Legal | Disney on Tuesday asked a panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to dismiss a two-year-old lawsuit by Stan Lee Media claiming the copyright to such Marvel superheroes as Spider-Man, the Avengers and the X-Men. A lawyer for Stan Lee Media, which no longer connected to its namesake, argued a federal judge in Colorado erred last year in dismissing the 2012 complaint, but Disney countered that the copyright claims have been addressed time and again by the courts. "This is their seventh bite of a rotten apple," Disney attorney Jim Quinn said after the hearing. The three-judge panel hasn't issued its decision. [The Associated Press]
Manga | The finale of Masashi Kishimoto's Naruto, which will run in an upcoming issue of Shonen Jump (both the Japanese and the North American editions), will be two chapters long, with the second appearing in full color, the manga magazine announced. Naruto was at one time the bestselling graphic novel in the United States and is still one of the top selling manga in the country. [Anime News Network]
Creators | Jeff Lemire talks about Equinox, the newest addition to the Justice League. [Comicosity]
Creators | Brian Azzarello briefly discusses the end of his run on Wonder Woman. [Kindle Post]
Creators | Cathy Camper, whose children's graphic novel Lowriders in Outer Space debuts next week, explains how she came up with the idea for the book, pitched it and developed it with artist Raul Gonzalez. The story is about a group of friends who detail their low rider by driving it through outer space, and the dialogue mixes Spanish and English. Camper formed the concept for the book while working as a youth services librarian: "I'd bring books to schools and I got really angry. I was seeing diverse groups of kids, but all the books were about white suburban children. As an Arab-American, I know what it's like not to see yourself in books. Plus, so many books that feature kids of color are old, or not written for the world kids live in today, but for the past, their parents' world." Realizing that one-third of households in the U.S. would include Spanish speakers, she created a graphic novel about Latino culture. [The Huffington Post]
Creators | Filmmaker Wes Craven explains the genesis of his comic Coming of Rage, which started as a joke with no punchline. [Kindle Post]
Creators | Minicomics creator Cara Bean is taking a year away from her day job as a high school teacher to hone her craft at the Sequential Artists Workshop (SAW) in Gainesville, Florida. [Panel Patter]
Graphic novels | Martha Cornog discusses a few of her pet peeves about graphic novels, such as the lack of page numbers. [ICv2]
Digital comics | Marvel graphic novels are now available on the Kobo platform. [Publishers Weekly]
Commentary | Bill Kartalopoulos, editor of the Best American Comics series, explains why comics matter, with a strong emphasis on why print comics matter; among other things, he analyzes a Little Nemo Sunday comic to show how reading comics is different from other types of reading. [The Huffington Post]
Conventions | Alex Sanchez (Katana) and Ethan Young (Tails) are among the comics creators who will be guests at the River Road Expo in Nichols, New York, on Sunday; the event is free. [Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin]