Legal | Eriq Gardner delves into the issues underlying the continuing legal battle over unauthorized replicas of the Batmobile from the 1966 Batman television series and the 1989 film: This summer the Ninth Circuit will consider the appeal of Gotham Garage owner Mark Towle, whose Batmobile replicas were found in February 2013 to violate DC Comics' copyrights and trademarks. While Towle argues that Batman's ride is a "useful article," meaning a utilitarian object not protected by U.S. copyright law, a federal judge ruled the Batmobile is “a copyrightable character.” Gardner notes that if the appeals court sides with DC/Warner Bros., "Hollywood studios would win a powerful weapon to stop products that are similar to props like light sabers and ruby slippers." [The Hollywood Reporter]
Creators | Writer Ian Flynn discusses why Mega Man has such enduring appeal, what's going on in the series, and the importance of the recurring theme of family: "You can have robots blowing each other up on every page, but it won’t mean anything to the reader if it doesn’t mean something to the characters. Rock’s not just fighting for an objective or to complete a mission, he’s doing it for the love and safety of his family. It adds a heightened sense of drama to every encounter since it isn’t just Dr. Light’s best robot fighting out there, it’s his son." [Comicosity]
Creators | James Guida reviews two books about Moomins creator Tove Jansson, a biography and her memoir. [The New Yorker]
Creators | Bob Fingerman talks about his continually evolving graphic novel Maximum Minimum Wage. [Den of Geek]
Creators | Lela Gwenn interviews Rat Queens artist Roc Upchurch. [Women Write About Comics]
Creators | Steve Loya, a member of the DC Conspiracy co-op, talks about his work and about being a cartoonist in Washington, D.C. [Washington City Paper]
Lettering | Justin Stroman interviews a number of manga letterers about the challenges and subtleties of their jobs. [Organization Anti-Social Geniuses]
Libraries | The New Port Richey library is getting a graphic novel collection, starting out with 350 volumes. This local-news piece is interesting as it summarizes the arguments for including graphic novels in the collection as well as discussing how the library started its collection from scratch. [Suncoast News]
Retailing | Jeremy Bishop, owner of Arkham City Comics in Auckland, New Zealand, talks about the business and explains how he went from working in a library to owning a comic shop: "I was the customer who hung out too much in the store and just got asked to look after it one day." [Auckland Now]
Exhibits | Allison Latzko pays a visit to the "Wonder Woman" exhibit at the Toonseum in Pittsburgh. Despite the name, the exhibit is not about the DC Comics character but about the history of women creators portraying women characters in comics. [The Pitt News]
Exhibits | "Rebus," a show opening in the Riverview Artspace in Lynchburg, Virginia, tomorrow, will feature "poetry comics" by five artists: Warren Craghead, Bianca Stone, Derik Badman, Andrew White and Sarah Ferrick. [The Burg]
Conventions | Waco Comic Con is coming up this weekend. [Our Town Texas]
Conventions | In August, Sugar City Con will bring the convention experience to North Queensland, Australia, where apparently the demand is high. [ABC]