Last week, Harlan Ellison continued his ongoing rant about Gary Groth and Fantagraphics, making all sorts of nasty charges:
Oh, and by the way, Gary, before you mulct all those dollars out of your naive site-squatters with a Fantagraphics Defense Fund, why not tell them what you did with the money donated to the LAST defense fund? You remember that one, don’tcha, kiddo: the Michael Fleisher lawsuit? Does the word Bahamas strike a familiar note?
And, further to this point–that is, the point of you pleading for alms–let your people know IIIIIIIII am not swimming in money–as they’d like to believe, because it’s easier to hate someone they’ve never met if s/he wallows in undeserved and evil dilettante wealth– IIIIIIII do not have an insurance company or a secret financial angel behind MEEEEE…as do you…one that can provide to me, as is your situation right now, the services of one of the largest, most prestigious white-collar attorneys in the country. You need no Defense Fund, Gary, so why not tell your folks the name of the entity(ies) paying the bills for a firm that must already have logged in tens of thousands of dollars of time, while BloatedLyingIronic Harlan seems to struggle along with only two blind, crippled, diabetic (also brilliant, masterful, rational) guys whose legal offices number their staffs in the total of ONE EACH?
Groth responds:
This allegation piles nonsense upon nonsense; it is a series of falsehoods. It is unclear, due to Ellison’s mangled grammar, if he’s alleging that an insurance company is paying our legal expenses or if a “secret financial angel” is paying our legal expenses —or both, which would be a trick!— but in fact our legal expenses are being paid for neither by an insurance company nor by a “secret financial angel.” There is no insurance company; there is no financial angel. We are paying —and have paid— all our legal expenses ourselves. Just to be entirely clear and incredibly redundant: We have to this date paid 100% of our legal expenses without any help from an insurance company or any “secret financial angel.” I can think of no reason for spreading this falsehood except to sabotage our forthcoming appeal for donations. If anyone doubts us, we respectfully suggest you demand proof from Ellison of these false and scurrilous accusations.
Meanwhile, Fantagraphics has launched a defense fund in order to help pay their legal fees. They’ve also apparently decided to appeal Judge Collins’ recent ruling on the their initial motion to dismiss.
February 27th, 2007 at 4:44 pm
Blind Lawyers?
He’s got Murdock and Nelson working for him?
February 27th, 2007 at 5:11 pm
I still can’t believe some people (see the comments to the article on the main site)are siding with Ellison. Are you folks actually reading the things Ellison is writing?
February 27th, 2007 at 6:27 pm
I imagine the people doing that either hate Groth or/and are fans of Ellison. I do believe newsarama has it’s fair share of people hating Groth simply for Fantagraphics and TCJ, for “looking down” on superhero comics etc. Considering the TCJ has its own shar eof idiots going the other way that’s hardly suprising.
February 27th, 2007 at 6:29 pm
While I support Fantagraphics (from what I’ve read they seem to be within the rights of the first amendment), I think Gary needs to stop responding to Ellison’s insane rants. If he (re: Fantagraphics) responds to every thing Ellison says, it will end up being more of pissing match than it already is. It’s already going to court, so just do the arguing in court, not on the internets where you just sound whiny and crazy, no matter who rational you may think you’re being.
February 27th, 2007 at 8:44 pm
Second Carroll on Groth needing to just stop responding to Ellison’s vitriol. Kinda like how Gail Simone should just not bother responding to the bullshit coming out of whoeverthehell it is she’s arguing. Sorry, tired, can’t remember.
Also, Ellison types/talks the way i do when im DRUNK.
April 19th, 2007 at 11:36 pm
Groth is whiny and crazy. But I suspect Ellison is as well. I think they were made for each other, should drop the pretense and ride off into the great comics sunset together. Or maybe just continue this ongoing idiocy and continue to be the pretentious, insecure and self-loathing men that they apparently both are.
Although I don’t think Ellison will win on the merits of his argument, Groth displayed incredibly stupid arrogance and just plain bad judgement in printing what he printed. It was like waving a red flag in front of a bull. I wonder why Groth always seems to get a free pass – particularly when he puts his business in jeopardy with the same said poor judgement calls. If I were his employee, I’d be pissed.