Randy Queen's trying to censor/sue Escher Girls

[greenjeans1978]

The Tumblr blog Escher Girls often pokes fun at wacky depictions of comic book women. Now, you wouldn't think this is a big deal, right? Parody, criticism, and fair use and all.

Well, Randy Queen (Darkchylde) has decided otherwise, using claims of copyright infringement and threats of lawsuits to not only silence criticism of his art, but to bully people out of reporting his antics:

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20...al-blogs.shtml

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20...famatory.shtml

https://www.chillingeffects.org/weat...?WeatherID=844

http://eschergirls.tumblr.com/post/9...y-queen-artist

Needless to say, I won't be giving this guy the time of day in any way, shape, or form. This is just self-entitled bullying at its worst.

Just thought I should spread the word, because Queen shouldn't be allowed to get away with this.

[Medusoid]

What a crybaby. This isn't going to end well for him.

[greenjeans1978]

Actually, I think the word I'd use is "jackass."

On a lighter note, he's been getting reamed on Twitter and Tumblr by Jamal Igle, Colleen Doran, Gail Simone, Lea Hernandez, and Ron Marz. So he's not getting much, if any, support from his fellow comic pros. If he thinks he's got any standing to sue over this, he's in for a pretty rude awakening.

EDIT: Now Gene Ha's in on it. Good grief, I wonder if Queen realizes how many enemies he's making with this stunt.

[greenjeans1978]

UPDATE: Rob Liefeld, Chris Sims, and Scott Allie have added their voices to the chorus of smackdowns Queen's been taking. Also, the folks at Popehat have offered Escher Girls legal assistance:

http://www.popehat.com/2014/08/05/ra...rk-darkchylde/

To the surprise of no one, Queen's response is to (a) double down and (b) claim that he's the victim of harassment. This is going to get a whole lot uglier before it gets better.

[Luminous]

This is just... sad. However, it is also entertaining.

Randy Queen is now making bogus DMCA takedown demands against the Escher Girls post criticizing his previous takedown demands. That's basically cartoonish supervillainy.

[Ryu]

That's pretty sad

[greenjeans1978]

Queen finally conceded defeat on his Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/randy.queen...ation=timeline

From the post in question:

Hey everyone,
Just wanted to clear up a few things that happened this past week. I have been having a very hard time in my personal life with the loss of my mother and my marriage having fallen apart and found myself in a very vulnerable and fragile state of mind. There were posts on the web criticizing my artwork that were brought to my attention and added to my stress. I reacted without thinking it through, but have now stopped, realizing my response was the wrong one to take. I am doing my best, each day, to get myself back on my feet and getting my life in a better place and realize now that I have just try to move on and get back to my art, the thing I find the most joy in these days. I want to thank those professionals, friends and family who have been giving me their support, understanding and love.
Thanks for listening.
~ R

No apologies to Escher Girls for threatening them, just a "pity me" sob story. But as long as he doesn't pester them any further, we can call this over.

Still, the man's an idiot. I wouldn't support anything he does after this.

[Babytoxie]

Man, this is ridiculous!

...but thanks for pointing it out.

[Titan1977]

I agree with the jackass and idiot comments. i met him at convention years ago when Darkchylde was popular and man, he was an @$$.

[Juggernaut]

Do you care to elaborate?

I am from Denmark so the chance for me to meat some of my favorite artists or writers are not that great.

I probably would avoid it anyway, because if the person is a total douche then that would pop up everytime I pick up one of the artists or writers comics and taint my fond memories.