It has been brought to the attention of the Modern Humor Authority staff that an old colleague — former colleague as of this moment — has been shaming us publically for at least the past six months, in a venue I was not aware of. I can scarce bring myself to type his name here; perhaps I should not until I have had a chance to contact our lawyer. Suffice it to say that the same person helped us procure our domain name two years ago, and parodied Modern Humor Authority — and myself to a great degree — in his own webcomic. I had become fond of that “Lance Sharps” cameo. Now I can only look at it with great distress, as a sign of betrayal to come.
And a betrayal has indeed occurred.
What I had believed was a professional friendship has become, apparently, a source of great amusement for Kristofer Straub and countless readers of his preposterously cruel “satire” of the MHA offices. Comixpedia even links back to this site, brazenly, which is how I finally made the connection. For shame, Mr. Xerexes. Why was I not informed? What made you believe Straub’s attempt to pass me off as a junior Scott McCloud would not incur my eventual ire? I feel boundless shame.
Comixpedia’s “Modern Humor Authority” webcomic is a travesty, and a direct affront to James, Andrew, Isobel, Todd and myself — at the very least, no permission was given by MHA for even that use of our name.
Our Canadian origin will not protect whom I consider a thief of intellectual property. Modern Humor Authority is incorporated in Southern California, so it would appear that any case pursued would fall under United States jurisdiction. I will be contacting our Encino-based lawyer tomorrow. Mr. Straub, I advise you do the same.