Frank Tieri Apologizes For Insults and Threats Aimed at Critic Bemoaning Dan Panosian’s Defense of His ‘Female Furies’ Cover

Comic book writer Frank Tieri took to Twitter to apologize for his insults and threats aimed at a critic and fan

Last Thursday, Claire Napier made a post to her Twitter account concerning her opinion on the cover for DC’s Female Furies #2, drawn by Irredeemable artist and Slots creator Dan Panosian:

Napier, the former Features Editor and Editor-in-Chief at Women Write About Comics and editor of the award-winning graphic novel Finding Home, took issue with the lines-of-sight featured on the cover, as she perceived that these lines-of-sight were awkwardly focused:

'Harley Quinn' Writer Frank Tieri Insults and Threatens Critic and Fan Following Criticism of 'Female Furies' Cover

The Female Furies mini-series paints a very progressive history of Granny Goodness and her Female Furies during their time on Apokolips. The mini-series features questionable writing choices, such as turning Darkseid into a #MeToo-style sexual predator and depicting the culture of Apokolips as one that boasts a hilariously straw-man-esque patriarchal power structure, which have left many fans divided on their opinions. Though the merits of the book and the story choices are a separate topic, Napier is providing her criticism through the lens of the actual story being told, hence her discomfort with the focus on a female character’s pelvic area.

Napier’s criticism soon drew a response from Panosian himself, who refuted her diagram with his own interpretation of the lines-of-sight:

'Harley Quinn' Writer Frank Tieri Insults and Threatens Critic and Fan Following Criticism of 'Female Furies' Cover

A backandforth between Napier and Panosian followed, with Napier detailing her issues with Panosian’s work while Panosian defended the cover:

It is at this point in the exchange that Panosian begins to grow increasingly defensive over his work, downplaying his compositional work to place the blame on the costume itself:

At this point, it appears that Napier struck a chord, as Panosian insulted Napier’s own work as he attempted to exit the conversation:

This response by Panosian sparked a wave of criticism against the artist, who believed his comment was inappropriate and done for no other reason than to bully Napier. The outrage would lead Panosian to publicly apologize via his Twitter account:

The responses to Panosian’s apology were varied. Some felt that the apology was disingenuous, and that Panosian had not actually apologized for his unwarranted attitude towards Napier. Others, including comic industry professionals such as Sean Gordon Murphy, Donny Cates, and Billy Tucci stood in defense of Panosian’s actions, painting Napier as a petulant child and Panosian as a true professional.

Of the many who were criticizing Panosian’s apology and actions, critic Marc-Oliver Frisch found himself the target of the ire of Harley Quinn writer Frank Tieri. Frisch had joined the conversation by chastising Panosian for not only vanity searching for himself, but then responding to criticism with insults:

Frisch would then respond to Tieri’s support of Panosian’s apology with an insult (Frisch would later admit that his ““shitheels” tweet certainly wasn’t the best way to start the conversation”):

Frisch’s insult and participation in the conversation surrounding Panosian were the catalyst for an explosive outburst from Tieri, who proceeded to swear profusely at Frisch while also insulting him and threatening him with physical violence (the tweets have since been deleted by Tieri, but have been recovered through archival screenshots):

'Harley Quinn' Writer Frank Tieri Insults and Threatens Critic and Fan Following Criticism of 'Female Furies' Cover

'Harley Quinn' Writer Frank Tieri Insults and Threatens Critic and Fan Following Criticism of 'Female Furies' Cover

Though the deletion of these tweets by Tieri has led to the full context of the conversation being lost, Frisch’s account still hosts his tweets towards Tieri, which appear to show that Frisch, while combative, never escalated his rhetoric and language to the unprofessional levels displayed by Tieri:

Tieri’s rage was not limited only towards Frisch. During Tieri’s outburst, former Image Comics Branding Manager and current VIZ Media editor David Brothers offered his opinion on Tieri’s behavior:

In response, Tieri lashed out at Brothers, extending the “same invite I gave [to Frisch]”, to “do it at a con or in a parking lot” to Brothers

Frank Tieri

However, Frisch would elaborate on his alleged history with Tieri and clarify the extent to which they were in contact:

Ultimately, Tieri would delete all tweets related to his aggressive outburst, issuing an apology for the episode via Twitter:

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