Ed Piskor, the Pittsburgh-area comic artist known for Hip Hop Family Tree and the YouTube show Cartoonist Kayfabe, died on April 1, 2024, at age 41. His family announced his death. Contemporary reports did not establish a publicly disclosed official cause of death.
What is known about Ed Piskor’s death
WESA reported on April 2, 2024, that Piskor’s family announced his death. TheWrap reported that his cause of death had not been made public as of April 1; The Comics Journal said a funeral-home obituary described the death as unexpected. Those accounts do not establish an official cause, so it should not be stated as fact. WESA TheWrap The Comics Journal
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Red Room: The Antisocial Network | $23.29 | Buy on Amazon |
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Red Room: Crypto Killaz! | $18.54 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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Hip Hop Family Tree Book 4: 1984-1985 | $14.10 | Buy on Amazon |
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The Hip Hop Family Tree Omnibus | $58.56 | Buy on Amazon |
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X-Men: Grand Design Trilogy | $39.99 | Buy on Amazon |
What happened before his death
In late March 2024, several women made allegations about Piskor on social media. Piskor addressed and denied claims in a message before his death, according to contemporary reporting. WESA reported that he had not been charged with a crime. These were allegations and denials, not adjudicated findings; the reporting does not establish that they caused his death. WESA The Comics Journal TheWrap
Who was Ed Piskor?
Piskor grew up in Munhall, near Pittsburgh, and began working professionally in comics in his early twenties. His early collaborations included projects with Harvey Pekar, among them Macedonia and The Beats, according to WESA and The Comics Journal. He went on to work across independent comics and major superhero publishing. WESA The Comics Journal
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What comics did Ed Piskor create?
Hip Hop Family Tree
Piskor’s best-known work, Hip Hop Family Tree, is a researched comics history of hip-hop. The Comics Journal describes its 360 pages as tracing the culture from its 1970s beginnings in New York through the mid-1980s, as it became viable for commercial radio. The series was collected in four treasury volumes between 2013 and 2016, followed by a deluxe omnibus in 2023. Its second volume won the 2015 Eisner Award for Best Reality-Based Work, according to ICv2. The Comics Journal ICv2
Other work
- Wizzywig, a story about hackers.
- X-Men: Grand Design, which Piskor wrote and drew. Marvel published three collected trades in 2018–19 and a complete edition in 2022, ICv2 reported.
- Red Room, a horror comics series.
- Switchblade Shorties, an online serial.
What was Cartoonist Kayfabe?
Cartoonist Kayfabe was a YouTube show Piskor co-hosted with fellow Pittsburgh cartoonist Jim Rugg. The Comics Journal reported that, over five years, the channel had accumulated more than 1,800 videos and 91,000 subscribers. Those are historical figures reported in 2024, not current channel statistics. The Comics Journal
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What happened to the planned Pittsburgh exhibition?
The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust indefinitely postponed a planned exhibition of Piskor’s work at 707 Penn Gallery. WESA corrected its report to clarify that the exhibition was postponed, not canceled; the later status was not established in the contemporary account. WESA
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