The Sunday Spotlight: The ‘F. It. Life Is Short. Just Have More Fun’ Edition

And that’s Christmas done… hope it was a good one for you all. Before we move into the next round of holidays for the New Year, time to catch up with a little bit of comics news with The Sunday Spotlight…

It’s end-of-year list time…

Oh yes, many, many, many end-of-year lists to choose from. Of course, your first port of call will be our very own best-of-year lists from all the talented folks (and me) here at Comicon. But here’s just a few others from hither and yon…

50 best of the year from The Beat, Rachel Brittain at Book Riot, Marianna Gould and Kiera Egan at Cosmopolitan, Rob Salkowitz at Forbes, Stephen Jewel at Games Radar, Gosh Comics – adults and kids/YA, James Smart and Rachel Cooke at The Guardian, Tom Batten & Melissa DeWild at Library Journal. I’m sure there’s a hell of a lot more out there. But always good to see the sheer variety of books on these lists, something great on each and every one.

The UK Government wants to let AI use copyrighted material – tell it to do one…

AI is good for some things, and will continue to develop. But when it comes to creativity, writing, art, it’s a terrible thing, based on stealing the work from human creators to train the AI. Generative AI art is theft, it’s as simple as that. And theft is bad. Theft should be opposed. Not, as the UK government are proposing to do, be encouraged.

Yes, the UK government currently have a consultation underway where they’re talking about a broad copyright exemption for commercial generative AI. Meaning that it would be perfectly legal for the generative AI to use/steal an artist’s work without agreement or compensation. Yes, there’s talk of an opt-out option, but that puts the load onto the creator, most of whom already have more than enough to do with making art and keeping warm.

This is something that needs opposing. Copyright law is important and any threats to it, particularly those blatantly designed to appease and support something that is purely in the business of stealing work to make money off it, need to be fought.

The consultation document is here. There’s also a template letter to write to your MP about it here. And here’s a Guardian article all about it.

And here’s a fitting meme that’s been going around… original art from Norman Mingo, MAD, 1974)

.

Good news for comics – Brian Hibb’s latest Tilting at Windmills sees an upward swing in comic periodical sales…

Brian Hibbs, as you should probably know, is the owner of Comix Experience in San Francisco. His store is one of the great ones. We regularly tell you about their graphic novel club picks, as they’re always an indicator of something great to read. He also speaks with great knowledge and experience about the state of the comics retail market – and that’s something you should most definitely be interested in. If you’re a lover of comics, you need to support the medium you love.

His Tilting at Windmills column at Heidi McDonald‘s The Comics Beat is now up to #299, and has some rather positive news about how comic periodical sales have gone this year…

Here’s Brian’s intro to this one:

‘The general fortunes of periodical comics has become a rising tide over the last year, between Image/Skybound’s Energon Universe, Marvel’s “Ultimate” and X-Men relaunches, and the end of the year culminating with DC’s “Absolute” line.  Very clearly, when you produce the kinds of comics that people want, that brings more of them in to buy those periodicals, and those people get exposed to the entire panoply of material being produced.’

As always, it’s a fascinating look at sales, distribution, and the ongoing health of the retail comics market. Go read.

.

Hellboy Universe Megabundle – so much great Mignolaverse going to a good cause…

Ending Thursday 2 January, so you’ve got to be quick to pick this one up if you haven’t – a huge Humble Bundle of Mike Mignola‘s Hellboy Universe.

As with all Humble Bundle’s, this one’s all digital, offering you a load of books for very little money – with your choice as to where the money goes, with the opportunity to split it between Humble Bundle, the publisher, and the chosen charity – World Central Kitchen.

Tiers start at just $1 (three books) all the way to just at least $38 for an astonishing 101 books. And given the value – would it not be a damn fine idea to add in some extra cash to a very, very important charity providing meals in response to humanitarian, climate, and community crises?

.

And another Humble Bundle to go for… Manara, Moebius, and The Metabarons…

Yep, there’s plenty of insane bargains in the post-Christmas comics world – take this Humanoids Humble Bundle, running to 4 January and offering you the chance to pick up digital versions of some classics from Moebius, Alexandro Jodorowsky, Milo Manara, John Cassaday, Juan Gimenez, and many more, including the epic Moebius/Jodorowsky Incal, Metal Hurlant Selected Works, and the Metabarons saga.

As usual, it’s a pay what you want from $1 for eight books, through to at least $25 for an unbelievable 150 books. Yes, 150 books for $38. Wow.

However, as with all Humble Bundles, the money goes where you want, split between Humble, publisher Humanoids, and the chosen charity which, in this case, is the American anti-censorship group, Freedom to Read Foundation – another excellent charity, and one you should really throw in a few more bucks to seeing as you’re getting so much incredible reading out of this one.

.

Into the public domain in 2025… Popeye and Tintin…

After the big fuss over Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh coming into public domain in the US on 1 Jan 2024 and 2023 respectively, the next two big comic characters to become public domain in the USA are Popeye and Tintin, both hitting the 95 year mark since first appearing in the USA. Additionally, there’s even more Mickey Mouse moments that come into public domain for the first time – a speaking, white glove wearing mouse for a start.

But of course, as you’ll have noticed from the very few uses of Mickey and Winnie outside of a few cartoons and a few shock-value movies, just because something’s public domain doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a free-for-all. Because all that’s in the public domain for both Popeye and Tintin is the very earliest version of the characters. No spinach for Popeye for example, and no distinctive colours for Tintin either.

So, there’s really nothing that will change. Especially not outside of the US, where other copyright rules apply – most countries adopting the model of characters only becoming public domain 70 years after the creators death – so that’s 70 years after Hergé left us in 1983. Don’t be expecting huge amounts of new Popeye and Tintin stories quite yet.

AP News has the full article here.

.

More best of year stuff – the 2000 AD Thrill-Cast has the years’ best from the Prog…

Yes, more best of year stuff (well, it is that time of year, after all!) – this time it’s Michael Molcher of 2000 AD talking to KLO-E and Sam Thielman to pick their favourites from the year in 2000 AD and the Treasury of British Comics. It includes Nemesis the Warlock Definitive Edition Vol.1, Hugo Pratt: The Iron Fist, Sláine: The Horned God Anniversary Edition, Judge Dredd: A Better World, Rogue Trooper: Blighty Valley, and the Misty Special.

YouTube below, but it’s also available on audio either on Soundcloud here or wherever you get your podcasts from. This is the last Thrill-Cast of 2024 and it’s promised to be relaunching with something new on 15 January.