[Groop] Groop Free Fan Art

Wed May 23 06:54:20 PDT 2007

Regarding someone selling the free art:

I can understand the artist's resentment at someone pretending to be 
a fan, taking up time that should rightfully belong to a REAL fan, 
and then profiting from the artist's generosity. And I 
certainly  don't condone the actions of these profiteers, but a 
couple thoughts:

(1) What about the fan that might bid on these bits of artwork? 
Apparently the bidder (if any) wasn't able to go to the convention 
and get a free sketch. Or maybe he is too shy to ask for one. Or 
maybe he just doesn't realize he COULD get a free sketch if he went 
to the convention and stood in line. Does the artist in question sell 
such sketches online or by mail? How much do they cost? Or is a 
convention or a slightly unethical auction the ONLY way a fan can get 
a sketch? Is the profiteer competing with the artists sale of 
sketches elsewhere online? Or is the artist just upset that something 
he gave away for free is making money for someone else? The profiteer 
DID pay to go to the convention and DID stand in line.

(2) If you GIVE something to someone else, of your own free will, 
does it not then BELONG to that person to do with as he pleases? What 
difference if I keep that sketch until I die, and my children then 
sell it on ebay, or if I immediately sell it on ebay? What if I get 
home with my treasured sketch, and discover that my child needs a 
heart transplant and I must sell every treasured item I own to get the money?

Certainly if a guy asks for more than one sketch, the artist should 
politely decline ("can I have one for each of my ten grandchildren?") 
and if the artist recognizes someone who has been in line before he 
can suggest that the other people in line should get their sketches 
first. But what, exactly, is the artist losing if he is sitting there 
and there's no one else waiting, and he makes a quick sketch for the 
profiteer? Does it lower the value of his art, or does he get extra 
publicity when the profiteer brags online about how much this 
original art is worth?

(Quick note: I have a Groo comic with a Sergio sketch in one margin, 
and there's no way in heck it's going on ebay until I die, or *I* 
need a heart transplant, so don't flame me. I'm just sayin' that it's 
not really worth getting upset about.)
Rick
Not a Pirate

At 06:36 AM 5/23/07, you wrote:
>From: Larry Steller <mrgrooism at yahoo.com>
>Subject: [Groop] Fwd: Usagi Yojimbo Dojo Announcement - Free Sketch
>         Selling on eBay
>To: groop at groo.com
>Message-ID: <614569.30634.qm at web37210.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
>
>I thought The Groop should know about this (and feel free to call me
>silly if someone else already forwarded this to The Groop. in fact,
>feel free to call me silly if no one did, too).
>
>
>--- Usagi Yojimbo Dojo  <todd at usagiyojimbo.com> wrote:
>
> > Date: Tue, 22 May 2007 12:49:03 -0700
> > From: "Usagi Yojimbo Dojo " <todd at usagiyojimbo.com>
> > Subject: Usagi Yojimbo Dojo Announcement - Free Sketch Selling on
> > eBay
> > To: mrgrooism at yahoo.com
> >
> >
> > UYD Members,
> >
> > Many of you out there are aware of a growing problem in the Usagi
> > Yojimbo original art market appearing on eBay. Sellers profiteering
> > off of Stan Sakai's generosity by attempting to sell convention
> > sketches that Stan did for free as gifts for fans. The Dojo has been
> > keeping it's eye on the activities of online comic book retailers and
> > other exploiters of Stan's work, and have been trying to increase the
> > awareness of these unscrupulous activities.  While not illegal,
> > requesting a free sketch from Stan at conventions with the sole
> > purpose of auctioning it off on eBay is a rude and insulting gesture
> > to him and his fans. Stan himself, realizing the problem, began
> > personalizing his free sketches to deter these individuals from their
> > activities, but this has not stopped them.
> >
> > Even now, just days after Motor City Comic Con, where Stan did many
> > free sketches for fans, these "art scalpers"  have since posted their
> > auctions, often at high starting prices to guarantee a hefty profit.
> > Some have even resorted to defacing the art by attempting to hide the
> > personalization that Stan does in order to twhart these activities in
> > the first place.  Here's an example of one such case:
> >
> >
>http://cgi.ebay.com/stan-sakai-original-art-usagi-yojimbo_W0QQitemZ330122485809QQihZ014QQcategoryZ972QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
> >
> > In the sketch in the auction above, the personalization was sketched
> > out as "grass".  Says Stan: "It looks like this one was altered with
> > that 'pigma india ink' to cover up the personalization. The grass
> > doesn't even look like mine. I guess this isn't really a
> > counterfeit--just half a counterfeit. For the record, what I was
> > using at Motor City was the Uniball Vision fine and micro points."
> > The alteration of this sketch and nondisclosure by the seller is
> > actually in violation of eBay policy and has been reported.  This is
> > a case of pure deception.
> >
> > The same seller, comicman182, did something similar to a free sketch
> > by Sergio Aragones of Groo.  Says Stan: "Here is one by Sergio, but
> > the top of the drawing, where the person's name in the thought
> > balloon would be, is cropped off. It is from the same seller as
> > mine."
> >
> >
>http://cgi.ebay.com/groo-ariginal-art-by-Sergio-Aragones_W0QQitemZ330122489428QQihZ014QQcategoryZ972QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
> >
> > Other sellers, like thecomicmonster, have resorted to packaging these
> > free sketches with other Usagi merchandise.
> >
> >
>http://cgi.ebay.com/USAGI-YOJIMBO-ORIGINAL-ART-BOOK-PROMO-STAN-SAKAI_W0QQitemZ250118098788QQihZ015QQcategoryZ972QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
> >
> > Comicmonster is a long time scalper of free sketches and he, along
> > with others in the sketchhound community, have made a lot of money
> > off of Stan's generosity.
> >
> > Here are just some of their ended auctions:
> >
> >
>http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250104685294&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1
> >
> >
>http://cgi.ebay.com/STAN-SAKAI-USAGI-YOJIMBO-ORIGINAL-ART-SKETCH-NICE_W0QQitemZ130101404875QQihZ003QQcategoryZ3986QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
> >
> > On behalf of Mr. Sakai, we at the Usagi Yojimbo Dojo urge you to not
> > bid on such items. Please join us in battling these exploiters of not
> > only Stan's work, but others in the comic book industry.
> >
> > It's gotten to the point where Stan has at one time considered not
> > doing free sketches anymore. For more info and to discuss, check out
> > these posts at the UY DojoBoard:
> >
> >
>http://usagiyojimbo.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2951&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0
> >
> > http://usagiyojimbo.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3027
> >