Comics Lowdown: Frank Miller sued for $1M by ex-business manager

Plus: Wonder Woman fights human trafficking, Jody Houser, Ben Hatke, and lots of SDCC news reporting

Frank Miller’s former business manager of 28 years has filed a lawsuit against the writer-director for over $1 million in damages for breach of contract.  Mark Lichtman claims he is entitled to 10 percent of Miller’s entertainment earnings of over $15 million from projects like Sin City300 and The Spirit, and was a key part of developing Miller’s career.

In the complaint filed Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Lichtman alleges he was being forced out by Silenn Thomas without Frank Miller’s knowledge. The suit also accuses Thomas of years of defaming him and receiving an “abusive and derogatory” email referring to Lichtman as a “bad Jew.”

The suit also names Thomas for intentional interference with contract and prospective economic advantage.

All-Star Comics #8, Wonder Woman #1, and Sensation Comics #1

The fight against human trafficking: Three rare, key issues of Wonder Woman’s history will be going up for auction to raise funds for Trafficking Hope,  an anti-human trafficking advocacy group. Up for auction are:

  • All-Star Comics #8 (1941) – Wonder Woman’s first appearance
  • Sensation Comics #1 (1942) – where Wonder Woman had a starring role
  • Wonder Woman #1 (1942)  – Her first solo title

The eBay for Charity auctions will take place in August.

Interviews and Profiles

Faith t-shirt

Jody Houser talks to the Orange County Register about her Eisner-nominated comic Faith (Valiant), her DC/Young Animal title Mother Panic and her old webcomic, Cupcake POW.

The summary was girls don’t need comics about ‘princesses and unicorns and cupcakes, and I thought, ‘Huh, what would a comic about a cupcake be like?’

Ben Hatke on tour (Photo: BenHatke.com)

Holy comics!: For nearly 20 years, Ben Hatke has been drawing comics, school textbooks, graphic novels and children’s books, but now the Catholic cartoonist’s creation, Zita the Spacegirl, has been optioned by 20th Century Fox and his book, Little Robot, won the 2016 Eisner award in the early readers’ category. Hatke talks about his work and how it reflects his family life.

Conventions and Festivals

San Diego Comic-Con banner flies overhead in the San Diego Convention Center (Photo: Stephanie Chan)

Want to read a story about Comic-Con?: Take your pick! With the start of Comic-Con, the media hunted down an angle many of us have known for years: the focus of Comic-Con has gone more toward movies and TV shows. Nevertheless,  TV, film and video games take centre stage at the expense of comics.

But calm down, as comic sales are increasing since comic-based movies and television have gone mainstream! Yet, Marvel EIC Axel Alonso thinks the rush of interest only lasts for three months and reactions to bad public relations is a good indicator of comics’ reach to the public. Then you have to ask, is Comic-Con even relevant to TV and film makers anymore because studios are now hosting their own festivals, like Disney’s D23? Either way, it’s probably good for all to read the untold history of San-Diego Comic-Con.

 

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