Who could’ve guessed that retailer Gordon Lee, comics legend Stan Lee, DC’s Wildstorm imprint and Virgin Comics would be the big newsmakers on the first day of New York Comic Con?
The big story, without a doubt, was the announcement Friday evening by Neil Gaiman that charges against Rome, Ga., retailer Gordon Lee have been dropped.
Lee’s legal battle stemmed from a Halloween 2004 giveaway during which one of his employees mistakenly handed a copy of the Alternative Comics #2 Free Comic Book Day sampler to a boy. The issue depicts a naked Pablo Picasso. After several false starts, the case finally went to court in October, only to end in mistrial during the prosecutor’s opening statement.
Gaiman said Friday the case has cost the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, which represented Lee, more than $100,000.
But Gordon wasn’t the only Lee in the spotlight: Stan Lee (no relation) kicked off the convention in fine form Thursday night when he was presented with the inaugural New York Comics Legend award. The event, held at the Virgin Megastore in Times Square, drew countless creators and media-types, including Comic Foundry’s Laura Hudson, who had an interesting encounter with the folks from Virgin Comics.
The Stan Lee juggernaut continued on Friday during the invitation-only event for Ultimo, his collaboration with Shaman King creator Hiroyuki Takei for Shueisha’s Jump SQ.II spin-off magazine. As expected, Viz Media’s “exciting news” is that Ultimo will be released in North America shortly.
But wait! The Man isn’t finished: He’ll oversee a line of superhero comics for Virgin Comics, which also announced that writer Grant Morrison and filmmaker Shekhar Kapur are collaborating on an animated series to be delivered via the Internet and mobile phone. The series, titled MBX, is a futuristic retelling of the Mahabharata epic poem.
DC’s Wildstorm imprint, meanwhile, continued efforts to rebrand itself — or, perhaps, simply brand – with the announcement of three license acquisitions: Prototype, Gears of War, and The X-Files. That last property is expected to be officially announced today. However, X-Files creator Chris Carter let the information slip last night.
More coverage of New York Comic Con:
Publisher panels
Mondo Marvel [Newsarama]
Marvel’s Secret Invasion [Newsarama]
DC Nation [Newsarama]
Vertigo [Newsarama]
Minx [CBR]
Editor’s Buzz [Newsarama]
Oni Press [Newsarama]
Viz Media/Ultimo [About.com: Manga] [Giapet]
Legends Behind the Comic Books [CBR]
Virgin/”India’s Edge” [Newsarama]
ChesterQuest [Newsarama]
Spotlight on Bryan Hitch [Newsarama]
Interviews
Mark Waid, on joining Amazing Spider-Man [Newsarama]
Terry Moore, on Marvel’s Runaways [Newsarama]
Gray and Palmiotti, on DC’s new Power Girl series [Newsarama]
Barber, Liu and Andrasofszky on the return of Marvel’s NYX [IGN]
Brian Wood, on The New York Four [New York magazine]
Jimmy Gownley, on Amelia Rules and comics for kids [New York magazine]
Mike Mignola, on new Hellboy titles [CBR]
Mike Mignola, on Hellboy II [New York magazine]
Kirkman and Walker, on Destroyer: MAX [CBR]
Kevin Grievoux, on the Skrull invasion in New Warriors [Newsarama]
Warren Simons, on Secret Invasion: Thor [CBR]
Daniel Way, on Deadpool [CBR]
Brian Reed, on Secret Invasion: Spider-Man [Newsarama]
Abnett and Lanning, on Nova and Guardians of the Galaxy [CBR]
Video interview archive [Newsarama]
Additional coverage
“Young, Hip and Wild About Comics” [New York Times]
Bully at New York Comic Con 2008 [Flickr]
Geekanerd’s Day One panel coverage [Geekanerd]
Johanna Draper Carlson’s Day One notes [CWR]
Action figure gallery, including Watchmen [Action Figure Insider]
