Did the research for you.Originally Posted by Matt Doc Martin
On July 31, 2008 Rick made a post to his Sequential Soul blog showing a picture a picture of his mother with insults on it. A screen cap was taken and posted at the CBR board. This is the link to the CBR post: http://forums.comicbookresources.com...ostcount=43218
Screen cap: http://betterlate.files.wordpress.co...y-073108a1.jpg
On August 1, 2008, Rick made further posts. He stated the photo was sent to Dennis via email. It was a Yahoo account and the person used the name Gene Dean.
There is a copy and paste of Rick's blog here: http://forums.comicbookresources.com...ostcount=43307
There are a bunch of posts saying if someone did send the picture they crossed a line and should admit it. Most people feel no one sent it and Rick defaced the photo himself.
MacQuarrie posted this August 15 2008.http://forums.comicbookresources.com...ostcount=44503I can't give details, but it has been confirmed for me that somebody did in fact email the defaced photo of Mrs. Olney to Dennis, and he did forward it to Olney. If (as is most likely) Olney faked the whole thing, he did it without Dennis' cooperation. As far as I'm concerned, Dennis is an unwilling pawn in this particular incident.
And I'll leave it at that.
There is lots more but as I'm watching the Super Bowl I don't have time to post every detail. If you follow any of the links you can get more information.
Last edited by MyNameIsNotLarry; 02-05-2012 at 03:48 PM.
Who knows, whoever did such a thing is gross.
But here's something...there's a poster on the Facebook page with ANOTHER remarkably similar story of Rick Olney pledging to donate to a charity, in this case, $500 to a leukemia charity.
To the surprise of no one, he didn't follow through.
Surprise, surprise.
It's sooooo obviously Rick. From the amateur MS Paint job to the lazy fake name "Gene Dean"
Just posting some of Rick's greatest deadbeat moments.
Here, a Tightlip artist posts about Rick's incompetence, tantrums, dishonesty and deadbeatism (not the use of the same excuses he used with everyone else).
"Chris - UncannyThings <chris@uncannythings.com>
...
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To: Dash Martin <dashmartin@comcast.net>; cheelee65@yahoo.com
Cc: picturecar@aol.com
I wanted to let you know directly that I am quitting. I am tired of how Rick talks to me, tired of Rick's lies, and just simply don't want to be involved with this anymore. After my last post on the forums, I have been giving everything a lot of thought, and decided that this is not something I want to be doing. I personally feel that when push comes to shove, Rick will back out on the printing of the books, because he will actually have to put his money where his mouth is. He has not followed through on pretty much everything he has said. We didn't do the Pitt con because he had not got his end done (writing, scripting, merchandising), so we had nothing to show, so he backed out. You guys did not get bonuses at the end of March ( I knew I wasn't going to get one) supposedly because he is too busy investigating merchandising. Notice how he doesn't even bother to post updates on that anymore, and has deleted the threads on it from the forums? I think it's pretty ridiculous to be looking at new merchandising when the creative teams aren't even totally solid, and there isn't even a finished book yet, not to mention he has merchandising he has started but not finished yet (meaning, yes, he has still never paid to have our clock deal finished, all he paid was reimbursement for the $$ I already spent to buy the physical clocks). He has Rich doing promotions, but there's not even a completed website up yet. Last he had said anything, he did not have a printer lined up, and was not selling advertising. I personally feel the books are pretty sucky, and unoriginal. MS has the potential to do better than F3, but his writing is shallow and clichéd, so I feel even if he does somehow print the books, and pay for distribution, the books would only sell on the strength of the art. And is it just me, or is the 'TightLip' name and logo really lame?
I am also really tired of his disrespect and unprofessionalism not only specifically towards me, but towards everyone as a whole. Dash, I certainly don't have a problem with you having a different payment arrangement that anyone else, but I think it's terribly unprofessional of Rick to have offered that to you publicly - to me it infers that everyone else is less worthy because he's not revising everyone else's contracts. It also struck me as kind of funny - after all, if he had offered that to JT, I'm sure he would have stuck around, as one of JT's biggest issues seemed to have been that Rick wasn't following through and JT wasn't seeing any $$.
