Rick Olney--Fibber or Mega-Giganta-Fibber?

[Jack Zodiac]

So, to clarify, my offer still stands. Be aware that I am not offering legal advice; I do not have the wherewithal to spearhead any sort of legal action, individual or aggregate, that’s up to you; and I trust you to be honest and come to me only if you truly have a claim but can’t afford the out-of-pocket expense to file one. That said, if you are on the list of creators owed money by Olney, can demonstrate nonpayment on his part, and the only thing standing between you and a fair shot at getting paid is that you literally can't afford to file a claim against him, I will stake that expense.

You're a beautiful, gorgeous man. Like, I'm talkin' Kurt Busiek gorgeous here. I'd love to see anyone take up your offer and put this giant asshole in his place.

[Bright-Raven]

DocAbsurd / Doc Martin:

Just passing along the information I was offered by the police officer in question. I wouldn't call them "instructions", per se. If your local law enforcement officials or your attorneys instruct you otherwise for whatever reason, take their considerations into account with equal or more notice than what I posted, but going by what the officer I spoke with claimed, he saw no conflicts and that these were among proper actions to take.

*******

[TCJohnson]

It won't be because of anything we've said or done. It's just no sane publisher would want to deal with a person who behaves like this.

Gail

But at the same time if you hear of any publisher or editor getting involved with Rick, you would warn him, right?

[Skulljammer]

He's smart enough to promise payments WITHOUT a timeframe now.

.....and I'm starting to concider Mr.Waids generous offer.

[siuntres]

wow...

hadn't really read this thread since it first appeared.

I hope all the wrongs get righted.

[AaronJ]

I have been reading this thread all the way through. I really don't know what to say, at this point.

I don't know what mental illness Mr. Olney is suffering from, but it is serious, and he should have it looked into. I really hate to say this, but I almost feel sorry for him. It's clear that his connection to reality is quite tenuous. To believe that ALL these people would be conspiring to create one gigantic fib just to come down on a guy of whom very few people had heard prior to this whole debacle ... I mean, WOW.

That's some serious delusion, going on there. Lex Luthor looks sane compared to this guy.

And, seriously, it's been said a bunch of times (and deserves to be said way many more times) but Mark Waid, you are a great human being.

It's been painful reading these messages, and seeing so many good people conned by the same loser. You know, regular, decent human beings get conned because regular, decent human beings don't assume that every person they meet is a total scumbag. Even a cynic like myself generally trusts other human beings to be just that: human beings.

To everyone who got scammed by this guy, my heart goes out to you.

And, Rick Olney, seriously: I have simply to quote a good man, Joseph Welch: "Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?"

ETA: I just wanted to add that if Mr. Waid needs a (rather small) contribution to keep this all going, I would be more than happy to oblige. I can contribute maybe somewhere in the region of $100-$200 dollars. I know that isn't much, but really, this is about the most offensive thing I've ever heard about.

[OMAR]

Thanks for that Gail... of course I'm still wondering what this guy in LITG meant by saying that this got people to feel sorry for me and that's a feat... WTF is that about?

Another loser is Ronee, whose initial reports were vague enough and yet specific enough that they implied the WRONG MAN was the attacker. Ronee's writing unintentionally spread the hurt out to far more people. And while I understand exactly why she did it, moreso than many other folks I suspect, it was still a bad decision to report it the way she did. Being guilty of many bad decisions in my life, including at least one that affected somebody in a slightly similar manner, I'm inclined to be forgiving. I'm sure there are a great many other folks who are not. Ronee's reputation has also taken a huge hit from this.

http://www.eskimo.com/~tegan/blog/20...-20060506.html

"Older next door neighbor"? Soma is three years OLDER than Brownstein!!! Bourgeois went on to paint this as a case of sexual harassment, which is very clearly is NOT, and her careless, thoughtless writing, no matter how well intentioned, cast suspicion on an innocent man and an innocent organization to the point where Buzzscope itself is now open to a lawesuit.

And you want to know the corker? I was told by two separate people that Taki Soma did not know Bourgeois was going to write that column.

http://www.comicon.com/thebeat/2006/...e_act_iii.html

I'm not out to demonize Bourgeois. This is no personal attack. She had a juicy story to tell and a cause in which she believed. As a journalist, I can relate to the sort of fire that can spark within a person. But as a journalist, she also had a responsibility -- to her subjects, to her readers and to herself -- to make some effort to cover as many bases as possible before issuing a call to action.

Bourgeois isn't the only one who abdicated that responsibility.

http://www.thefourthrail.com/feature...lloons18.shtml

What everybody here is missing is that Ronee is clearly a journalist. She's just a bad one, that's all. There are plenty of those around. I've been accused of being one myself. So why pick on Ronee? All she did was put out false information concerning a serious and inflammatory event that could have life-changing effects, acting as judge, jury and executioner, ruining a few lives in the process, and making PopCulture Buzzscope the possible subject of litigation. I mean, come on, get a life, people.

http://www.comicbookresources.com/co...g&article=2459

Well, it's nice that five months after Buzzscope has perhaps irrevocably harmed three people's careers, jeopardized a marriage, and shaken all three of comics' biggest non-profit organizations, they are finally investigating. Thoughtful, even. They really cross those T's and dot those I's.

"Naive or disingenuous."

