frank cho wonder woman
This is why I do not store my life on Facebook.

I’ve noticed a lot of artists and writers abandoning their own blogs and websites to put everything up on Facebook of late, which I get– it’s so easy and you get a fantastic conversation and feedback that you just don’t get elsewhere. And it’s the one place that EVERYONE has to be. But it still seems creepy to me that FB can just shut you out of your own account with no reason given at all. Apparently Frank Cho’s account was flagged by a troll and as it was his third warning, he got locked out of his account for 14 hours, with no one to talk to, no idea what was the objection and no idea how to fix the problem. Gene Ha quoted Cho on the first lockout:

Someone took offense to my artwork and got me BANNED from Facebook. My account is completely locked out.

This is my third offense. The first two times, I was suspended. But this time I can’t even login. The screen goes white.

At this point, I just want to know which image got me banned.


And later Cho updated:

After 14 hours of hell, my Facebook account is working again with no explanation.

Every time I login, my screen went completely white. I tried login on 3 separate computers and all 3 went blank.

My tech buddy, Brandon Peterson, figured out that it was not a physical problem but someone from Facebook admin just put a block on my account.

Now they just lifted my block without a reason or explanation.


Now granted, Cho posts some of his non-X rated girlie art on his FB page, such as the above Wonder Woman. But it’s harmless “spicy” cheescake.. Nothing that deserves banning or censorship even if it isn’t your cuppa.

I know I’m a voice in the wilderness here, but make sure you keep your own stuff somewhere you own! Just sayin’.

42 COMMENTS

  1. It should also be noted that it might not even be a “troll” flagging Frank Cho’s page, but some kid in Morocco who has no idea who Frank Cho is and whose soul-crushing job it is to moderate the wretched scum and villainy of Facebook for a few dollars a day. Do a google search for “Facebook moderators” to read reports on the overseas moderators as well as the grim account of a North American moderator. It’s also a good reminder that absolutely nothing you post to any part of Facebook is “private”.

  2. I deleted my Facebook account a few years ago and my life has been awesome ever since. Plus, Tumblr seems to be where the action is now.

  3. I don’t use FB and quit it back in 2009. Artists should keep their blogs and websites and not put their lives up on Facebook. No one should actually.

    I wonder if Cho had withdraw problems when he couldn’t get on for that long of a time. Poor baby.

  4. These are dark days, when people cannot get onto their FB account.

    What’s next, having to actually TALK to people, face to face?!?

    Pure chaos…

  5. Getting banned from your Facebook account is trivial in the grand scheme of things, but Jesus H. Christ on a pogo stick there are some harsh words about this here! A number of artists are using sites like Facebook in conjunction with their Deviant Art and Tumblr accounts to get as much exposure (no pun) for their work as they can. It’s just the thing to do these days, there’s nothing wrong with it. Hopefully this won’t happen to him again
    “Frank Cho is an offense to man and God.” Speak for yourself, pal! He’s a gifted illustrator and his only flaw is his tendancy to give all his characters the same face. But if he’s a one trick pony then it is one hell of a trick! Speaking of which, that’s Brandy from Liberty Meadows in a Wondy-esque costume, not Wonder Woman herself, although it is still a lovely drawing.

  6. Regardless of how “unhip” Facebook is now, it is still a way from comic book creators to connect with people who identify themselves as fan of the comic book creator. As long as it serves that purpose to the comic creators’ satisfaction, i don’t think they give a rat’s patooty how hip it is.

    And I think that was comic creator John Layman who pointed out Cho’s affrontery to man and God. Unless a long standing comic creator feud went unreported, I’m taking that as a joke.

  7. I agree with Donna M. The lack of sympathy – – even for this — saddens me.

    Creators / artists / writers / colorists, etc. cast a wide net nowadays. The Internet is chock full of avenues to connect and do business and promote your work. Facebook is just one of the bigger fish in that net. Nothing wrong with that. I admit, it’s not good if it’s your *only* fish no matter how big it is. If it’s important to Cho then I’m sure he was concerned. I’m not going to use myself as an analogy to how he should handle it. Sometimes I don’t tell people that I don’t watch TV because often folks get upset that I don’t give the same weight to the shows they watch. It’s a tricky minefield.

  8. That said… Heidi is right that this is a cautionary tale. Even my sad and lowly placeholder of a website has no love compared to the monster of social media. Who is the go-to person / agency web designer and maintenance for comic professionals nowadays?

  9. “Frank Cho is an offense to man and God.”
    Yeah, dude. It was a joke. Frank Cho is more awesome than anybody on Earth.

