Montreal Comic Con Controversy starring Arthur Suydam

Mr Wallstreet · Post by **Mr Wallstreet** » Tue Jul 07, 2015 6:53 am

There was drama at this past Montreal Comic Con involving Arthur Suydam. Apparently, Suydam co-opted (re: stole) table space from 3 other artists and added it to his own without 1) Informing the creators he was taking their space and 2) paying for additional table space. The artists he wound up displacing after he took her spaces were Francis Manupaul, Rachel Richey and Dan Parent.

According to reports, Suydam came to the Con center the night before, moved the name tags off the tables of the other 3 artists and combined their space with his own. The other artists were not even aware of this. They were just befuddled they had been moved. Rachel Richey informed Manupaul of what Suydam had done. Manupaul then (calmly) confronted Suydam. Suydam politely acknowledged the change but did not apologize to Manupaul.
Thatâ€™s when Twitter blew up. Upon hearing the news, other creators began calling Suydam out on his bullshit. They also shared their own stories from Cons past where Suydam pulled similar shit. Among those called out Suydam were: Jim Zub, Chip Zdarsky, Ray Fawkes, Ron Marz, Mark Waid, Erik Larsen, Erik Burnham among others.

Suydams rep blamed the â€œsnafuâ€ on the con organizers. The con itself issued a statement and assumed some, but not all, responsibility. Suydamâ€™s rep then apologized to Manupaul and Parent for the inconvenience but not to Rachel Richey. Reason for that, Iâ€™m assuming, is because she is a small indie publisher and not big name talent.

Full article here:
http://www.comicbookresources.com/artic ... ists-alley

Thoughts?

Im gonna side with everyone else in the world here and agree that what Suydam did was epic dickery and apparently it was not a â€œsnafuâ€ as Suydam has a history of doing it. I also love it anytime Mark Waid gets involved with anything. Heâ€™s super loud and aggressive.

jedispyder · Post by **jedispyder** » Tue Jul 07, 2015 7:34 am

I was following this as it began to unfold, pretty shitty of him! People were talking about pesterting Suydam at the con and I suggested they stand in front of him and just ask where each of the 3 disposed creators are now sitting.

It's also pretty shitty that he didn't give any apologies himself and only through an agent, and that agent even skipped out on giving one to Richey.

I also find the photoshop picture he uses for promotional material to be hilarious, it's pretty sketchy as it is and he uses it to promote how popular he is.

wolf_2099 · Post by **wolf_2099** » Tue Jul 07, 2015 3:37 pm

Well.
I can tell you this as a fact. I have been the guy dealing with this before.
This is not the first time he has done this, is will not be the last, it was just the first time a media outlet picked it up.
The guy is an asshole.

wolf_2099 · Post by **wolf_2099** » Tue Jul 07, 2015 3:38 pm

He does it because he needs to sell all his prints, and deserves the space as he is the "zombie king of comics"

MGM · Post by **MGM** » Wed Jul 08, 2015 12:01 am

I see his work and I recognize it, but I'd never heard of the guy.

Mr Wallstreet · Post by **Mr Wallstreet** » Wed Jul 08, 2015 6:52 am

The situation takes a turn for the worse.

Suydam himself released a statement that seemed weird to say the least. In his statement, he places the blame on the displaced creators themselves, turns the argument into an America vs. Canada thing, disparagingly calls Jim Zub a "fan artist" and calls out the internet as "low level IQ" (which I guess is sometimes true)

The original statement Suydam issued via Comic Book resources has since been taken down by a request from Suydams booking agent. However, thanks to the Low IQ online crowds, it has been saved.

Link below
http://www.theouthousers.com/index.php/ ... rowds.html

And to make matters funnier still, a photo that Suydam uses to advertise how in-demand he is, as an artist has been proven to be photoshopped. Erik Larsen originally pointed out how the lighting looked weird in several places and that it might be fake. Suydam & his team denounced & dismissed Larsen's claim as "laughable"). The picture in question shows a long line of people stretching around Suydam's booth waiting for sketches. The pic is also linked on the site above.

Turns out the low IQ online crowds found the people waiting in line for Suydams sketches were lifted from another pic of people waiting in line for something else.

Mr Wallstreet · Post by **Mr Wallstreet** » Wed Jul 08, 2015 7:02 am

Wulf, were you at Montreal Comic con this last weekend?

XIII · Post by **XIII** » Wed Jul 08, 2015 2:30 pm

I remember being shocked at NYCC 2008 when I saw he had a sign at his table : "Signatures: $20".

jedispyder · Post by **jedispyder** » Fri Jul 10, 2015 7:15 am

From what I heard he doesn't always have a sign about paying and will instead hold your book hostage after he signs it and suddenly demands money out of nowhere. Douchebaggery all around.

wolf_2099 · Post by **wolf_2099** » Sat Jul 11, 2015 12:49 am

I was not there last year.
But he has done the same thing at several other cons he was at, where I was there.

He does also charge minimum $5 for signature, and doesn't normally say anything until after, as Arn says..

I helped the guy set up his booth one year and I asked for an autograph and he wanted o charge me.

His best known work is the marvel zombies covers.

XIII · Post by **XIII** » Sat Jul 11, 2015 2:37 am

I also like how he calls himself "Walking Dead artist" because he did a variant cover once.

Stocky Boy · Post by **Stocky Boy** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 3:59 am

At what point does he get banned?

MGM · Post by **MGM** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 9:54 am

Probably when he gets in a match of throwing tables across the room with Maleev. Presumably just after he took Maleevs table.

XIII · Post by **XIII** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 1:19 pm

Yeah, I'd like to see that happen, Suydam stealing Maleev's table. Maleev will kick his butt.

Stocky Boy · Post by **Stocky Boy** » Tue Jul 14, 2015 12:55 pm

I assume it's always the tables next to his that he spreads out over?
I'm guessing he's never next to a big enough name to cause a bigger fuss?

wolf_2099 · Post by **wolf_2099** » Tue Jul 14, 2015 11:08 pm

Exactly