Kind of a Big Dealio.
So, this is what's been happening on the front lines...
Some time ago, I had issues with Todd Goldman (aka Todd Goliath) for creating and massively marketing his Eve L character through his company David and Goliath. It was, and still is, my personal opinion that it looks too similar to my character, Lenore, that I created in 1992. To me, it looks like a crude, child-like drawing of Lenore but with no pupils and the barrettes moved down. It looks almost exactly like little kid fan art I've been handed at conventions and used to grace my fridge. I posted about it here and while most people agreed with me, there were a few who said they didn't see the similarities and that it could be chalked up to coincidence. That astounded me, but to each their own. Some people think Garth Brooks is a genius.
My attorney did send his attorney a cease and desist notice which was promptly followed by them basically, but in a nicer way, saying to go to Hell. I've been to Hell and that Hell was called a divorce that I was going through at the same time as this situation, so I did not feel like pursuing it further and spending more time in a court room. Also, I figured if you were the type of person who looked at Eve L and went "Man, I just gotta wear all that crap!", then you deserved to be seen in it anyway.
Random Eve L drawing I pulled off the net. On the right one, I just added pupils.
Over the past couple of years, my email box has been visited often by letters telling me about this Lenore rip off called Eve L. It always grates me a little bit, but usually these mindless products eventually die off on their own. Yes, I do merchandise my character now. I do this because the sad reality is, indie comic books don't really pay the bills and I would need a "real job" taking time away from me doing my art. The main difference is also that I didn't create my character some fifteen years ago as a mindless drone citing cliches to make products.
Why am I bringing this up now? Good question, Mr./Miss Questiony Pants!
Numerous people emailed me a few days ago to tell me about a forum topic exploding on the www. Somethingawful forums. The topic is titled: "Holy cow, Todd (Goliath) Goldman ripped me off!". In this, Dave Kelley, an artist, discovered their work had been reproduced as a Todd Goldman original.
Dave Kelley's original on the left. Todd Goldman's amazingly creative and totally original idea on the right.
This prompted outrage on the forum, which spread like locusts to other forums and blogs across the internet. I hopped on and read where others were talking about him ripping off Lenore. This was followed by members of the forum discovering that most of what this creative juggernaut has "created", was "borrowed" from other sources. Before you view these, and what makes the whole thing more frustrating, is Todd has been quoted as saying " I don't read comics or watch cartoons. I'm just crazy." Galleries sell his work as "fine art" and call him an innovator with his finger on the pulse of society.
On the left are the original sources and the right, Goldman "ideas".
These are just SOME examples uncovered by the forum members and they get all the credit. I'd post them all, but I'm already killing someone with dial up. Decide for yourself.
To follow this story, go to http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2416213
Some time ago, I had issues with Todd Goldman (aka Todd Goliath) for creating and massively marketing his Eve L character through his company David and Goliath. It was, and still is, my personal opinion that it looks too similar to my character, Lenore, that I created in 1992. To me, it looks like a crude, child-like drawing of Lenore but with no pupils and the barrettes moved down. It looks almost exactly like little kid fan art I've been handed at conventions and used to grace my fridge. I posted about it here and while most people agreed with me, there were a few who said they didn't see the similarities and that it could be chalked up to coincidence. That astounded me, but to each their own. Some people think Garth Brooks is a genius.
My attorney did send his attorney a cease and desist notice which was promptly followed by them basically, but in a nicer way, saying to go to Hell. I've been to Hell and that Hell was called a divorce that I was going through at the same time as this situation, so I did not feel like pursuing it further and spending more time in a court room. Also, I figured if you were the type of person who looked at Eve L and went "Man, I just gotta wear all that crap!", then you deserved to be seen in it anyway.
Random Eve L drawing I pulled off the net. On the right one, I just added pupils.
Over the past couple of years, my email box has been visited often by letters telling me about this Lenore rip off called Eve L. It always grates me a little bit, but usually these mindless products eventually die off on their own. Yes, I do merchandise my character now. I do this because the sad reality is, indie comic books don't really pay the bills and I would need a "real job" taking time away from me doing my art. The main difference is also that I didn't create my character some fifteen years ago as a mindless drone citing cliches to make products.
Why am I bringing this up now? Good question, Mr./Miss Questiony Pants!
Numerous people emailed me a few days ago to tell me about a forum topic exploding on the www. Somethingawful forums. The topic is titled: "Holy cow, Todd (Goliath) Goldman ripped me off!". In this, Dave Kelley, an artist, discovered their work had been reproduced as a Todd Goldman original.
Dave Kelley's original on the left. Todd Goldman's amazingly creative and totally original idea on the right.
This prompted outrage on the forum, which spread like locusts to other forums and blogs across the internet. I hopped on and read where others were talking about him ripping off Lenore. This was followed by members of the forum discovering that most of what this creative juggernaut has "created", was "borrowed" from other sources. Before you view these, and what makes the whole thing more frustrating, is Todd has been quoted as saying " I don't read comics or watch cartoons. I'm just crazy." Galleries sell his work as "fine art" and call him an innovator with his finger on the pulse of society.
On the left are the original sources and the right, Goldman "ideas".
These are just SOME examples uncovered by the forum members and they get all the credit. I'd post them all, but I'm already killing someone with dial up. Decide for yourself.
To follow this story, go to http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2416213