Kibbles ‘n’ Bits 10/20/16: Marvel’s Wikileaks may be coming

§ Nice Art: Kate Beaton‘s “Nasty” is repurposed for our times.

§ Kibbles ‘n’ Bits has been absent because NYCC killed me, and my computer keeps crashing and taking all my links with it. But I found a way to save them! Because The Beat loves you.

§ The loooong, bizarre, only in Florida Harold Peerenboom vs Ike Perlmutter lawsuit entered a fascinating new phase when a judge ruled that Perlmutter’s Marvel emails were discoverable! Perlmutter is the ultra secretive president of Marvel, Peerenboom is a neighbor and they’ve been engaged in a lawsuit involving a tennis court, nasty emails, DNA and other incredibly weird things for years. Peerenboom claims that Perlmutter used his Marvel email account to send some emails claiming Peerenboom was an child molester and anti-Semite, and a judge ruled that this could make Perlmutter’s Marvel emails part of the evidence:

Though Perlmutter intervened with three separate motions for protective orders, Justice Nancy Bannon shot most of them down on Oct. 17. Since Perlmutter knowingly sent emails that third parties at Marvel might scan, it is inarguable that the CEO had minimal privacy expectations, the court found.      

Marvel’s handbook on computer usage, as drafted by its corporate parents at the Walt Disney Co., makes clear that any email sent, received or stored on company assets “are company, and [it] reserve[s] the right to monitor their use,” the Oct. 17 ruling states.      

The Perlmutters say this “sets a dangerous precedent and is contrary to law, and we intend to seek further review.” It actually does, and you can bet there will be appeals. There is a silver lining though, as Perelman’s emails to his wife are not discoverable since their communication was private she could not reasonably be expected to be party to the work related discovery. In other words, asking if meatloaf for dinner is okay is a private thing.

Needless to say, should these emails be turned over, it will be popcorn time for Marvel Kremlinologists.

§ Here is a very newsworthy thing! Attendance at a comic con was smaller than expected. The Central City Comic Con in Yakima Washington had only half the attendees expected, but a terrible windstorm was to blame!

The second-year event, a celebration of comic books, superheroes, sci-fi, fantasy and other aspects of pop culture, drew 2,772 in its inaugural year. Burns had expected 4,000 or so this year. She believes warnings of severe storms in the Northwest kept people from traveling to the three-day convention. Central City Comic Con drew heavily from the Seattle and Portland areas last year. “Fear of the storm really affected it,” she said. “It’s our second year, and the first year showed that this town is ready to support it. We still think they are.”

H/T Brigid Alverson.

§ Hasbro has finally announced HasCon their own convention, to be held Sept. 9-10 in Providence, RI, their HQ. This is part of the ongoing nichification of pop culture shows as companies try to control their appearance more. It doesn’t mean Hasbro, MArvel and the like won’t appear at mega shows like NYCC and SDCC but expect to see more and more of this kind of thing.

§ Some reports on CXC, the second year CAF in Columbus. Alex Hoffman has a thorough wrap-up:

In some ways I think that the show is still growing. From a size perspective, the Marketplace is smaller than SPACE, another small press show in Columbus, but the level of talent is a bit higher? There’s a higher level of publisher involvement, at least. Fantagraphics, Uncivilized Press, Alternative Comics, and Image all had representatives at the show. The whole thing is curated, but there were a lot of familiar local faces as well as some nationally recognized talent. There was also a small international contingent, mostly from Canada. I think that CXC can certainly be another great North American Comics show, and I think it exists in a place that is uniquely invested in comics. I’m excited for things to come.

And the Factual Opinion crew recorded a podcast about the show on the car ride home. a Brilliant idea!

§ Speaking of CSC, dates for next year are September 28-October 1. That’s before the NYCC crazy but right after the SPX crazy. Could be a better time frame.

§ Meanwhile, Frank Santoro went to the Lakes Festival in Britain instead and he also has a thorough report:

One of the current riffs about comics festivals is that many different shows exist within the show. Meaning, you can go to SPX and not even see everything or miss your friends completely – whereas in years past you could lap the room each hour and see everything and everyone there. LICAF is different insomuch as it is not situated centrally in a hotel or a convention center. So what happens is that one has their interactions in the town of Kendal itself. The Brewery Arts Centre provides ample space to host everyone and the short walk to the Clock Tower is where I found myself most often running into friendly faces – friends and strangers alike. It was very pleasant, I thought, especially because it was so unlike what we are used to in the States and specific to the town of Kendal.

§ The referendum on the San Diego Convention Center expansion is probably the second mot hotly contested voting matter on November 8th. Architect David McCullough has a long and thoughtful examination of the matter which suggest that bigger is not always better:

Also, the latest trend in immersive conventions is to occupy the cityscape.  If you have been to Comic-Con, you have noticed that this is what makes this convention so special.  The city is truly transformed.  I might even argue that the best part of this convention is what happens in the streets. So my point, think of the possibilities: If investments are made in downtown, not just the convention center, to accommodate large amounts of people connected to the center, and if the convention center was upgraded to be truly a special city center – not just larger, but truly integrated into downtown, then wouldn’t this make for a more vibrant downtown and convention center experience?

§ A toddler’s choice of a Superman costume for her school photo is adorable

§ The Kindle got an upgrade that makes reading manga and comics even easier.