Legal Matters

Well, if you wondered if tensions were going to deescalate between former collaborators and childhood friends Tony Moore and Robert Kirkman after Moore filed a suit to collect what he alleges are his fair share of the profits from the Walking Dead comics and TV show, the answer is "HELL NO." Moore has actually filed a SECOND suit claiming that he should be named joint author of THE WALKING DEAD, BATTLE POPE, BRIT, DEAD PLANET and MY NAME IS ABRAHAM. (The latter two are comics as yet unpublished but developed by the two when they were friends.)

In an interesting move, it looks like Marvel might extend 20th Century's 'Daredevil' contract... on the condition that Fox return certain Fantastic Four characters back to them.

By Jeff Trexler

-- Whatever the merits of the latest summary judgment motion in the dispute over the Superman copyright, its supporting exhibits bring together a number of important documents in two accessible filings.

By Jeff Trexler

-- Other comic news sites are reporting a bombshell development in DC's legal fight to hold onto the Superman copyright: on Monday, the company filed a court document asserting that the Shuster estate had actually sold its share of the Superman copyright back to DC in 1992 and affirmed this sale in subsequent correspondence.

The strange affair of The Oatmeal Vs. Funny Junk Vs. Funny Junk's lawyer has ended. Maybe. The suit was dismissed this week, but it's not quite as cut and dried as that. What? You were expecting simple answers in this affair?

As reported by the AP yesterday, the ugly legal battle between Archie Comics's two co-ceo's has ended with a sealed settlement. As you'll recall, Jon Goldwater and Nancy Silberkleit had been engaged in a weird battle that involved restraining orders, enforcers and penises. But...it's all legally mandated smiles now after a mediator got the two to work things out:

We thought the Eagle Awards were over. We were (possibly) wrong.

Daniel Best is at it again, this time with the decades-spanning story of Joe Simons's stolen artwork and a subsequent investigation by the FBI:

Daniel Best digs up the bankruptcy court proceedings for Todd McFarlane Inc. and notes that the $2.2 million settlement includes $1.1 million set aside for the "Gaiman Settlement (Class 4)." As Best notes, this is not necessarily the amount of money that Neil Gaiman received, since lawyers fees were to come out of the money.

In my last post, we looked at the attorney-client privilege question addressed by yesterday's Ninth Circuit ruling in favor of DC. But does a clear victory for DC in a this rather technical legal issue signal a greater loss for the Siegel and Shuster heirs?

Warner Bros is doing the happy dance in the Superman legal tangle after what was called a unanimous and extremely significant ruling from the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Heard before Alex Kozinski, Chief Judge, Diarmuid F. O’Scannlain and N. Randy Smith, Circuit Judges, the Opinion (see link below) was written by Judge O’Scannlain.

By now you know a lot of the wacky details: "Penis! Penis! Penis!", the restraining orders, the menacing muscle who was only a friend, and so on—but this account adds some dog poop.