It also really bothers me that Rick expects all of us to act as professionals, and treat this as professional work, when he himself doesn't treat this as being more than a hobby - IE, no real deadlines, him not following through and doing the work as a writer / publisher he is supposed to do, etc, etc.
I've been in Tightlip for just shy of 6 months. In that time, what have we done? Some character sheets, a couple poster type images, 6 'homage' (AKA rip-off) covers, and...what else? A handful of pages just in the past month or so? This is Rick's fault for not having the writing done, and not setting firm deadlines on things. I am sure Rick will be just as professional with my leaving as he was with everyone else leaving, IE he'll talk shit behind my back with me gone, just as he has Jeff, Dave, JT and Sarah, and I am sure he will blame me for shit I've had nothing to do with, just as he has Jeff.
I am also really tired of Rick's flat out lies. Rick claims the issues with my clock reimbursement was because of a bad bookkeeper, whom he fired. He invented this story about halfway through the fiasco. His original emails to me, he said my payment was mailed by either him, his wife, or some unspecified person who has access to or works in his home office. He then changed his story to the outside bookkeeper was supposed to have mailed it but evidently did not. I do have the emails to prove this, if anyone really cares (doubtful, hehe).
Also, just so you guys are aware, my uncle is Austin, TX is a divorce attorney, and has been for about 20 years now. He is not a contract lawyer, however he assures me that the NDA only covers the intellectual properties, IE the characters, books, storylines, images of characters, all that good stuff. Meaning Rick is once again lying when he threatens people with lawsuits if they discuss what goes on with TightLip that doesn't directly involve the intellectual properties - not that I personally would be worried about a lawsuit anyhow, that would require Rick to actually spend money. Also interesting that Rick feels he needs to threaten people to keep their mouths shut about his business practices.
I'm sending this email directly to the 3 of you, because I do feel bad for leaving you 3 in any kind of lurch, although given the current status on the books, I don't feel I am leaving anyone in the lurch. It's not like presses are about to roll and I'm holding everything up.
I did want to let you know directly, and apologize for my end of whatever messes have occurred. I also wanted to let you know directly, as I didn't feel like getting into yet another pissing match with Rick on the forums, which he would delete in a couple days anyhow. I also wanted to make sure that you guys had my email in case you wanted to ask me any questions directly. I'd be happy to work with any of you again in a minute.
Cesar and Jimmy, I'll see you guys on the inkwell and Tom Nguyen's groups. Dash, I'm sure I'll see you at cons at some point. I think all 3 of you have the talent and the skills to do much better than Tightlip, and Dash has 3 times as much a chance (simply because he colors inks, and pencils, and does all 3 really well). I do hope everything goes well for all 3 of you.
Rick has been sent a separate and different (and much shorter, heh) notice of my quitting.
Best of luck and best wishes to you guys.
Chris"
More:
"From:
Chris - UncannyThings <chris@uncannythings.com>
...
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To: Dash Martin <dashmartin@comcast.net>; cheelee65@yahoo.com
Cc: picturecar@aol.com
hey ya'all
I posted up a big long reply to Rick. If he pulls it down before anyone gets to see it, feel free to tell me and I'll be happy to send it to you - I archive everything between Rick and I.
Also, if he does decide to bring suit against me, I'll be filing counter-suit, and part of my counter-suit will include
*damages for not having the books produced in a timely manner resulting in books not getting done or anyone being paid (this is on Rick for not having much of a plot and no script for many months after he had full creative teams, promising initially that books would be starting in January, and that us work-for-hire people would start seeing money from Tightlip by end of Jan.)
*damages for requiring commitments for Pitt con and then Rick backing out without even a comment as to restitution for our time...I know many people requested time from work and made plans for this, myself included, which were messed up by Rick's cancelling
*damages for promising a bonus and then not following through....sure, no amount was specified, and sure, he did leave it vague as to whom was getting the bonus, to lead us around like a carrot on a stick, however he did have a specified deadline, which he did not follow through on
and whatever else I can think of, plus whatever my uncle the lawyer can come up with, heh. These are things that could be sued as a group, there will be more that will apply either to just me, or myself, Dave, and JT (slander, defamation of character). I have already sent an email off to Jeff about this too. I do not have either JT's email, or Dave Rothe's email, and I'd bet my Giant Size X-Men #1 that both of them would love to be informed about a lawsuit against Rick, so if anyone has their emails and wants to pass them on to me, I'd appreciate it.
