Hasbro deleted the signature of Jeff Easley from the movie poster prints... Can they go ONE fucking week without doing something evil?
What's their beef with Easley?
Quote from: cavalier973 on May 02, 2023, 02:56:26 PM
What's their beef with Easley?
Well he's an old white dude who paints attractive women, which is all they need. Perhaps he did something unforgivably evil, like Tweet that Trump wasn't the literal devil, or that he approves of Ron DeSantis. You know, Nazi stuff.
At the boardroom meeting at Wizards of the Woke:
EXECUTIVE: You know, with the stuff we've done with orcs and alignment, and Pinkertons and the OGL fiasco, and getting so into racism and fascism, I think there's still more we can do to turn people against us. Any suggestions?
Corporate Goon #1 raises his hand.
EXECUTIVE: Yes, Corporate Goon #1.
CORPORATE GOON #1: Maybe we can rub out the signature of one of our artists' art.
CORPORATE GOON #2: Give than man a raise!
Blech. That sucks.
This and the recent Star Frontiers thread reminds me of how the original Star Frontiers game had no writer credits. It was listed as being written by "TSR Staff". I wonder about what's behind both of them.
Somehow having the corporate logo on the cover isn't enough - they also have to erase the name of the creative person(s) actually responsible for the work.
Professor DM mentioned that the recent movie in the credits, said the movie was "based on Hasbro's game, Dungeons & Dragons". There was no mention of Gygax and Arneson.
And so it continues as more tell WotC to fuck off.
Quote from: jeff37923 on May 02, 2023, 03:56:20 PM
And so it continues as more tell WotC to fuck off.
The more people who do this the better the hobby is. No one needs WOTC.
Quote from: jhkim on May 02, 2023, 03:46:33 PM
Blech. That sucks.
This and the recent Star Frontiers thread reminds me of how the original Star Frontiers game had no writer credits. It was listed as being written by "TSR Staff". I wonder about what's behind both of them.
Somehow having the corporate logo on the cover isn't enough - they also have to erase the name of the creative person(s) actually responsible for the work.
Yeah that sucks.
Quote from: jeff37923 on May 02, 2023, 03:56:20 PM
And so it continues as more tell WotC to fuck off.
Greetings!
Great video clip you found here, Jeff! Thank you!
Greyhawk Grognard's video is absolutely ON POINT. He encapsulated everything I have thought over the last few months to a year.
Totally right. I agree entirely. I am just like Greyhawk Grognard. I've been collecting and buying WOTC books and products for decades. (And, of course, TSR products before WOTC). Like him, I have entire bookcases devoted to WOTC and other game related books. Thousands and thousands of dollars.
Let us see how well WOTC enjoys it when all of MY MONEY is gone from them, and other gamers just like me. At some point, that flavour will not be enjoyable or pleasant, even if they do manage to carry on surviving as a company. Whatever, though. WOTC can burn in napalm!
Fuck WOTC.
Semper Fidelis,
SHARK
Egad.
Glad I ejected from that particular brand many moons ago.
Rest in piss, WotC.
A little more detail on this from GeekNative, including links to Easley's remarks on the subject:
https://www.geeknative.com/157539/hasbro-removes-artists-signature-from-dd-movie-poster/
QuoteLikely done by Hasbro or eOne, the production company that filmed the D&D film, this change was an unexpected, and arguably needless, alteration to the original work.
In this case, removing Jeff Easley's mark contrasts with the signature policy of some of Hasbro's subsidiaries. Wizards of the Coast (WotC), Hasbro's subsidiary that publishes the Dungeons & Dragons RPG as well as Magic: The Gathering card game, does not remove artist's signatures from the artwork that they source.
In fact, Jeff Easley provided artwork for the 2021 Magic: The Gathering core set, Dungeons & Dragons: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms as well as other card art over the years. His signature was left intact unless cropping was required. His artwork for The Den of the Bugbear (Dungeon Module version) Magic: The Gathering (MtG) card clearly shows his signature. MtG goes further in celebrating the artist by listing their name on the bottom of each card.
It's notable that WotC's standard MtG art policy clashes with Hasbro or eOne's handling of this promotional poster. This incident may be attributed to a difference of policies within different arms of Hasbro's corporate empire.
At other times, this erasure might have flown under the radar were it not for Hasbro's recent history of troubling public incidents like sending the Pinkertons to a fan's house, the OGL crisis, Bank of America's scrutiny over their MtG prices, and other heavy handed decisions. Needlessly erasing Jeff's signature is yet another incident to add to Hasbro's list of ill advised decisions thus far in 2023.
