Legal | Both Warner Bros. and automobile customizer Mark Towle have filed for summary judgment in the studio's 2011 copyright-infringement lawsuit against Towle, whose Gotham Garage sold several replicas of the Batmobile. Warner, the parent company of DC Comics, claims the design of the Batmobile is its intellectual property, while Towle argues that copyright law does not regard a "useful object," such as a car, as a sculptural work and therefore the design can't be copyrighted. [The Hollywood Reporter]

Crime | Police in Lincoln, Nebraska, are investigating the theft of 600 X-Men comics, dating back to the 1970s, from the communal storage area of an apartment building. [Journal Star]

Digital comics | Jason Snell test-drives Marvel's Digital Comics Unlimited service on the iPad. [TechHive]



Publishing | An overview of the thriving Star Wars franchise includes a section on Dark Horse's new series set between the events of A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, which sees Princess Leia leading a squadron of X-Wing fighters tasked with finding a new home for the Rebellion. [USA Today]

Creators | Tom Spurgeon talks to Sammy Harkham, who edits the indy anthology Kramers Ergot in addition to making his own comics. [The Comics Reporter]

Creators | Spurgeon also talks to Stumptown artist Matthew Southworth; the post is worth a look for the art alone. [The Comics Reporter]

Creators | James Romberger and Marguerite van Cook remember the late artist David Wojnarowicz, their friend and also the subject of their graphic novel 7 Miles a Second, which was originally published by Vertigo but will be coming out in a new edition (with the original coloring) from Fantagraphics in February. [Publishers Weekly]

Creators | The Comics Journal reruns a 2004 interview with Barefoot Gen creator Keiji Nakazawa, who passed away Dec. 19 at the age of 73. [The Comics Journal]

Best of the year | Critic Tucker Stone picks the 19 best comics of 2012. [The Comics Journal]

Best of the year | Digital gurus Daniel Govar and Ron Perrazza pick the best digital comics of 2012. [Comic Book Think Tank]