Sorry this is such a bad soap opera, guys.
Chris"
Here's another, from the gifted and gracious Cesar Feliciano, one of the kindest and most forgiving people I've ever met. For HIM to think badly of someone, they have to be AWFUL.
""Hello,
My name is Cesar Feliciano and I am part of that dubious list of Rick Olney's work for hire artist. I have been waiting for almost two years to recieive my fist penny from Mr. olney and I thank God that I did not hold my breath for that (I'd be one dead artist by this time). I have been wieghing my options and am thankful that there is comraderie and commonality that we all share. I look forward to posting more info and friendly post as I get to know more and more people on this site.
While working with Rick Olney and his now defunct TightLip Entertainment comics company, I was responsible for the pencils on Monster Squad and did many pin-ups and character designs for Mr. Olney.
I to like many here was made many promises and assurances that were never met or followed through with. This has left me with a bad taste in my mouth and a certain level of displeasure with this man.
Throughout my whole experience with Mr. Olney I was told how important and vital I was to the project that I was working on and how there were many great plans that included me. I bought into many of these stories only to be left with nothing but empty and vain words.
I gave up much while I was working with Mr. Olney and really felt that this would be my opportunity to finally see my dream of making it in the comics business come to fruition. I lost my job during the time that I was working with Rick Olney and TightLip Entertainment.
To give you an example of what this man does and is about let me share this story with you. When I lost my job I was down to a few dollars in my bank account. I told Mr. olney about my situation and he told me that he would like to help me out. I wanted to thank him because I have 5 kids and I needed to buy them some groceries so that they could eat.
He proposed that I do a couple of pin-ups for him and told me that he would pay me a cetain amount for them. I was thankful for this opportunity and told him that I would get right on it. I proceeded to get 2 fully penciled and inked done, foregoing sleep to get these to him so that I could get the money for my families needs. Needless to say I did the work and was assured that payment was sent out. Three days go by and still no check.
i called him and he told me that his bookeeper never wrote the check but that he would get it taken care of post haste. Another three days goes by and when I asked him about the money he told me that he had to get rid of the bookeeper and hire a new one, keep in mind that I still had no work and no income and our food was running out quickly.
He told me that the check was sent out. four days go by and still no check. I called him again and he told me he apologized and said he would write the check from his own checking account, I was very wary at this time but told myself that I did what he asked and he would pay me.
Big, big, and wrong assumption. After a week I called him back and he told me that had not yet mailed that check. I reminded him that HE had offered to help me and my family out. HE was the one that requested these images from me. also that HE was the one was had not kept the agreement. He said that he was sorry and that HE would make it up to me.
There is a little more to this story but you get the point. This is NOT a nice man. He has shown that he is cold hearted and uncaring and not someone that can be trusted. I thank God that my family pitched in and helped out with my need.
Here are the images prepared for Mr. Olney:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/167/4...4013267f_b.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/102/2...2f39bd0c_o.jpg
Needless to say I am not pleased with Mr. Olney or his practices and I know that people like him get what they deserve in the end. This man is nothing but a wrecker of dreams and a scourge to the honest hard working people involved in this industry who do things above board and desire to make comics because they LOVE it.
My name is Cesar Feliciano and this is one of my stories.""
Here's the first post I posted about Rick, note that my story has not changed one iota, while Rick's has changed dozens of times.
"Some of you might be aware that the ONLY bad experience I've ever had at a convention, or with a publisher, either, was with Rick Olney, of 'Tightlip' entertainment.
Rick's got a LOOOOOOONG history of meltdowns on the internet. People have some hilarious stories about him, and I doubt none of them. The guy is, to be kind, odd as hell.
He's one of those guys that talk about honor and integrity as if he were the only one that has those qualities, despite regularly being in the middle of serious ethical problems such as repeatedly not paying people when promised.
