PITTSBURGH —
The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has postponed an exhibition by cartoonist Ed Piskor, after a woman posted messages she claims were sent to her by Piskor in 2020, when she was 17 and he was nearly 40.
Piskor, who lives in Munhall, is known for his work on Marvel Comics.
In a statement, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust said the following:
“The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust learned on Sunday of allegations of misconduct made by an individual against artist Ed Piskor, whose work was scheduled to be on exhibition at 707 Penn Gallery starting April 6, 2024. The Trust takes the allegations very seriously and decided yesterday to postpone the exhibition indefinitely.”
The woman, who said she is 21 now, said the messages made her feel as if she was being groomed by Piskor. In screenshots saved online, the messages show someone, who the woman claims is Piskor, calling her naughty, questioning whether she is 17 or 18 and inviting her to stay with him if she ever comes to Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh's Action News 4 reached out to the woman, but she did not want to talk about the claims. Action News 4 also attempted to reach Piskor at his Munhall home, but no one answered the door.
Piskor's father, also named Ed, defended his son.
"I'll tell you this: he's totally innocent," said the elder Ed Piskor. "He has never ever been in trouble in his 40 years of living."
Pittsburgh defense attorney Phil DiLucente said the messages shared online may be considered inappropriate, but they are not criminal.
"The age of consent in Pennsylvania, notwithstanding corruption of a minor, is 16 years old," said DiLucente. "This is really one of those situations that in this cancel culture, what happens is you're canceled before the insinuations are determined as fact or fiction."
It is unclear whether Piskor's exhibition at 707 Penn Gallery will be rescheduled. Piskor's publisher, Fantagraphics, said it has no future projects in the works with him.
