Just A Thought | On Rob Granito

Rob, Rob, Rob, man did you make waves.

Not good ones mind you.

Sorry to the dude who took this pic.

In fact, you not only caused problems for you, you may have caused issues for a ton of other people.

I know this is a story that has been circling the net for months now and for the most part, I’ve let my peers at Bleeding Cool report on it.  Frankly, they were there first, they’ve got better stories on Rob then I do, so why dog pile on the guy?

A friend asked me what I thought about the situation.

And then I got to thinking about it.  Which, if you’ve read this column long enough, is usually a bad thing.  Many brain cells die and a lot of steam ends up coming out of my ears.

First of all, let’s be honest with ourselves. The whole copying art and selling it at a convention thing; we’ve all seen it, we all know of artists who do it.

BUT

90% of those people who do that, DO NOT take the credit for the reproductions.  In my experience most of them usually put the “after…” on the credit with the original artists name on it.  When you’re an indy artist, the fact of the matter is that sometimes you gotta eat and doing a recreation of a cover can do that very easily.

The problem?

Rob Granito has possibly poisoned the well for them.

This story has gone far and wide.  There is no escaping it.

So, how many people out there are just going to take a look at something, not look for the credit and just decide that the artist is a stealing douche?

A fair amount.

So not only has Rob stolen from other artists and lied about, he’s now screwed it up for many people who are a little more honest about it.

Not to mention if the actual copyright holders start policing conventions.

Let me take you back a few years.

Remember when you could buy a bootleg of the entire Adam West Batman series. It was a golden age of bootlegs.  But then legal people got involved (and to be fair, completely in the right) and hey they were gone.

There are a number of artists who do sketches and prints at conventions that are completely original drawings of copyrighted characters.  Legally, they are in the wrong unless the have some sort of agreement with the copyright holders but most people turn a blind eye to it.  And really, why not? Working in mainstream comics is kind of the ultimate version of fan fiction, a lot of the artists are doing these to make a few dollars as well as the hope that someone might notice them and hire them on.

Now if copyright holders start cracking down, these guys plus the recreationists may be all out of luck.

As for Mr. Granito, let’s talk for a second Rob.

I’m not going to trash you.  Quite honestly, you did a good enough job of that yourself followed by everyone else going after you.

You know you did wrong, they know you did wrong, I know you did wrong, I doubt anyone would dispute that, including yourself. My kind of feeling is you started with a small lie and it barreled out of control until it was a ton of big lies. It happens, sometimes to the best of us.

I’m also fairly certain that while you probably made a few bucks out of these copy prints, you probably didn’t get rich off of it.

But somewhere in there, I’m also sure that you do love comics and the art form.

Your name is tarnished… and that’s putting it mildly.

But I have an idea how you cans tart to make amends with the comic community.

It’s called The Hero Initiative. It’s an organization dedicated to helping out comic creators with medical bills and such.

Maybe it’d be a good idea to head over and make a donation.

Brent Chittenden is a Canadian freelance writer who also happens to write humorous things for Bite TV’s blog. If you have need of his services you can reach him at bcchittenden@gmail.com, twitter at @BCNerdhole and his podcastTwo Assholes Talking About Nerd Stuff. Feel free to become a fan of him at his Facebook group Brent Chittenden: The Writer.Share this:ShareRedditEmail

Tags: Granito, Hero Initiative

PostedThursday, May 26th, 2011 at 8:00 amin Blogs, Just a Thought.Follow comments on the RSS 2.0 feed.You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

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7 Responses to “”Chris Howard says:May 26, 2011 at 8:45 am

Or maybe a monthly contribution…

Replycomiccartoonfan1979 says:May 26, 2011 at 2:58 pm

what proof do you have that Mr Rob Granito did anything immoral or wrong? because you are a blind follower of everything the cool kids say and follow the masses? ty templeton and lemarr igle do the same thing and because they are a clique nobody bashes them the way Mr. Granito does. you are ANOTHER young kid obsessed with the comic that is trying to get more attention for your website about cartoons by bashing the top name in comic headlines, MR ROB GRANITO. Mr Granito is the headline in the comics world and the cash cow in the comics world so instead of another article bashing him which is not very original, by the way maybe you should consider doing an article about him with HIS side of the story. i wont be visiting this site again if this is the kind of coverage you provide!

ReplyAnthony Falcone says:May 27, 2011 at 10:11 am

This is easily the most awesome comment we have ever received. Gold star.

ReplyEd Campbell says:May 27, 2011 at 10:43 am

So really… what is Rob’s side of the story?

ReplyI, Warren says:May 27, 2011 at 9:22 am

Gee, something tells me Granito & Co penned the scholarly screed above ^^

ReplyBrent Chittenden says:May 27, 2011 at 10:57 pm

Dear Comicscartoonfan1979… or whatever your name is… you have a valid point in some ways.  Most of my information is based on what I have read and seen.  It’s called research.  You might want to try it sometime.  For instance, yes, Ty Templeton has made a living based on the work of the animated cartoon…oh wait he was legitimately paid for it by the company that owns those characters.  He also did ORIGINAL work based on that style, not traced work.  He also has done work is completely original both in style and content. Comparing this work to Granito’s “work” is not only unfair but fairly stupid. Normally I would get into the name calling but when in Rome.

ReplyJulie Kavanagh says:May 28, 2011 at 4:59 am

Ali Granito, Rob’s wife, is the one posting as either Cartoonfan, Comiccartoonfan or comicfan on various blogs, posing as a fan of Rob. She’s a childcare worker in NY and, as she won’t let the Granito thing go, she looks to have been in on the whole scam from the start. Heck, as Granito himself can’t even draw matchstick men, she may even have been the tracer/swiper herself.
She posted this week – again – on Ty Templeton’s blog. She now seems to have been silenced by people pointing out that the publicist the Granito’s are now hanging with – Josh Hoopes – is a noted conman in the comics world, wanted by the FBI. The Granitos too could become wanted by the law if it is proved they participated in frauds with him ( some noting that their association with Hoopes may not just be recent and that latter years Granito modus operandai – full on hoax claims and armed bodyguard – fit Hoopes MO like a glove)
The community and ultimately the law are going to thwart these clowns at every opportunity.

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