He talked me into paying my own way to his 'convention (which was a nightmare, but I felt bad for him at the time), to be reimbursed before I actually left home.
That was a lie.
Then I was to be paid when I got there.
That was a lie.
Then I was to be paid immediately after (the check would 'beat me home,' he said.
That was a lie.
You get the picture. My mom was in the hospital and I needed to be reimbursed. Rick's defenses got angrier and more bizarre, but I tried to work with him and be polite for a long time. Finally I got the bulk of the payment, months after being promised. But the remainder, a hundred dollars by his account, he continued to lie about, 'til after TWO YEARS (I kid you not), I finally told him to keep it, I didn't want it anymore and I never wanted to deal with his bizarre excuses again.
Lesson learned, right? Now I get lots of references from people I trust for every small con I attend, and have never had another problem, not one. Every other con I've gone to has been well-run and extremely honest in their dealings with me.
Anyway, Rick, who fancies himself a huge wheel in comics (for reasons that are beyond me even though he spent hours talking about himself after the con), decided to start a comics company called Tightlip Entertainment. Predictably, he isn't paying people when promised. They were supposed to be paid in fifteen days, but haven't been paid yet and it's months later. Pros with sterling reputations for honesty and professionalism have not only not been paid, but are being threatened with lawsuits by Rick Olney for having the 'disloyalty' to speak out, so other creators won't be taken in.
A more repulsive display of unprofessionalism I can't imagine.
Anyway, there's more, a lot more. I've spoken out, and Rick has repeatedly threatened to sue me. Hilariously, I have saved every email he ever sent me (once I realized he wasn't trustworthy), and in his own words, he lies to me over and over again.
I was willing to let the matter die. It was worth it to be rid of him. But I am furious that he has not only not paid these hard-working professionals whose only crime is trusting Olney, but that he's threatening them all with lawsuits when HE is the one who broke the agreement and acted in bad faith.
He's got a Myspace page, mostly about how great he is. It had some hilarious stuff on it, but he's mostly deleted that. Still, check out his blog at
myspace.com/orcafresh
I keep getting email from other people who have been stiffed by him, and now he's lost Ronee Burgois, one of the kindest and most generous people I've ever met, and Rick's former PR manager. The reason? Surprise surprise, he hasn't paid her in seven months.
Anyway, there's this kind of funny thing...he posts these rants about how everyone's out to get him, poor thing, and this one woman, who may be perfectly nice, for all I know, says over and over, "People suck!"
Anyway, here's the response he won't put up on his blog, from me.
"Lying deadbeats suck, I'll agree with that.
People like Rick prey on people's good intentions and honesty and then they cry 'victim' when people speak up. Boo hoo.
You keep calling me a liar, Rick. Where have I lied? Show me one place. What I said was you lied to me about paying me, which you did and you damn well know it, many, many times. Why continue lying about something we both know to be the truth? Where in the world do you come off not keeping your word AND pretending to be a victim?
What I've said was you lied to me repeatedly about payment, and you're doing much worse now, and now you've betrayed poor Ronee, one of your last few defenders. You gonna threaten to sue her, too?
I keep saying, bring it on. I can prove everything I say with your own words. YOU lied, YOU stiffed all those people and you're still doing it. Bring. It. On. You threaten all the people you've betrayed and mistreated...maybe if you kept your word once in a while people wouldn't HAVE such a low opinion of you.
This lady who keeps saying 'people suck' is wrong. MOST of them are honest and decent. It's YOU who are the exception.
And yes, I have a pen name. I'm sorry that seems to baffle and confuse you. It takes a complete lack of understanding of publishing history to be so ASTONISHED by something so banal, but as you're so desperately trying to blame others for your repeated failures, I understand you don't have much to work with. Here's something for free...I also wear corrective lenses sometimes. OH, MY GOODNESS!
Pay Chuck. Pay Val. Pay Ronee. Pay the other people who are afraid to speak in public (and quit using them as examples of happy employees--trust me, they ain't happy with you at all). Quit threatening them. Quit trying to blame THEM for your poor business practices and dishonest responses to their legitimate complaints.
