Art thief busted- FACE TO FACE!

I already posted this on my own page, but I think it bears posting here as well, given its relevance to the group...

So I was at Wizard's Austin Comic Con this last weekend.  Having a great time- meeting cool people and making new friends.  There was a big Doctor Who presence at the Con (any con has Tennants, Bakers, and Smiths- but when ya see a William Hartnell cosplayer you know you're at a Con with a capital "C"). Got to talk to a bunch of great Who and Godzilla fans at my table, though my favorite person had to be the kid who looked at my IRIS ABROAD cover and asked, "Why is that panda drinking beer?"

Then a friend comes by my table and looks at my Eleven Doctors pic...

"You know, I've seen other people selling this."

"Yeah, what can ya do?  Some f***er ripped it off and made it into a t-shirt on Australian eBay.  I'm sure they weren't the only one.  It happens.  Perils of fan art, dude."

"No- I mean... I've seen  a guy selling it HERE."

(dramatic pause)

(in a Harrison-Ford-esque growl): "WHERE IS HE?"

I walked over, and sure enough, there was my art, along with a lot of other ripped BBC photos being sold on 11x17 posters.  There were also a lot of other pics by artists I know.  I told the acid-casualty-lookin' ponytailed hippie working the booth that the jig was up, and whipped out some of my originals to show that I was indeed of the artist he was ripping off.  He gave me a "plausible deniability" rap, saying he got them from another seller in California.  I pulled out everything I could find by people I knew and he claimed he would destroy them.  I should have said "leave that to me" and walked off with them, but in the heat of the moment, I kinda blanked (I tend not to be at my cleverest when I'm insanely angry).  The con was going well, and i didn't want to stand around all day dealing with the volunteers resolving some war over five posters.  But I told the guy that I, and the people I told this story to online, would be watching from now on...

That said, I did have the presence of mind to quickly shake the guy down for half of what he claimed to have made on my poster.  I'm sure he lied- but the fact I "made him pay" in any way at all provided a glimmer of satisfaction.    

So folks, if you see my work for sale by anyone but me, just know that the seller is a creep who deserves your spit, not your dollars.

These are the pics I found being sold (but I'm sure there are others "in the wind"):

:thumb133709783:     

Let me know if you guys spot anything else out there.  Get the bastards' names.  Hell, get their pictures if ya got a camera phone on ya.