hire, I’m only going to work on dream projects or things that blow my mind,” he told the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.

Continue reading “Ed Piskor brings his distinct style to Nike’s Air Force 1 sneaker”

Kirby Q&A: Ed Piskor

The ‘X-Men: Grand Design’ and ‘Hip Hop Family Tree’ creator reflects on the work of comics legend Jack Kirby.

All this week we’re celebrating the life and influence of comics legend Jack Kirby, who would have turned 100 on Aug. 28. You can find other Kirby-related articles here.

Ed Piskor was already well known for comics like Wizzywig, Macedonia and other work, but it was Hip Hop Family Tree that really brought his work to a new audience and won him an Eisner Award. Right now Piskor is working on X-Men: Grand Design, a series from Marvel that he’s writing, drawing, coloring and lettering that launches at the end of the year. Piskor has talked about his love for Kirby in the past and we reached out to talk about his thoughts about the man and his work.

Continue reading “Kirby Q&A: Ed Piskor”

Ed Piskor to compile Uncanny X-Men #1-280 into one ‘Grand’ story

‘X-Men: Grand Design’ will retell the classic comics into retro-stylized six-issue miniseries.

During the “Marvel: The Next Big Thing” panel at San Diego Comic Con, the publishing giant announced a unique way to present classic comic stories to modern audiences. X-Men: Grand Design will retell the first 280 issues of The Uncanny X-Men into a stunningly compact six 40-page issue miniseries.

Continue reading “Ed Piskor to compile Uncanny X-Men #1-280 into one ‘Grand’ story”

‘Wytches’ returns in Image’s promotional magazine

Second volume of Image+ will also feature an autobiographical strip by Ed Piskor.

Image+, Image Comics’ supplemental magazine to Diamond’s monthly Previews catalog, has proven to be way more than just a means to share their monthly solicits. It regularly features editorial content, interviews with creators and even comics, as it ran Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard’s “Negan” strip, featuring the popular Walking Dead character’s back story, in its first volume. The fact that it is edited by former Comics Alliance contributor David Brothers probably explains why it’s not to be missed.

Starting in August, Image+ kicks off its second volume, and that issue will include an increased page count, an original autobiographical comic strip from Hip Hop Family Tree creator Ed Piskor, and the return of Scott Snyder and Jock’s Wytches.

Continue reading “‘Wytches’ returns in Image’s promotional magazine”