Legal | Heavy-metal band Iron Maiden has sued Iron and the Maiden LLC to prevent the company from using a "confusingly similar" name to sell comic books, video games and other merchandise. Iron and the Maiden is a comic created by video-game director Jason Rubin and released in 2007 through Aspen Comics as a four-issue miniseries. [TMZ.com]

Publishing | Diamond Comic Distributors has decided not to carry Markosia's collection of Hope Falls, the miniseries by Tony Lee and Dan Boultwood. However, the publisher still will sell the book through Amazon, Diamond UK and other avenues. [Comics Worth Reading]

Publishing | Retailer Brian Hibbs responds to Tom Spurgeon's comments about Diamond's minimum-order policies, and looks at the components of the direct market: consumers, retailers, publishers and distributor(s). [The Savage Critic(s)]



Publishing | Tokyopop has begun licensing some of its titles to Japanese publisher Softbank. Tokyopop editor Lillian Diaz-Przybyl discusses the logistics. [Anime Vice]

Publishing | Former Scholastic editor Sheila Keenan has joined Harry Abrams as a senior editor working on the Abrams ComicsArts imprint. [Publishers Weekly]

Publishing | This article about playwright-turned-comics writer Tom Taylor also offers a snapshot of Gestalt Comics and the Australian publishing industry. [The Australian]

Publishing | A new anthology called The Big Feminist BUT has been announced, edited by Suzanne Kleid, Joan Reilly and Shannon O'Leary, and featuring contributions by Jeffrey Brown, Ayun Hallida, Julia Wertz, Dean Haspiel and others. [The Big Feminist BUT]



Conventions | The National Post continues its preview of the Toronto Comic Arts Festival with interviews with Jason Keiffer, Florrent Ruppert, Eric Kim, Cecil Castellucci, Joey Comeau and Emily Horne, Tom Neely, Brian Evinou, Shannon O'Leary of Sparkplug Comic Books, Arthur Dela Cruz, Antoine Dodé, and Mariko Tamaki. [Toronto Comic Arts Festival]

Webcomics | A look at Eisner Awards nominees Speak No Evil, Vs. and The Lady's Murder. [The Webcomic Overlook]

Creators | Colleen Coover speaks briefly about her influences, her Marvel work and her upcoming graphic novel with Paul Tobin, Gingerbread Girl. [Project Fanboy]

Creators | Mike Carey and Peter Gross talk about their new Vertigo series The Unwritten. [MySpace Comic Books]

Art | I really like Tony Moore's take on Wolverine. [Tony Moore Illustration]

Comics | "The 9 Least Necessary Female Versions of Male Superheroes (and Villains)." I had no idea at least four of these ever existed. [Topless Robot]