Legal | In the aftermath of last month's ruling that DC Comics retains full rights to Superman, the heirs of creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster are urging federal judge to dismiss claims that their lawyer interfered with the publisher's copyright to the character. DC sued attorney Marc Toberoff in May 2010, accusing him impeding a 1992 copyright agreement with the heirs by striking overriding deals with them in 2001 and 2003. The families insist the publisher filed its claims two years too late, as the statute of limitations expired in 2008. [Law360]

Webcomics | Malicious hackers hit the Blind Ferret servers last week, and they didn't just wipe out the websites that host Least I Could Do, Girls with Slingshots and other high-profile webcomics -- they also wiped out the backups. Gary Tyrell has the story and advises creators to have multiple backups in multiple locations. [Fleen]

Publishing | Drawn and Quarterly will publish Shigeru Mizuki's eight-volume series Showa: A History of Showa Japan; the Showa Period ran from roughly 1926 to 1989 so it encompasses World War II and its aftermath. Mizuki won an Eisner Award last year for Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths, and his NonNonBa won the prize for best album at Angouleme in 2007. [Anime News Network]



Awards | The 2012 SPACE Prizes for the best comics at the Small Press Alternative Comics Expo in Columbus, Ohio, have been announced. [Space Guy 13]

Publishing | Former Tokyopop senior editor Lillian Diaz-Przybyl and professional manga adapter Lianne Sentar announced their new enterprise Chromatic Press, which has ambitious plans for digital publication of light novels, original English language (OEL) manga, and audio dramas. There are two other backers, both of whom have serious geek cred, and they are launching the line with Sentar's novel Tokyo Demons and the return (and conclusion) of one of the best Tokyopop OEL manga, Jen Lee Quick's Off*Beat. Related: Lissa Pattillo talks to Quick about Off*Beat. [MTV Geek]

Graphic novels | First Second editorial director Mark Siegel and editor Calista Brill talk about how the graphic novel market has evolved, and offer some recommendations for book clubs. [GeekMom]

Creators | James Kochalka talks about his 14 years of drawing the diary comic American Elf. [Panel to Panel]



Creators | Ahead of today's debut of The Fearless Defenders, writer Cullen Bunn discusses Marvel's new female-focused superhero series. [USA Today]

Creators | Jim Zubkavich, writer of Skullkickers, Street Fighter and Pathfinder, explains how he writes fight scenes. [Zub Tales]

Comics | Jessie Scheeden provides a guide to Marvel's many Avengers series, with a brief rundown on how each one fits into the big picture and who might find it appealing. [IGN]

Manga | Two Shonen Jump creators take a sick day: Tite Kubo (Bleach) and Hideaki Sorachi (Gin Tama) are both ill with the flu and were unable to turn in this week's chapters. The Japanese magazine ran an apology and promised they would be back next week; Bleach runs simultaneously in the American Shonen Jump so those readers missed an installment as well. [Anime News Network]

Exhibit | An exhibit at the Ohio Art League Gallery in Columbus, Ohio, will showcase the vibrant local comics scene and feature a pop-up comics store as well as a panel discussion on local comics and presentations by Caitlin McGuirk of the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum and Derf Backderf (My Friend Dahmner). [The Lantern]

Manga | Shueisha, one of the biggest publishers in Japan (and the parent company of the U.S. publisher Viz) has signed a deal with the Chinese internet portal TenCent to publish 11 of its titles, including Naruto, One Piece and Dragon Ball, online. [China Daily]

Academia | Writing for the Oklahoma University paper, Morgan George has more details on that OU study that found that graphic novels can be more effective than regular textbooks. [OU Daily]