Comic book artist Ed Piskor killed himself. But this isn’t the typical story of depression and suicide. His is a tragic ending driven by cancel culture mobs who took minor allegations, ignored due process, and determined to destroy a man’s life.
The comic community is devastated. My husband is a comic artist, and the anger and sadness brought by this death is hanging over everyone who read Piskor’s suicide note and looked into the allegations of “grooming” and “sexual misconduct” that were levied last week.
Monday morning, Pikor released a suicide note explaining his side of the story. According to him, he was falsely accused of grooming a 17-year-old female artist for texting her during the pandemic and using plays on words to describe her art.
He denied additional allegations of sexual misconduct from a woman who came forward after the first allegation and claimed that he sought sexual favors in exchange for his agent’s number. Piskor noted that their intimacy was consensual and initiated by her.
He called her allegations “border criminal” and urged his family to continue a civil lawsuit against her.
He named everyone who sought to destroy him and explained how his work was his life. “I’m a solitary guy and I’ve put every ounce of my time and life into my work for around the past 20 years.”
“I never felt satisfied with my skill so I constantly worked really hard and tied it all to my identity and self worth,” he went on.
Piskor was a passionate artist who inspired countless comic book creators and fans. My husband described how Piskor and his best friend, Jim Rugg, inspired artists with their Cartoonist Kayfabe podcast.
Piskor also worked on X-Men comics and gained industry acclaim with the largest indie comic publisher, Fantagraphics, through his “Hip Hop Family Tree” comics. He had no wife, no kids, he was a typical Left-leaning comic artist who was about to seal a $75,000 deal.
Some conservatives may feel that this is some painful display of karma, or the Left eating itself. And there may be some truth to that, but Piskor wasn’t a self-righteous Stephen King-type liberal screaming about politics. Piskor was just an artist who mainly kept to himself.
His work was everything to him, and because of this scandal, he lost the deal, his best friend/ podcast partner shunned him, and the leftist comics media disowned him.
He was canceled without due process and presumed guilty by woke mobs who took out-of-context messages and refused to allow him to defend himself.
Regardless of his political affiliation, his age or gender, race, religion, or any of that, the American judicial system is based on the foundation of “innocent until proven guilty.”
confirmed his death in a Facebook post on Monday afternoon.
She wrote, “It is with the most broken heart that I share my big brother, Ed, has passed away today. Please just keep our family in your prayers as this is the hardest thing we’ve ever had to go through.”
Comics media and the mainstream are ignoring the intense hatred and bullying Piskor went through. They are saying he “passed away” or merely that he died instead of connecting the dots that Piskor so clearly put in front of everyone to display that if it weren’t for being canceled, he would still be alive.
He truly thought that if he killed himself, maybe someone would finally listen to him. When posting the suicide letter, he asked those willing to listen, “Please share my side of things.”
The outcry on social media is doing just that. Comic creators and those who refuse to take the cancel culture bait have expressed their frustration at this horrific situation.
The Quartering reported about it on X, stating, “The cancel mob took another life. Ed Piskor, an indie comics artist has taken his own life after an online cancellation over false misconduct accusations.”
Otis Frampton wrote, “Whatever Ed did or didn’t do, this wasn’t justice. This was a digital lynching.”
“Some people need to rethink their urge to join mobs and seek to destroy the lives of others,” he added.
Klaus Janson stated, “Ed Piskor’s death is a gut punch. His suicide note is haunting.”
“Everything about this is wrong.”
Jessica is a reporter for RSBN, Mid Rivers Newsmagazine, and homeschooling mother of five. Find her on Twitter @jessmbaum.
Image: Selbymay
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