Despite the fact that the alteration to the printed artwork could be taken as an insult, Jeff Easley's reaction was professional and lighthearted. In the same thread where he announced the signature revelation, he stated that he found this "more amusing than anything else..." The creatives that work for Hasbro and similar companies cannot control, and are not at fault for, their management's decisions. As with any of the difficulties he's experienced in his long career of working for corporate clients, Jeff Easley proves he's a class act.
Update 2: 1st May – On Facebook, Jeff Easley shared his thoughts on the incident. His point of view and attitude are the hallmarks of professionalism.
"To be fair, none of the other promo art I saw was signed. None of the 50's and 60's poster artists ever got credit for their work. I would just think my association with early-ish TSR would be the only reason I got the job." – Jeff Easley – April 30, 2023
I think we're coming up on a couple of decades since Games Workshop stopped crediting artists and writers, and WotC/Hasbro are at least as soulless and evil as GW. Faceless corporation content mills FTW.
Quote from: SHARK on May 02, 2023, 05:01:16 PM
Greetings!
Great video clip you found here, Jeff! Thank you!
Greyhawk Grognard's video is absolutely ON POINT. He encapsulated everything I have thought over the last few months to a year.
Totally right. I agree entirely. I am just like Greyhawk Grognard. I've been collecting and buying WOTC books and products for decades. (And, of course, TSR products before WOTC). Like him, I have entire bookcases devoted to WOTC and other game related books. Thousands and thousands of dollars.
Let us see how well WOTC enjoys it when all of MY MONEY is gone from them, and other gamers just like me. At some point, that flavour will not be enjoyable or pleasant, even if they do manage to carry on surviving as a company. Whatever, though. WOTC can burn in napalm!
Fuck WOTC.
Semper Fidelis,
SHARK
Yep they insult and piss off the people who actually buy their products and think that they will be OK and maybe those who never buy their books will start doing so.
If those people never bought their books, there is probably a reason.
More bad decision making from Wizards.
Quote from: Danger on May 02, 2023, 07:51:24 PMGlad I ejected from that particular brand many moons ago.
yeah... you hate to say it... but there is a good portion of players going "what took you so long" to all the people feeling the burning boat! : )
Quote from: Summon666 on May 03, 2023, 09:42:54 AM
Quote from: Danger on May 02, 2023, 07:51:24 PMGlad I ejected from that particular brand many moons ago.
yeah... you hate to say it... but there is a good portion of players going "what took you so long" to all the people feeling the burning boat! : )
I am one of those people who stopped buying anything WOTC, but it took the whole OGL mess before I got to that point.
I have enough stuff to run D&D 5E for a long time (Only the three core books and two supplement books) and I am getting into OSR so I am good.
I haven't bought a WoTC Nazi product directly in dog's years. Shit, I pretty much dropped support for D&D when it went to 3E back in 2000.
I was one of the cool kids before it was cool to do so. 8)
Y'all remember that Silver Anniversary set they had for TSR back in '99? I was fortunate to grab me a copy, and lo and behold to what what do my eyes see?
A limited edition print artwork by none other than Jeff Easley himself. Signed and numbered.
It's hung on the wall in a frame in his honor.
So...Fuk WoTC and their shenanigans. they can eat a sack of Owlbear dicks.
According to a note on the Geek Native article it may have been Paramount or their marketing team rather than WotKKK or Hasbro. Not that WotKKK/Hasbro aren't trash, but we don't know for sure that they're responsible for removing the signature, and it's not like grandstanding is going to do much when many of us were already not giving money to WotKKK/Hasbro, anyways.
Problem is most normal people are completely oblivious to their shenanigans, so they're not gonna hold grudges or stop consuming nu stuff. Making any boycotting on our part mostly symbolic.
QuoteUpdate: 30th April – Paramount Pictures handled the distribution for Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. Paramount, or their marketing partners, may have directed the removal of Jeff Easley's signature. If so, the erasure is not specifically attributable to Hasbro, but instead, this came from their partner in the D&D movie.
Quote from: blackstone on May 03, 2023, 01:28:01 PM
Y'all remember that Silver Anniversary set they had for TSR back in '99? I was fortunate to grab me a copy, and lo and behold to what what do my eyes see?
A limited edition print artwork by none other than Jeff Easley himself. Signed and numbered.
Nice! And good for Easley! But...
The Silver Anniversary set was released
after TSR was acquired by WotC in 1997. WotC still used the TSR brand name at that time, but it was their product release.
