Legal | A federal judge on Friday denied DC Comics' bid for sanctions against the attorney for the heirs of Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, finding that Marc Toberoff made "no deliberate attempt to mislead" during the discovery process and, perhaps more importantly, did not interfere with the publisher's rights to the Man of Steel when he allegedly inserted himself into settlement talks in 2001. [The Hollywood Reporter]

Legal | Stan Lee will be deposed this week by lawyers representing Stan Lee Media in its multi-billion-dollar lawsuit against Disney involving the rights to the characters the legendary writer co-created for Marvel. Stan Lee Media, which no longer has ties to its namesake, claims Disney as infringed on the copyrights Iron Man, the Avengers, X-Men and other heroes since 2009, when it purchased Marvel. The long, tortured dispute dates back to a sequence of events that occurred between August 1998, when Marvel used its bankruptcy proceedings to terminate Lee’s lifetime contract, and November 1998, when Lee entered into a new agreement with the House of Ideas and signed over his likeness, and any claims to the characters. Stan Lee Media has long claimed that on Oct. 15, 1998, Lee transferred to that company the rights to his creations and his likeness. SLM asserts in the latest lawsuit that neither Marvel nor Disney, which bought the comic company in 2009, has ever registered Lee’s November 1998 agreement with the U.S. Copyright Office. [The Hollywood Reporter]



Retailing | Sales of comics and graphic novels in the direct market were up 10 percent in February, compared to the previous year, according to Diamond Comic Distributors. Graphic novels were actually down slightly but comics sales were up more than 15 percent. The top selling comics were Justice League of America #1 and Uncanny X-Men #1, and Marvel led the market with a 35 percent share while DC had 29 percent. [ICv2]

Manga | Dark Horse Publisher Mike Richardson talks about his company's early days as a manga pioneer (their first title was Godzilla), his surprise at the popularity of shoujo manga, and what he sees for the future, including plans for a new title announcement at Sakuracon. [ICv2]



Creators | Ted Naifeh talks about closing out his long-running Courtney Crumrin series. [Comics Alliance]

Creators | Colleen Doran talks about her own "origin story," her long-running series A Distant Soil, the evolution of the comics industry, and more in a meaty interview. [SciFi Pulse]

Retailing | This profile of Zeus Comics in Dallas touches on owner Richard Neal's refusal to carry Orson Scott Card's Superman comic, but it's really about the store itself and how Neal has made it a destination for Dallas comics lovers, with friendly service and color-coded walls (new releases on the blue wall, back issues on the red wall). [SMU Daily Campus]

Retailing | Merrimack, New Hampshire, will get a new comics shop next week when Merrymack Games and Comics opens its doors. [Merrimack Patch]



Comics | In Lima, Ohio, the setting for the television show Glee and the Archie-Glee crossover comics that launched last week, local retailer Mark Bowker of Alter Ego Comics comments on the city's latest brush with fame. [The Lima News]

Comics | Four Egyptian women have founded an organization dedicated to teaching people how to make comics, as there is no formal instruction there. The group includes a number of arts administrators as well as artists, and they have already held their first workshop and are printing the minicomics that resulted. [Daily News Egypt]

Collecting | Robot 6 contributor Chris Mautner profiles Glen Rock, Pennsylvania, collector Charlie Roberts, whose collection includes over 100 pieces of original comics art by Milton Caniff, Will Eisner, Walt Kelly, and others. [The Patriot-News]