Legal | Attorney Tom Goldstein, co-founder of the respected SCOTUSblog, has joined with Marc Toberoff to represent the heirs of Jack Kirby in their appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court of the Second Circuit's affirmation that the artist's contributions to Marvel between 1958 and 1963 were work for hire and therefore not subject to copyright termination. In a response filed this week to Marvel's brief urging the high court to decline review, Goldstein and Toberoff again challenge the Second Circuit's "instance and expense" test and its definition of "employer," and argue, "Many of our most celebrated literary and musical works were created before 1978 and signed away to publishers in un-remunerative transactions. Termination rights were 'needed because of the unequal bargaining position of authors.' It would be hard to find a better example of this than the prolific Jack Kirby, who worked in his basement with no contract, no financial security and no employment benefits, but without whom Marvel might not even be in business today." [Hollyqood, Esq.]

Retailing | Memo to politicians: You don't win friends and influence people by taking up five spots in a comic store's parking lot with your campaign bus on a Wednesday — especially when it's Batman Day. [The Clarion-Ledger]

Comics | Beneath a headline that declares "Golden Age of Comics Is Now," Nathan Reese spotlights Image Comics and the rise of creator-owned comics, with quotes from Eric Stephenson, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Rick Remender, Matt Fraction and Frank J. Barbiere. [Complex]

Conventions | Today's Comic-Con-isn't-so-bad-after-all article is by Brian Doherty, who compares it to the Burning Man Festival, which also isn't as bad as people say (despite Grover Norquist being in attendance this year). [Reason]

Publishing | Annie Koyama, of Koyama Press, talks about what it's like to be an independent small publisher. [Off Life]

Creators | Kyle Norris looks at the career of African-American cartoonist Jackie Ormes, who died in 1985. [NPR]

Creators | Becky Cloonan talks about notable firsts in her life, including the first comic she read and the first comic she self-published. [The A.V. Club]

Creators | Matt Kindt discusses comics that mess with your mind — and who better to do that?. [The A.V. Club]

Creators | Writer Ann Nocenti talks about what she did instead of going to Comic-Con International. [13th Dimension]

Retailing | Sang Truong, owner of 5280 Comics in Littleton, Colorado, talks about what he does and why he likes it. His biggest challenge: "With the popularity of comic-book collecting increasing, the biggest challenge currently is finding collections to fill the backlist." [The Denver Post]

Retailing | Here's a short profile, with photos, of Green Flash Comics, the only comic shop on the island of Saipan. [Marianas Variety]

Fandom | Author Salman Rushdie reveals himself as "kind of an expert" when it comes to comic books -- but only the classics. "“Not these days," he said, "because the heroes are different and new — but the old guys, Superman and Batman, I know a lot.” [Page Six]