HARLAN ELLISON AND THE COMICS JOURNAL
The lawsuit with Michael Fleischer came from comments made by Ellison during Comics Journal interview. On being asked if he, Ellison, followed any comics at the moment he mentioned that he enjoyed Michael Fleischer's work on the Spectre, making a comment to the effect that he thought Fleischer was crazy. Fleischer sued Ellison & the Journal for $2 million for defamation of character. Although the case was eventually decided in favor of Ellison & the Journal, it was during the course of this case that Ellison & Gary Groth, publisher of the Journal, began their intense feud. This feud has continued to this day with Groth's reprinting of "The Book On The Edge of Forever" by Christopher Priest and with his association with Charles Platt and the "Enemies/Victims of Ellison" Society. For more details on the lawsuit see issue 53 of the Comics Journal. For more details on the feud see issue 9 of Gauntlet, a magazine detailing issues of Free Speech and Censorship. The following items are publications that have been involved in and around this dispute.


Anything Goes
Issues 1 to 5, 1985-86, Fantagraphics Books
Series to raise money for Comics Journal's defense in Ellison/Comics Journal v. Michael Fleischer lawsuit. Ellison received no money from book. The series featured short stories by artists and writers Bob Burden, Gil Kane, Gilbert and Jaimie Hernandez and many others, including a story in issue 3 by Dave Sim featuring Cerebus which appears to comment on the lawsuit. For an image from that story see the Images of Ellison page.

The Book On The Edge of Forever
1994, Fantagraphics Books
author, Christopher Priest; cover, Drew Friedman
Reprinting of chapbook detailing long non-publishing history of Last Dangerous Visions after falling out between Ellison and Groth. It was published just before Ellison's appearance as the Guest of Honor at the 1994 Chicago Comic Convention and Fantagraphics was asked, by the convention organizers, to remove copies from their booth.

Gauntlet
Issue 9, May 1995

"The Last word on the feud between Fantagraphics Books and Harlan Ellison, who was not at all pleased with Gary Groth and his The Book on the Edge of Forever. Interviewed on the subject are Groth, Peter David, Kim Thompson, and others. Also: the penultimate word on The Last Dangerous Visions from Harlan Ellison."

Source: Diamond Previews, p 147, March 1995.

Rick Wyatt has posted a copy of this on the Ellison Webderland web site. You can find at this link: http://www.harlanellison.com/foe/bugfuck.htm

Gauntlet
Issue 10, 1995
Contains a highly critical review of The Book On The Edge Of Forever
Link the Gauntlet Web Site

Comics Journal
Issue 53, Fantagraphics Books
Featuring a long interview with Ellison, featuring comments about Michael Fleischer which instigated the lawsuit.

Comics Journal
Issue 115, Fantagraphics Books
Coverage of Journal/Harlan Ellison vs. Michael Fleischer trial featuring transcripts of testimonies by Ellison, Jim Shooter, and Gary Groth.
Link to the Comics Journal Web Site
Link to the Fantagraphics Books Web Site


RESOURCES ON THE WEB

Peter David's But I Digress
Rick Wyatt has put two of David's Comic Buyer's Guide columns concerning the Friends of Ellison / Enemies of Ellison debacle that resulted in the mid Nineties
Link to article one
Link to article two

Paul Riddell on FOE
This is an essay Riddell wrote on the FOE/EOE mess
Link to Riddell article

Gary Groth on Toontown
This is an essay Groth wrote in the Comics Journal in 1989 about Ellison's Playboy article "It Ain't Toontown" It gives a good idea of the relationship as it stood at that point in time
Link to Groth essay