  10. @jimmie Robinson. There are many affordable web framework portfolio sites out there. Behance Prosite, Cargo Collective to name a few. Out of the box they work great without any code and its all drag and drop, but can be customized with code skills. Good web designers aren’t cheap unless they are close personal friend and even then…

    Personally, i think its very possible for any creative pro to build and maintain their own site with almost no tech knowledge needed. Tons of options out there.

  11. I know some people are anti-Facebook, and that’s understandable, but it’s also where the largest chunk of the fanbase is going to be. A social media savvy pro is going to need that along with a website, Twitter and the rest.

  12. Thanks ck.
    I’ll check out Behance, since it seems to come *free* with Adobe’s Creative Cloud service. And you’re right that personal design services tend to be rather expensive.

  13. Keyser wrote:

    “I don’t use FB and quit it back in 2009. Artists should keep their blogs and websites and not put their lives up on Facebook. No one should actually.”

    Cho puts his artwork on Facebook, so how would a “Frank Cho Art” website or blog any different than FB? FB doesn’t have a requirement that says “You have to put all of the personal details of your life on FB in order to keep your account.”

    Also, most people don’t “put their whole life on FB” and if they did, how would it affect you in anyway?

  14. I think every media savvy creator needs to be on FB and Twitter and Tumblr and Blepper, or whatever tomorrow’s social media will be called. But taking ALL your stuff to there not a good idea. Which Cho DIDN’T do. I just used his lockout as an example of how FB is not accountable for their actions, and for that reason, I find them untrustworthy.

    Granted, at the end of the day, just about every corporation is untrustworthy in some way.

  15. I feel like an idiot for looking up Blepper…FB pages are better suited as liaison pages where you just roll-over your content from your main pages with a comment here or there.

  16. I don’t get it… Frank Cho is exactly the kind of artist that comicsbeat.com hates. He draws scantily clad women in unrealistic poses. He appeals to the lowest common male neanderthal denominator. He creates an unwelcoming atmosphere for women in comics.

    Don’t the comicsbeat.com editors support Facebook’s banning of Cho’s account?

  17. I will always run my own web site, as independently as I can. Even though it’s currently lame. Sure, I use Facebook, and I tried to use MySpace before it, but I will never put myself in a position where I depend on a service that someone else can shut me out of, on a whim.

  18. i’ve been invited by friends and family to join facebook but declined. i just never saw the allure. now if other folks want to swear by facebook, more power to them and i can see how facebook would be helpful to artist like cho connect with fans.

  19. Why not support Facebook’s banning of Cho because of sexist art?

    I can’t tell if you’re a sarcastic, trolling tool, or serious. If you’re serious, your confusion over such an obvious moral question is unsettling.

    Not seeing a good answer either way…

  20. Unrealistic poses? Cho? Seriously?

    And “He appeals to the lowest common male neanderthal denominator. He creates an unwelcoming atmosphere for women in comics.” Wow! just wow!

    Seriously?

  21. Fuck Facebook. Like Myspace before it, it will go down when the next better flavor of social media comes around. Then your time has been WASTED. Cultivate your work on your online domain; don’t cater to Facebook browsing sheep. Fuck Facebook.

  22. With FB, you can create an Art Fan page that is separate from your personal page.
    In fact, FB can shut down a personal site if they decide that it is being used for art sales rather than personal (non commercial) use.

    Sure, put your art on a FB Art Fan page, but be aware that it is heavily monitored, and people can complain about your art, and FB will shut down your page. As Frank Cho discovered.

    Cover your bases. Use FB, use blogs, and create your own self hosted site too. Use those avenues to promote to different communities of buyers.

  23. This is ridiculous, but similar to problems folks have on YouTube, where you can get flagged & banned with little or no notice. I have certainly see material far more ‘adult’ than what I have seen Cho publish.

    Personally, I doubt that folks are actually taking offense, but simply have something against Cho for some reason and know they can easily get to him via this cowardly route.

  24. Facebook acting like a giant corporate police state?! Say it ain’t so! Facebook is a wonderful place of happiness and joy where everyone is accepted and we all love King Zuckerberg. All hail King Mark, benevolent ruler of us all!

  25. Ridiculous. I was blocked for 24 hours for multiple warnings. I paint my toddler running around/ playing in her underwear. I have one more warning to go before they boot me altogether >:(

  26. Crickey, there are some Nazi’s (from a censorship point of view) out there, it’s quite simple, if YOU personally don’t like Frank Cho’s art don’t like his FB page, but please don’t try and impose your views on other people, hey I’m not a big fan of lots of things, but I don’t go around on FB reporting stuff, just because I don’t personally like it, it’s a slippery slope, anyone remember the book “Seduction of the Innocent”?.

Comments are closed.