Arthur Suydam stole tables from three artists at Montreal Comic Con

[JadeGiant]

Originally Posted by joefixit2

Man even more artists are ragging on him for his photoshopped long line. I almost feel sorry for him at this point

he is getting destroyed .... with social media today this kind of thing doesn't take long to blow up

[Underdog07]

Best course would have been to apologize and publicly state it was a misunderstanding on his/RW's part. The response instead makes them seem pretty indefensible. We are to believe that the show assigned tables, listed them in a program, and probably put them on a few big guidepost boards but then despite all of that, assigned 3 of those tables to Suydam as planned? That's so illogical my head hurts.

[JadeGiant]

Originally Posted by Underdog07

Best course would have been to apologize and publicly state it was a misunderstanding on his/RW's part. The response instead makes them seem pretty indefensible. We are to believe that the show assigned tables, listed them in a program, and probably put them on a few big guidepost boards but then despite all of that, assigned 3 of those tables to Suydam as planned? That's so illogical my head hurts.

You dare question the motives of the great Soo-DAMN?!?!?!

[JadeGiant]

After reading all the Mark Waid tweets I almost think it would be worth the price of admission to see those 2 square off

[ambasah]

I just don't get why the artists didn't speak to one of the organizers at the con.

I am a part-time dealer myself and do the big shows in the Toronto area. I have seen some dealers try to eat up a bit of my space in the past (move their table into my area) and if they don't fix it after I nicely mention it, I just go straight to the organizer to get it resolved.

[carlito1978]

"what do you mean you took my table?"

"this is what I'm going to do to you!"

[greenjeans1978]

Originally Posted by Underdog07

Best course would have been to apologize and publicly state it was a misunderstanding on his/RW's part. The response instead makes them seem pretty indefensible. We are to believe that the show assigned tables, listed them in a program, and probably put them on a few big guidepost boards but then despite all of that, assigned 3 of those tables to Suydam as planned? That's so illogical my head hurts.

Keep in mind Witterstaetter is the same art agent who helped Michael Golden pull off his "Patience is a Virue" scheme years ago. I'm not at all surprised that she would spin this to put the blame on the con no matter how ridiculous her claims are. This woman has no ethics at all.

I just don't get why the artists didn't speak to one of the organizers at the con.

I am a part-time dealer myself and do the big shows in the Toronto area. I have seen some dealers try to eat up a bit of my space in the past (move their table into my area) and if they don't fix it after I nicely mention it, I just go straight to the organizer to get it resolved.

I think a lot depends on the following:

1. Who does the con value more, Suydam or the people he's poaching from? If the con organizers think Suydam's the more valuable artist or he's got connections to them, they're going to back him no matter how reprehensible his behavior is.

2. If Suydam's reputation for bullying and threatening other creators holds true, it's understandable that some would be too afraid to risk crossing him, particularly the lesser-known/indie creators. Rachel Richey admitted as much. Besides, if Suydam's this much of a prima donna, what's to stop him from trying to get the creators he steals from booted from the con if they put up resistance? They may just not want to risk Suydam screwing them over even worse.

This really is a situation where raising hell on social media is the only way to put a stop to the problem. Otherwise I don't see cons doing anything about it. It took public shaming to wake up con organizers to Rob Granito, and I think that's what it's going to take here.

[JadeGiant]

Completely agree with Bill, social media is the way to go on this. The fact that it hasn’t blown up to date has probably given AS a false sense of security (to go with his sense of entitlement) that he can continue his tactics going forward. There appears to be a history of this happening so there is not reason to think that he would stop on his own. I have often wondered how he managed such large setups when I see him at cons but I have always written it off to the notion that the zombie thing must be pretty lucrative. Knowing that he is stealing the space explains why he routinely has larger setups than many higher profile artists – it all makes sense now. The photoshopped images are hysterical (and a little pathetic).

[PureInvasion]

Originally Posted by joefixit2

Man even more artists are ragging on him for his photoshopped long line. I almost feel sorry for him at this point

those pics on Twitter have had me cracking up

on a side note...is it bad that prior to all this nonsense, I've never even heard of this guy? Thought he was just some dork who made prints of others work and cashed in on their success. After reading his personal bio though, he convinced me to give up my God and strictly follow him

[Behold Gravitas]

Originally Posted by PureInvasion

those pics on Twitter have had me cracking up

on a side note...is it bad that prior to all this nonsense, I've never even heard of this guy? Thought he was just some dork who made prints of others work and cashed in on their success. After reading his personal bio though, he convinced me to give up my God and strictly follow him

Get in (the photoshopped) line.