Also, back in the 1980s, TSR were the ones who credited the Star Frontiers writers as "TSR Staff" - so they weren't always great on giving credit either.
Quote from: VisionStorm on May 03, 2023, 01:47:20 PM
According to a note on the Geek Native article it may have been Paramount or their marketing team rather than WotKKK or Hasbro.
I can understand Paramount doing this as Easley didn't have anything to do with the movie. I know that movie accounting is bizarre and their unions are powerful so putting someone's name on promotional material for a movie could have required that Easley get some sort of residual from the movie itself.
Quote from: jhkim on May 03, 2023, 02:12:54 PM
Quote from: blackstone on May 03, 2023, 01:28:01 PM
Y'all remember that Silver Anniversary set they had for TSR back in '99? I was fortunate to grab me a copy, and lo and behold to what what do my eyes see?
A limited edition print artwork by none other than Jeff Easley himself. Signed and numbered.
Nice! And good for Easley! But...
The Silver Anniversary set was released after TSR was acquired by WotC in 1997. WotC still used the TSR brand name at that time, but it was their product release.
Also, back in the 1980s, TSR were the ones who credited the Star Frontiers writers as "TSR Staff" - so they weren't always great on giving credit either.
That was common in 'creatives' in general. Atari in particular absolutely refused to credit their programmers.
Quote from: Ghostmaker on May 04, 2023, 11:08:10 AM
That was common in 'creatives' in general. Atari in particular absolutely refused to credit their programmers.
I am not sure if you were aware of this but the refusal to credit their programmers is why a bunch of them left and formed Activision which made better Atari 2600 games than Atari ever could.
At this point beyond a few more books I really want I'm done with Wotc.
I was done awhile back now it's the final mail in the ⚰️. I had zero interest in the new edition and the main 5E products I want are mostly have been released and done better than Kobokd Press.
Quote from: jhkim on May 03, 2023, 02:12:54 PM
Quote from: blackstone on May 03, 2023, 01:28:01 PM
Y'all remember that Silver Anniversary set they had for TSR back in '99? I was fortunate to grab me a copy, and lo and behold to what what do my eyes see?
A limited edition print artwork by none other than Jeff Easley himself. Signed and numbered.
Nice! And good for Easley! But...
The Silver Anniversary set was released after TSR was acquired by WotC in 1997. WotC still used the TSR brand name at that time, but it was their product release.
So? What's your point?
Quote from: Ghostmaker on May 04, 2023, 11:08:10 AM
Quote from: jhkim on May 03, 2023, 02:12:54 PM
The Silver Anniversary set was released after TSR was acquired by WotC in 1997. WotC still used the TSR brand name at that time, but it was their product release.
Also, back in the 1980s, TSR were the ones who credited the Star Frontiers writers as "TSR Staff" - so they weren't always great on giving credit either.
That was common in 'creatives' in general. Atari in particular absolutely refused to credit their programmers.
Right. It's not a new phenomenon, but some companies are worse than others. Star Frontiers is a rare case among printed tabletop RPGs, which almost always credit the author(s).
I think it's getting better among video games in recent decades, right? And I don't think I've seen a standalone RPG since Star Frontiers without an author credit.
Quote from: GhostNinja on May 04, 2023, 11:25:06 AM
Quote from: Ghostmaker on May 04, 2023, 11:08:10 AM
That was common in 'creatives' in general. Atari in particular absolutely refused to credit their programmers.
I am not sure if you were aware of this but the refusal to credit their programmers is why a bunch of them left and formed Activision which made better Atari 2600 games than Atari ever could.
Do not quote the deep magic to me, boy, I was there when it was written. :)
(dusts off old Atari 2600 and copy of Pitfall)
But yeah. Atari sowed the seeds of their own destruction by refusing to credit programmers, then trying to sue those programmers when they left and formed Activision. In a weird way that series of events directly led to the crash, as Atari losing the suit meant ANYONE could make games for consoles.
In any case, I suspect this is just Hasbro/eOne stupidity, not any grand conspiracy to screw Easley. Why should they develop any brains now?
Quote from: Ghostmaker on May 05, 2023, 01:58:27 PM
Do not quote the deep magic to me, boy, I was there when it was written. :)
(dusts off old Atari 2600 and copy of Pitfall)
Rolls a d20 and rolls a Natural 20 for my defense. HA! :)
Quote from: Ghostmaker on May 05, 2023, 01:58:27 PM
But yeah. Atari sowed the seeds of their own destruction by refusing to credit programmers, then trying to sue those programmers when they left and formed Activision. In a weird way that series of events directly led to the crash, as Atari losing the suit meant ANYONE could make games for consoles.