Folks, I think it's time to cut Buzzscope loose. I really do. They're in the cornfield. If Gonzalez had an insight into actual journalistic ethics, he wouldn't be going around making these jaw dropping statements that are digging him deeper and deeper into the hole he seemingly can't see through his smug-colored glasses of sophisticated higher purpose. And the saddest thing of all? The person most hurt by all of this is the person they were purportedly trying to help.

http://www.comicon.com/thebeat/2006/...buzzscope.html

Though the tone of McLauchlin's comments may sound light, McLauchlin's friends have indicated to Newsarama that the accusations and suspicion had caused a great deal of personal stress in both his public and private life. McLauchlin may have been the only person to come forward to disavow his role as suspect, but he was far from the only innocent bystander to be unjustly maligned by Bourgeois' reporting.

Even in light of the current revelations, Bourgeois' statements could be seen as defamatory of both Brownstein and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.

Indeed, Bourgeois' articles on the subject have led to a belief that Soma's attacker had threatened her with blacklisting should she talk, something that Brownstein unequivocally denies: "I have not done and would not do anything to besmirch nor harm Taki's reputation or career in any manner. I'm the servant of a public trust who has never worked with Taki in any capacity, and am in no position to either offer or reject her work, nor am I in a position to otherwise influence anyone else in doing so. Nor would I, were I in such a position of influence."

Likewise Bourgeois' initial column alleged that, "[T]his group offered a donation to be made to a 'chick charity' (my word not theirs) and a brief suspension of this man from the position." The Comics Journal's report indicates that this is not true, stating, "With Lillie-Paetz as the intermediary, Brownstein made further apologies and offers of penance to Soma in the form of a donation to the charity of her choice and a promise to stay away from conventions where she was in attendance."

With the formal investigation already afoot behind closed doors, Bourgeois stated, "Ideally, this group and its board need to come together and treat this seriously and do something very soon. I get the feeling that they think this will blow over and that they can ignore it. But that is not the case. So if they do not want to look like asses something must be done. I have no qualms about telling the whole damned world of the corruption afoot, even if it brands me as well." Evidence now revealed indicates that the CBLDF did not ignore the matter, and followed proper legal process rather than allowing itself to be baited into a battle of public opinion. One must ask whether a company that hires an independent specialist firm to investigate serious allegations against an employee before taking final action is corrupt for doing so, or would they have been more corrupt had they, without giving both sides due process, acceded to what Bourgeois asserts was Soma's desire: "All she asked for was his dismissal so that he would not use his position to hurt another."

http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=69233

As the Journal and others have suggested, Bourgeois' writings have not only brought undue distress and suspicion upon ACTOR and its president, as well as untrue and unfounded accusations about the CBLDF, but her actions have placed the Friends of Lulu in a difficult position that could imperil that organization's future viability.

http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=69233

[kingdom2000]

Heh good job with the quotes Omar. Also, I don't think Rich was quoting the people themselves as more pretending what they might say based on their previous posts and/or personalities. Think of the whole thing as sketch comedy that summarizes the past year's worth of LITGs.

[howyadoin]

(Gasp!!) A writer using a PEN NAME? My world doesn't make sense anymore!!

I bet that's not her real hair colour, either.

[PatrickG]

Good show, Mark Waid.

As for Gail... Just a point of curiousity, do people you work with in the industry address you by your pen name or your real name? I've always been curious how this gets handled, if checks made to an artistic pseudonym will clear, etc.

I mentioned you one time to Dan Didio and it took him a second to access who you were. Just curious if pen names are primarily handled as a print only thing or if you sign your checks "Gail Simone" and people around DC call you "Gail".

I imagine cashing checks could be handled as a DBA or, if you're extra cautious, you could incorporate your pen name as a corporation to protect youself against some lawsuits. (Though realistically, a legal name change or a DBA -- if possible -- would be cheaper if it were an issue.)

[Spike-X]

I imagine the purpose of this thread is to vilify, demean, libel, and outright destroy my character, business, and personal life.

If so, it would be redundant - you seem to be perfectly capable of doing that all by yourself, DICK.

[Coppervale Studio]

1) Gail USED to use a pseudonym — but every time someone found out 'G-Bolt' was in town, she got MOBBED. Mobbed, I tell you. Even the shades didn't help. To avoid similar scenes, she started using 'Michael Eisner', but found that caused the reverse problem. I have no clue what pseudonym she uses now, because those of us who really dig her just call her 'Babs'.

2) It's true. Kurt Busiek is a lovely man.

3) Comics is WAY too small a business for NDA's to work even in THEORY, much less in PRACTICE. I mean, good for him for trying, but c'mon. Making everything going on with a company (good and bad) public knowledge builds trust when things are going well; but it builds even MORE trust when things are going badly.

4) I should point out I'm suing Cully Hamner. I don't owe him money, and the extent of our working relationship is limited to drawing on a chick's legs at a Heroes Con (with her fiance's permission, and with twenty other artists), but dammit, I LIKE Cully, and we haven't had a chance to chat in years, so I figure a lawsuit to get us in a room together makes sense. Or at a con. Either way, it's all out of LOVE.

5) Jack popping in (hi, Jack!) reminded me that although Conley's a friend, and Rick Veitch could have a kidney if he asked me, I left Comicon as an exhibitor or even as a poster because of some uncomfortable exchanges I had regarding a charity request from ORCA. Make of that what you will.

[the4thpip]

From the Blob.. I mean Blog:


Is "delive" even a word?

It's delovely. He is now channeling gay composers. Next up, Elton John.
Good-bye, yellow brick road ...

[Hybrid2]

That sounds like Joanne Ellen Mutch's RUMMBLESTRIPS:

http://www.rummblestrips.com/

Great comic!

NINJA PENGUIN!!

Great batroom scene.LOL

[Cam63]

From the Blob.. I mean Blog:


Is "delive" even a word?

It is now.