Legal | Steve Shamus attorney has responded to the lawsuit filed by Shamus's former employer, Wizard World. The lawsuit alleges that Shamus, who was Wizard World's chief marketing officer until he was terminated on October 27, had guests at the shows provide autographs that he later sold in other venues, and sometimes made deals with guests that lost money for Wizard World in order to get the autographs for himself. The attorney, Michael L. Ferch, said there was "no merit whatsoever" to the lawsuit: “Wizard World owes Stephen unpaid compensation and, when he asked to be paid, unfortunately Wizard World ran to the courthouse claiming Stephen diverted company property for his personal gain. Again, there is no basis for Wizard World's lawsuit and its allegations are meritless.” [ICv2]

Legal | A Turkish court has ordered that political cartoonist Musa Kart and eight of his colleagues from the opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet be detained in jail pending their trial on unspecified charges. Murat Sabuncu, editor in chief of Cumhuriyet, and eight senior staffers from the paper were arrested on October 31 and questioned about allegations of supporting Kurdish militants and the cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is accused of leading last summer's failed coup against the government. A coalition of 14 international freedom-of-speech organizations condemned the arrests as "an extraordinary attack on press freedom, freedom of expression and the journalistic profession" and called for the immediate release of all the journalists. [Salon]

Passings | The Indonesian cartoonist Harya Suraminata, known as Hasmi, has died. Hasmi was the creator of Gundala Putera Petir (Gundala, the Son of Thunder), an Indonesian superhero comic about a scientist who gained superpowers after being struck by lightning. [The Jakarta Post]

Political Cartoons | Indianapolis Star political cartoonist Gary Varvel talks about his job—and his expectation that he will continue to have plenty of material after the election. [WIBC]

Creators | Mariko Tamaki, co-creator of "Skim" and "This One Summer," discussed her work at WordsFest in London, Ontario: “I was a teenage girl who was queer that went to an all-girls private school. So I’ve been that person and I know that place really well, and I obviously typically want to start writing from a place that feels really familiar.” [The Western Gazette]

Creators | In a podcast interview, Ruben Bolling, creator of "Tom the Dancing Bug," talks about Trump, technology, and political cartooning in a post-alt-weekly world. [TechCrunch]

Graphic Novels | I rounded up some game-based comics and graphic novels that can be enjoyed by gamers and non-gamers alike. [School Library Journal]

Fans | National Guardsman Devone Jackson talks about how anime served as an escape from his rough childhood growing up in North Philadelphia with a single father, in a neighborhood where he could seldom venture outside; although it made him something of an outsider, anime also gave him something to cling to, and he hopes to become an animator himself someday. [The Progress-Index]

Awards | Marvel Comics and Kodansha, the largest publisher in Japan, are co-sponsoring the Magazine "Marvel" Award, a Japanese competition for artists to create original comics or manga featuring the lead characters from "Iron Man," "Captain America," "Spider-Man," and "Guardians of the Galaxy." The grand prize is 3 million yen (about US$28,700.00). [Crunchyroll]

Conventions | For the second time in two years, a major guest has canceled an appearance at Rhode Island Comic Con at the last minute, with Kate Beckinsale no longer coming to the show. The local news looks at the bigger picture of the cost of tickets to see the big names and what policies conventions have for compensating ticket-holders if they cancel. [TurnTo10]