Legal | The creator of the Islamic superhero comic The 99 says he hasn't been officially notified of a reported ban of the animated adaptation of his comic in Saudi Arabia. “Nobody ever contacted me, nobody ever asked me any questions," Naif Al Mutawa says. There have been numerous Twitter campaigns against me for a while now and so for me it’s not new. Maybe it is true this time, but I find it very difficult to believe that a group as influential and high profile as them [Saudi Arabia’s Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta] wouldn’t recognize the good that The 99 has done for Muslims around the world." He adds that the comic has been available in Saudi Arabia for seven years, while the cartoon has been airing for two and a half years, making the timing of a ban "a bit weird." [Gulf Business]

Passings | New Zealand cartoonist David Henshaw, who chronicled farm life through his character "Jock," has died at the age of 74. Henshaw's comics ran in The New Zealand Farmer for 34 years and in his Jock calendars for another 17; he was made a Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for fostering better understanding between city and country folk through his work. [NZ Farmer]



Creators | Kurt Anderson interviews Gene Luen Yang about his graphic novel Boxers & Saints. [Studio 360]

Creators | Brian Truitt talks to writer Felipe Smith, artist Tradd Moore and Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso about All-New Ghost Rider, which debuts today. The story has been updated with a new lead character who is more of a Peter Parker type than his predecessor, and drives a car based on the 1969 Dodge Charger. "It's been driven by many anti-hero-type characters, making it a good match for Ghost Rider, and is also one of my favorite childhood cars — The Dukes of Hazzard's General Lee," Smith said. [USA Today]

Creators | Mark Waid interrogates Shannon Eric Denton about Doc Savage. [Dynamic Forces]



Creators | I interview writer David Gallaher and artist Steve Ellis, the team behind High Moon and Box 13, who have just put their Kickstarter-funded young adult comic The Only Living Boy online as a webcomic. [Good Comics for Kids]

Creators | Stephan Pastis, who is touring the country to promote the collected edition of his comic strip Pearls Before Swine, talks about how he went from being a lawyer to a full-time cartoonist, how Dilbert creator Scott Adams gave his career a boost, and what it was like to meet Peanuts creator Charles Schulz. [Richmond.com]

Comics | Professional wrestler Christopher Daniels will write an issue of Aw Yeah comics, with art by Art Baltazar. It will debut on comiXology. [Comics Alliance]

Digital comics | The children's comics app Me Comics launched Tuesday in the United Kingdom; a spinoff of the book app Me Books, it features kid-friendly titles such as My Little Pony and that hardy British favorite The Beano. The developers are hoping that the fact that the app carries only children's comics will make it attractive to parents, who won't have to worry about their children seeing adult comics as they browse. [The Guardian]



Fandom | Super G.I. Joe fan Tim Finn, owner of Hub Comics in Somerville, Massachusetts, discusses his love of G.I. Joe, the book he is writing about G.I. Joe, and his plan to give away 200 free copies of G.I. Joe #200 today at his store. [13th Dimension]

Conventions | David DiSalvo enjoyed MegaCon, but he's concerned that many of the attendees aren't actually reading the comics. [Forbes]

Conventions | The Clearwater, Florida, public library is co-sponsoring the first Clearwater Comic Con, together with local retailer Emerald City Comics. "What's really cool is that we're using all five floors of the library including the rooftop," says organizer Dave Stoner, a division manager for the library. "There will be a little stage up there and people can have their pictures taken in costume overlooking the city of Clearwater." [Tampa Bay Times]