Auctions | Joe Kubert's original cover art for "Battle Classics" #3, signed by the artist, sold for $8,360 at auction earlier this month at Philip Weiss Auctions in Lynbrook, New York. The series was canceled after the first issue, so the cover was never published; it came directly from the artist's estate. A second Kubert original, the cover for "Mystery in Space" #111, went for $6,038. [Artfix Daily]

Legal | Gala Renaud, widow of the late "Charlie Hebdo" cartoonist Michel Renaud, has sued the satirical magazine, claiming the editors haven't compensated the victims of the January 2015 shooting at the publication's Paris headquarters. Renaud was one of 12 "Charlie Hebdo" staff members killed in the attack, which drew international attention — and filled the coffers of the paper, through both donations and sharply increased sales. Although Renaud claims editors promised to provide funds for the victims' families, a "Charlie Hebdo" representative told the newspaper La Montagne, "We have always said that the proceeds from the sale of the newspaper should be devoted to ensure its sustainability." [Artforum]



Manga | Can't get enough of "Dragon Ball," "Tokyo Ghoul" or "Naruto"? Viz Media has posted the first chapters of three spinoff manga for free online: "Dragon Ball Super," "Tokyo Ghoul [Jack]" and "Naruto: Chibi Sasuke's Sharingan Legend." Viz publishes the three original manga but has not yet announced the licenses for the spinoffs. [Anime News Network]

Conventions | Although the entertainment guests and events may take center stage, Comic-Con International still has a substantial comics presence. Heidi MacDonald talks to a number of comics publishers about their reasons for going to the convention year after year — and to one who has chosen not to. [Publishers Weekly]

Passings | Iranian cartoonist Mohammad-Rafi Ziai died June 23 at age 68. An active cartoonist and writer about comics for 30 years, his work appeared in "Cartoon for Children," "Kayhan Caricature" and other publications. [Tehran Times]

Publishing | I interviewed Terry Nantier and Jim Salicrup of Papercutz, which launched in 2005, when children's graphic novels were a much smaller market than they are now. We discuss their early strategy, their licensed titles, and how things have changed over the past 11 years. [Publishers Weekly]

Creators | There were no comic shops on the Navajo Reservation when Damon Begay was growing, but he found some comics in a gas station and that sparked his passion. Now the 24-year-old Arizona State University student is making his own comics — and making a living at it, selling his work at conventions and in local comic shops in Phoenix, where he now lives. [The State Press]

Creators | In the 1920s and 1930s, cartoonist William Donahey (creator of the comic strip "The Teenie Weenies") and his wife, author Mary Dickerson Donahey, spent their summers in a cottage shaped like a pickle barrel — and constructed just like a real barrel — in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. [Michigan Public Radio]

Conventions | Ticket sales for the third Mississippi Comic Con were triple what they were for last year's event, and fans lined up for as much as 45 minutes in the summer heat; three people passed out while in line. Next year the convention will expand to fill the entire Mississippi Trademart building, so attendees will be able to line up indoors. [Clarion-Ledger]