The secret history of comics
Ken Quattro uncovers the transcript of testimony in the 1939 lawsuit DC vs Victor Fox. The suit involved C suing the other publisher for a Superman knock-off which has been producer by the Eisner./Iger shop and then 22/year/old Eisner was called on to testify, an event covered in both the Andelman/Eisner biography and The Dreamer.
Continue ReadingGaiman/McFarlane’s eternal struggle renewed yet again
The week saw a scaled down direct-to-video sequel to 2002's "epic battle' between Todd McFarlane and Neil Gaiman for copyrighs to characters Gaiman created in an issue of Spawn. Out of all the press reports we've seen, Gaiman's own account, blogged today, is by far the most clear and accurate -- well, he is a beloved author after all:
Continue ReadingDisney joins Marvel’s fight with Jack Kirby
Disney has issued a memo supporting Marvel in the rights dispute with the heirs of Jack Kirby. THe document is included in the post; we don’t have time to read it now, but we’ll join you back here for the discussion.
Continue ReadingGaiman vs. McFarlane AGAIN?
It's been seven (!) years since Neil Gaiman prevailed in a lawsuit against Todd McFarlane over the rights to characters he created in Spawn, but this is one of those undead cases that still rises from the grave. According to a story in the Wisconsin State Journal, Gaiman has asked for another trial to settle the issue of how much money he's owed for these characters. But Round Two isn't is go yet, as the judge has merely called for a evidentiary hearing on June 14.
Continue ReadingBehind the comics: The last days of Stephen Perry
A lot more information is coming out regarding the presumed murder of former comics and animation writer Stephen Perry. And it is sad and disturbing. Tampa Bay has a jailhouse interview with Perry's ex-roomie, a confirmed OxyContin addict, and the unflattering picture he paints of Perry is unconvincing.
Continue ReadingMichael George bond reduced; second trial looms
It's been quite a long time since we checked in on Michael George, comic shop owner, convention runner and accused murderer. Convicted once of killing his wife Barbara in 1990 years ago, a judge has upheld the defense's request for a new trial and George's bond has just been reduced from from $2.5 million to $500K. With bond approved, instead of rotting in jail while waiting for a new trial, George would be forced to wear a tether and confined to specific, court-mandated areas.
Continue ReadingJazan Wild/Heroes lawsuit not entirely far-fetched?
It would probably be fair to say that a lot of people were snickering a bit when it was announced that Jazan Wild (real name Jason Barnes) was suing Heroes for similarities between his carnival plot and theirs: The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, lists similarities including a carnival that can magically appear and disappear to collect protagonists, a young boy who develops special abilities, a carney or hero running through the woods chased by a mob, a circle of mirrors tied to the key plot, similarities in dialogue, and more. As anyone who has been reading comics or watching tv for more than, oh, five minutes can attest, none of those elements are particularly novel or special. Fact: we edited a carnival story once ourselves and at least one of those elements was in it.
Continue ReadingBig picture news stuff
Heroes is cancelled, a surprise twist in the Siegel vs Warners legal battle and video from the Doug Wright Awards.
Continue ReadingPublishers band together to shut down pirate site
Via Colleen Doran comes word that htmlcomics.com has been shut down by the FBI. The site was a very popular online library of unauthorized comics scans, with hundreds of thousands of issues available at the click of a mouse:
Continue ReadingMiller and Gough sue Warners
It’s Monday so there must be another showbiz lawsuit. This time, Smallville producers Miles Miller and Alfred Gough are suing Warner Bros over breach of contract. As the link explains, this is another “vertical integration” case, which charges that Warners undercut the producer’s share of syndication profits by selling the show at a lower [...]
Continue ReadingKirby heirs sue for copyright
As revealed yesterday, the family of Jack Kirby has officially filed a lawsuit seeking to regain the copyright of the Marvel characters he co-created, including The FF, Thor, Iron Man, the Hulk, Spider-Man, Ant-Man, Nick Fury and The Avengers. The entire complaint is available here. The move comes after a series of legal maneuverings that left [...]
Continue ReadingMust read: Handley’s attorney comments
The Comics Journal has run a statement from Eric A Chase, attorney for Christopher Handley, the Iowa man who pled guilty to “possessing drawings of children being sexually abused.” The statement lays out the reasons why defending Handley in court would have been difficult, but also the absurdity of the crime: Chris, like most everyone else [...]
Continue ReadingDC lawyering up for Siegel case
Over at Blog@ Jeff Trexler decodes some court filings which suggest that DC/Warners MAY expect the Superman case to go to trial. They’ve let go of their previous attorneys (who worked on the Edgar Winter case, among others) and replaced them with Daniel Petrocelli, a very high powered IP lawyer who represented Disney [...]
Continue ReadingLooking at the Handley case
Whatever you do today, read these essays by Charles Brownstein, Jason Thompson, and Carl Horn on the Christopher Handley case. Searching high and low, it is impossible to find an actual crime that has been committed…and yet a man is in jail for six months. “Thought crime” indeed.
Continue ReadingThe Swipist #2: Vera Brosgol and Hot Topic
In yet ANOTHER case of stealing, artist Vera Brosgol noted via Twitter that Hot Topic had totally ripped off her T-shirt design. Brosgol’s drawing had been created for Erika Moen’s birthday. As Valerie D’Orazio pointed out, this is sadly common. But by the end of the day, Hot Topic had pulled the T-shirt (below). Depressingly, [...]
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