J.K. Woodward was kind enough to share with us his thoughts on the Rob Granito situation, where Granito (bottom right corner in the image below) is being accused of artistic fraud. There is a large amount of evidence to support this accusation, and it has made waves throughout the industry last week. All thoughts expressed below belong to Woodward. If you’re a pro we want to hear what you have to say!
“I honestly have very little to say. I haven’t heard of him until this scandal and when I did, I didn’t care. I honestly don’t understand all the hatred. Yeah, he’s a dick for doing it, but I feel like it’s hardly worth my time. There are a lot of greater concerns that are actually a threat to the industry. This guy’s just a joke and if I feel anything at all about this, it’s probably a little bit of sympathy.
I mean, what drove him to do this? There are easier and more dignified ways to get rich than hanging out at cons.
So I’m thinking there was a greater drive; like this was a childhood dream he couldn’t let go of, but he simply lacked the ability to fulfill it. If that’s the case, than this wasn’t just a scam, it was an act of desperation, which makes this situation a personal tragedy for him. Though he’s far from innocent and he needs to take his hits, he doesn’t need to take [them] from me. He didn’t steal my work, so it’s none of my business. The only people I feel should be outraged are those whose work got stolen, or those who purchased the fraudulent work; they should do whatever they have to to feel vindicated. In fact, if they ask for help from the comics community I’d be the first in line. But trashing Rob Granito for any other reason is just kicking a guy when he’s down.
And that’s all I can say. I really don’t have a strong reaction to this story.”
-J.K. Woodward
J.K. is the artist of Peter David’s creator owned series, Fallen Angel, published through IDW. The series is amazing, and I highly recommend it to folks who favor a badass female protagonist. J.K.’s a totally cool guy, so check out his archive and blog!
For more on the Rob Granito Situation, click here.
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Andy Liegl
andy@comicattack.net
Just thought that I should add that though I don’t seem to have a strong opinion about Granito himself, that doesn’t mean this story didn’t fascinate me. I actually thought this was a strrong peice of investigative comicbook journalism by Rich Johnston . In a day when (present company excepted, Comic Attack) the majority of sites are just publishing press releases, its nice to see someone trying to give us the story.
I think the less spoken about this sad guy, the better. He’s now attempting to charge for interviews, which is even sadder. Let’s let this guy go the way of funnygreengoblin and stop giving him the attention.
Soooo no kick in the balls send off?
Though he shoudln’t be talked about much he shouldn’t be forgotten and used as a reference for anyone who attempts to plagarise another artist’s work. There are alot of talented artists who produce 5 star work who barely get noticed and make a sale, yet this guy manages to make money by copying other dedicated artist’s hard work.
J.K I think your view on this is the correct one and very insightful.