Then you'll have a chance to talk again about your 'honor.' Right now, that is a devalued commodity around your company.
Gail"
IMPORTANT ADDITION:
Please note that Rick Olney was allowed to post here for quite a long time, and managed to not only never answer any accusations, but used the space only to post racist and homophobic insults against those he'd cheated and his other accusers, as well as some really vile anti-woman insults directed at nearly every woman who had ever been a guest at his fake, crappy 'convention.'
Then, because he is at heart an utter coward, he went through and deleted most of his posts, as he's done throughout the internet to the best of his ability. If we occasionally appear to be arguing with no one, it is most likely because Rick "I Always Stand By My Words" Olney deleted the crucial posts.
HOWEVER, since he's had this pattern for at least ten years (leave racist, homophobic, anti-woman slurs and threats of violence), we saw it coming and saved all of it, at www.unscrewed.com
If you'd like to see what kind of 'man' Rick is, check out Unscrewed.com.
This is not a person who keeps his word, as a decade long history of utter deceit and untrustworthiness show. He has NO ONE who supports him except for his professional toady, Dennis Kininger. Fortunately, the industry now has tools to spread the word about people like Rick Olney, and hopefully potential victims of his tricks will see how he has handled his obligations in the past, which is to say, he ignores them.
Gail "
From Ronee, who was Tightlip's PR manager, for a bit.
"I have now been told that because he neglected to secure a contract or NDA from me (said we didnt need one) that he cannot pay me.
Of course this is after he sent me checks that got lost in the mail... (more than once) "
Now, long-timers will remember she agreed to sign one if he sent one, which made him wet himself, so he didn't send one (of course).
It's weird how all Rick's checks get lost in the mail. What an odd coincidence.
Also, how many pretend bookkeepers has he fired for not sending those darn checks when he told them to?
From DocAbsurd
"I've kept my mouth shut about all this. I stuck beside Rick when it seemed like his life was going to hell without the advantage of a handbasket. I remained his friend during all his losses. We've talked on a regular basis for years now, and I've tried desperately to get him to calm down. I remained a sounding board for his half of the story. But, just like Ronee said, it's pointless defending someone who's carrying sticks of dynamite across his chest with a defective timer for a fuse.
I wrote toy reviews for his Mighty MiniCon site, including many that never saw print because of the same reason: non-payment. I was promised -- on more than one occasion -- payment for all of them, plus re-imbursement for the toys reviewed. On more than one occasion, I was promised toys in recompense from auctions he was specifically bidding on for that purpose. It's been 2 years since my first review. At this point I don't even remember how much I'm owed.
He approached me earlier this year to form a group that all small press creators could partake in, a chance for them to team-up with other creators on projects that would do nothing but help them promote their work (check out the Independent Creators Coalition link on his MySpace, that's all my ideas contained therein). Due to my own personal circumstances (divorce, sole custody of 2, hunting down the ex for child support, finding permanent employment, etc), I've had to put off igniting any projects despite many requests from many creators. In retrospect I'm glad it happened this way; I honestly have no idea how he'd fund any of the projects I have in mind. And you have no clue how many people said they'd have no involvement if Rick was even marginally involved.
This week was the final straw.
Why he mentioned me specifically in his last rant to Mr Johnston is beyond me. I was never consulted, never asked, and certainly not the notoriety I'd hope for. Granted, there's no love lost between Mr Shires and myself, but that's way back in the past. I have neither need nor desire to re-live any of that.
But that doesn't seem to be part of Rick's concern. While everyone simply must forgive him his transgressions because of his extenuating circumstances, he doesn't feel the need to do the same. I'm very sick right now; even as I'm writing this I'm in excruciating pain which is only going to be made worse when I have to re-visit the ER tomorrow for the follow-up from my visit yesterday. I may even have to miss my daughter's birthday along with both the jobs I'm working on Monday, depending on how painful the procedure is. Yet he had no qualms dragging me into this little tirade.
I'm done now. I'll take my ideas for the ICC elsewhere, work in conjunction with someone who might be able to fund the ideas reliably, and fight like hell to get the money he owes me."
Anyone have Danny Donovan's story of being cheated by Rick?
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