In any case, I suspect this is just Hasbro/eOne stupidity, not any grand conspiracy to screw Easley. Why should they develop any brains now?
Yep and Activision made games that were much better than anything Atari was putting.
It probably was. As often as WOTC steps on their own dick these days, it wouldn't surprise me.
Quote from: GhostNinja on May 05, 2023, 02:39:24 PM
Quote from: Ghostmaker on May 05, 2023, 01:58:27 PM
Do not quote the deep magic to me, boy, I was there when it was written. :)
(dusts off old Atari 2600 and copy of Pitfall)
Rolls a d20 and rolls a Natural 20 for my defense. HA! :)
Quote from: Ghostmaker on May 05, 2023, 01:58:27 PM
But yeah. Atari sowed the seeds of their own destruction by refusing to credit programmers, then trying to sue those programmers when they left and formed Activision. In a weird way that series of events directly led to the crash, as Atari losing the suit meant ANYONE could make games for consoles.
In any case, I suspect this is just Hasbro/eOne stupidity, not any grand conspiracy to screw Easley. Why should they develop any brains now?
Yep and Activision made games that were much better than anything Atari was putting.
It probably was. As often as WOTC steps on their own dick these days, it wouldn't surprise me.
The problem wasn't necessarily that Activision was stomping on their nuts. And Atari did put out some excellent games. The problem was that the market became absolutely flooded. EVERYONE had a video game division. Complete market saturation, and unlike nowadays, no real way to sort the wheat from the chaff.
I don't know if the situation today is similar. Unless something changes, I think WotC will slowly decline, unless they manage to turn their absolutely atrocious PR around.
Quote from: Grognard GM on May 02, 2023, 09:49:49 PM
I think we're coming up on a couple of decades since Games Workshop stopped crediting artists and writers, and WotC/Hasbro are at least as soulless and evil as GW. Faceless corporation content mills FTW.
Weird because in some of the WotC books they go out of their way to credit artists.
Tasha's Cauldron and Wild Beyond the Witchlight credits the artist on every page their is art on with their name on the inner margin.
Quote from: Omega on May 06, 2023, 06:06:28 AM
Quote from: Grognard GM on May 02, 2023, 09:49:49 PM
I think we're coming up on a couple of decades since Games Workshop stopped crediting artists and writers, and WotC/Hasbro are at least as soulless and evil as GW. Faceless corporation content mills FTW.
Weird because in some of the WotC books they go out of their way to credit artists.
Tasha's Cauldron and Wild Beyond the Witchlight credits the artist on every page their is art on with their name on the inner margin.
Which makes me think this wasn't a WotC decision but a Hasbro/eOne decision.
Won't help them, of course.
Quote from: Ghostmaker on May 06, 2023, 08:48:22 AM
Quote from: Omega on May 06, 2023, 06:06:28 AM
Quote from: Grognard GM on May 02, 2023, 09:49:49 PM
I think we're coming up on a couple of decades since Games Workshop stopped crediting artists and writers, and WotC/Hasbro are at least as soulless and evil as GW. Faceless corporation content mills FTW.
Weird because in some of the WotC books they go out of their way to credit artists.
Tasha's Cauldron and Wild Beyond the Witchlight credits the artist on every page their is art on with their name on the inner margin.
Which makes me think this wasn't a WotC decision but a Hasbro/eOne decision.
Won't help them, of course.
As I mentioned a couple of posts ago, there was an update note in the Geek Native article jhkim posted earlier in this thread saying that it may have been Paramount or their marketing team rather than WotKKK or Hasbro, cuz they were the ones who handled the movie marketing, including posters and stuff.
Don't personally care how badly this reflects on WotKKK or Hasbro, since they're trash. But people might be huffing and puffing at the wrong target here. Not that it matters either way on the long run, cuz regular people don't follow any of this stuff and even people who should known better still Consume New Thing™ anyways. So this sorta thing tends to have minimal impact on these soulless corps in the long run.
Would not surprise me if it were SOP of some Hollywood marketing department to remove artist names from movie posters. ...also would not surprise me to learn that WotC removed it themselves for any number of stupid or political reasons. Probably never know. Super lame in all cases.
Does that stop WotKKK or Hasbro saying that they do not stand by the decision? Perhaps running an article highlighting Jeff Easley's contribution to the look of D&D. You know, being an ally to an unfairly treated artist and doing the decent thing.