It’s About Ethics in Appropriating Artwork

When gamergate’s hardcore contingent of trolls isn’t busy harassing and threatening women, they like to take comics they didn’t create and fill them with new words that go against the author’s intent.

My gamergate comic from last week saw at least three remixes. You’ll notice not one of these takes time to speak about the allegedly huge problem of unethical video game journalists, but do note they ridicule claims of misogyny and rape threats, with the last one being disgustingly transphobic and anti-semitic. (Warning: it’s mean and dumb.)

These are people with a deep concern over ethics.

Now, somehow nearly everyone missed the most glaring problem with my comic: the tear in the suit from panel three disappears in panel four. One pro-gamergate warrior on twitter did gleefully point this out, winning an important argument they seemed to be having with me in their head.

I find these more amusing than anything. I doubt anyone would confuse me as the author and no one’s making money from these. But still. No one wants their art used to further the garbage opinions of man-babies.

Gamergaters also took on The Nib’s editorial assistant Matt Lubchansky, reworking his Not All Man comic into a reverse fantasy where women are deeply concerned with ethics in video game journalism and cannot even begin important coffeehouse conversations due to the butting in of white men eager to call them misogynists for no reason.