Manga | Rensuke Oshikiri's romantic comedy manga Hi Score Girl will resume serialization in Square Enix's Monthly Big Gangan magazine, after a lengthy hiatus due to copyright issues. The manga was suspended in 2014 after the game company SNK Playmore filed a criminal complaint against Square Enix, claiming the manga used characters from SNK's games without permission. Copyright violations are taken seriously in Japan: Police raided Square Enix's offices, and the publisher not only stopped selling the series but issued a recall. Although Square Enix filed a counterclaim, Tokyo police initiated charges against 16 people, including Oshikiri and Square Enix staffers. The parties agreed on a settlement in August 2015. In addition to resuming serialization of the series, Square Enix will publish the sixth volume and new editions of the first five. [Anime News Network]
Publishing | In a two-part interview, DC co-publishers Dan DiDio and Jim Lee discuss their goals and plans for Rebirth, their pricing strategy, reaction from retailers and more. [ICv2]
Auctions | Vincent Zurzulo, co-owner of Metropolis Collectibles, explains how the increase in interest in black superheroes has led to a rise in auction prices for comics that feature them. A copy of Fantastic Four #52, in which the Black Panther made his debut, sold for $19,200 in 2012; this year a copy in similar condition fetched $83,650 at auction. [Los Angeles Sentinel]
Passings | Czech painter, illustrator and cartoonist Adolf Born has died at age 85. During his long career, his work garnered him the Grand Prix at the International Salon of Cartoons in Montreal and a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres in France. Born worked primarily as a cartoonist in the 1960s and 1970s, and focused on illustration after that; he's best known in his native country as the animator of the children's cartoon Mach and Sebestova, which features two children who enjoy adventures with the help of a magic telephone. [The Washington Post]
Publishing | I spoke with Yen Press publisher Kurt Hassler about Yen Press LLC, the new joint venture that brings together the American publisher Hachette (the former parent company of Yen Press) and the Japanese publisher Kadokawa. Hassler discussed how this will affect both Yen's line and those of other publishers, as Yen now has a first- and last-look option for Kadokawa manga, and why the move was a logical step for both companies. [Publishers Weekly]
Political cartoons | In a radio interview, Sudanese political cartoonist Khalid Albaih talks about his journey across the United States to visit landmarks of the Civil Rights movement. [BBC World Service]
Creators | Kirk Baird covers a joint appearance by cartoonists Lynda Barry and Matt Groening, who met when they were students at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, and have been friends ever since. [Toledo Blade]
Creators | Farel Dalrymple discusses the new edition of Pop Gun War being published by Image Comics. [Women Write About Comics]
Creators | Sophia Foster-Dimino talks about life as a freelancer and how it is reflected in her latest comic My Girl. [Okey-Panky]
Comics | In a radio interview, New York Times reporter George Gene Gustines discusses the trend of prose writers such as Ta-Nehisi Coates, Michael Chabon and Margaret Atwood turning to comics. [NPR]