Culture

I've long been awaiting Jeff Trexler's analysis of the Marvel/Kirby Settlement, and he starts a two-part piece with Should the Kirby Family Have Settled? In case it hasn't been explicitly stated enough, it was Trexler's exploration of the potentially ground breaking work for hire aspects of the case that Kirby family attorney Marc Toberoff seems to have used to get the Supreme Court to even look at the case. To allow it to go to decision would have established an important precedent—but it was extremely risky for the Kirby heirs:

Todd Klein is the dean of comics lettering in the US, with more awards than he can carry, and a portfolio of logos and classic lettering that would be hard to touch. And he's put it all together for a seven part series on the history of comics lettering:

A graphic novel has become Exhibit A in the latest Obamacare controversy. Clear, simple, understandable, useful - those are just a few of the words...

The Angoulême Festival International de la Bande Dessineé for 2015 has released the schedule of art exhibits, spotlights and other goodies. They attached this...

Although The Beat is a loyal New Yorker subscriber (it's the only thing that holds our attention whilst on the elliptical) just beause you're a subscriber does't mean you get the Cartoons of the Year special edition. However if our email is to be believed, this issue includes several new pieces that may necessitate a trip to the newsstand.

Via Leonard Pederson's Facebook page here's a photo of me interviewing Frank Miller and Bill Sienkiewicz about Elektra Assassin at the Golden Apple in...

Going about your business clad in the underwear of a superhero is a god given right, and it's not just for cosplay any more: Hot Topic is now offering DC underoos in adult sizes including Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Batgirl, Harley Quinn, and Captain America. Please note, these are actually branded Underoos, after a a long ago brand of child sized superheroic undies, as our pal Paul at Idle Hands revealed:

Speaking of that gifting time of the year, we've just partnered with TeePublic to offer the first ever Comics Beat TeePublic Store. TeePublic is a site that offers shirts designed by independent artists—there are hundreds of designs available, smashing up all your favorite pop culture icons and slogan, but The Beat staff has specially curated a store just for our readers. It is hard to choose! AND there's a $14 sales on all shirts until tomorrow—shirts are normally $20 so it's a good deal! And we'll soon have a special Beat t-shirt up in our store as well.

This photo was posted on Marvel.com in a piece commemorating Veteran's Day. Obviously there is no one in comics more suitable for this kind of salute than Kirby who would tell his war stories to all. And

JACK KIRBY ON MARVEL.COM

OH YEAH.

2014 is swiftly drawing to a close. In the midst of making sure my shelves will weather the upcoming Christmas season, I’ll be placing...

By David Nieves Even though Los Angeles is the entertainment capital of the world, ten years ago, you’d be remiss to find comic conventions, toy...

Lion Forge, the mostly digital but going to print comics company, picked up some nice 80s licenses like Punky Brewster and Miami Vice. In the modern era of licensing, it isn't about likenesses and wooden stories, but about reimagining things. So Lion Forge hired Joe Casey and artist Jim Mahfood to do Miami Vice. Bringing Crockett and TUbbs to the modern day. Since both Casey and Mahfood are certifiably bonkers*** this is awesome.