Notable Links for 02/25

* OK, first the big news that everyone probably already knows: the Good Guys Won.

Legal matters are never cut and dried under the best of circumstances and this litigation was no exception. As much as we all wanted to believe that Neil Gaiman was going to win, it never really seemed like it was a shoe-in - because sometimes these things don't work out that way. That's life. But - this time, at least, they did.

And in case you're wondering in what status this leaves the Miracleman rights, Mr. Gaiman has an answer for you here.

* I promised a more in-depth look at the life and work of the late Arthur Chartier if I could find one, and sure enough I did. Link courtesy of Canada's National Post.

* Renowned Indian cartoonist Clarence Rozario has passed away. Read more here (scan down a bit on the page), courtesy of the Chandigarh Newsline.

* The controversy over a recent racially-insensitive cartoon published in Columbia University's parady paper "The Fed" continues to cause controversy. Interestingly, the Fed's recent 'toon was apperantly only one of many recent incidents to escalate racial tensions on the Columbia campus. Read more here, courtesy of the Columbia Spectator.

* Online alternative media zine The Top Hat has a few comics-related items that might interest you. Chris Lanier has an engrossing study of Mat Brinkman's seminal debut "Teratoid Heights" here. Mr. Lanier also does a great job explicating Craig Thompson's "Blankets" here. Finally, Phil Nugent takes a wry look at both the "American Splendor" movie adaption and Terry Zwigoff's recent skewed holday picture "Bad Santa" here.

* "Josh Ferrin of the University of Utah has won this year's John Locher Award as best student editorial cartoonist, according to Tribune Media Services (TMS) editorial cartoonist Dick Locher." Read more here, courtesy of Editor & Publisher.

* OK, the enduring popularity of Roy Lichtenstein is not only a mystery to me but damn near an affront to my intelligence, but I would be disingenuous if I didn't link to this article on his work here, published in anticipation of the opening of a new retrospective of his work in London. Courtesy of The Daily Telegraph.

* Comics continue to take baby-steps into the nascent world of handheld computing - read more about BugMe! Comics Edition here, courtesy of eMediaWire.

* Wired takes a look at the recent Alternative Press Expo in San Francisco as part of an attempt to understand the still-changing nature of printed work vs. web-based work in the comics world. Man, that was more complicated sentence than necessary, no? Read all about it here.

* Silver Bullet Comics takes a look at the burning question of whether bad comics really exist here. Do I need to answer this?

* Douglas Wolk of the Minneapolis-based City Pages reviews Alan Moore's novel "Voice of the Fire" here.

* I never knew famed sci-fi author Harry Harrison drew comics in the 50's - I guess you learn something new every day. Link courtesy of the University of South Florida Oracle.

* Twelve year-old Jose Torres of Philadelphia wants to draw comics when he grows up. Good luck, kid, you're gonna need it! Read all about it here, courtesy of Philly.com.

* I had no idea Superman was a leap-year baby. I guess you learn something new and totally fucking useless every day. Read more here, courtesy of the London Times-Mirror.

* Thought that "interview" with Dave Sim I posted the link to yesterday was funny? Zach S. of Silver Bullet Comics interviews Neil Gaiman here, to similar effect.

* Want to help Fantagraphics and stick it to industry gnome Ted Rall at the same time? Here's how you can help... courtesy of The New York Press.

* The International Olympic Committee has published a new comic book called "The Truce Story", for distribution to schoolchildren across the globe in commemoration of this year's Olympic games in Athens. This will most likely be the most widely read comic of the year, folks, so I would suggest you read more here. Link courtesy of Olympic.org.

* Who says comics creators can't branch into film? Well... at least, Scott Phillips and John Howard, the collaborators behind "Horny Biker Sluts" are going Hollywood. Their going to be directing an as-yet-untitled feature-length porn movie for Evil Angel studios. Read more here, but I wouldn't click on that link if you were under eighteen or reading in a public place. Link courtesy of - gulp - Adult Video News. Don't tell your parents.

* The purists may wail, but the march of manga-ka continues apace: M. Alice "Marty" LeGrow has won this year's Tokyopop Rising Stars of Manga competition, and has been rewarded with a multi-volume book deal for her troubles. Read more here, courtesy of the Anime News Network.

* OK, maybe its just a press release, but the fact that Titan Books is releasing a NEW Marshal Law graphic novel is really just super hella cool. Why isn't this bigger news? Link courtesy of The Pulse.

* Evan Dorkin has a number of interesting comments on a number of interesting things here. Thanks to Neilaien for the link.

* "Stagestruck Kids will present a cartooning and comic book art workshop Feb. 29 for kids in grades 2-12. The workshop will be taught by Dave Devries of Marvel Comics at the Stagestruck Performing Arts Studio, 1790 Springfield Ave., New Providence, New Jersey." Read more here (scan down the page a bit), courtesy of NJ.com.

* Sean T. Collins has written a very long response to the Journal's very long response to his very long letter of criticism printed in issue #258 of that selfsame magazine. In all honesty I can't say I even have the time to consider reading it right now, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't. Although there were some logical errors in Collins' initial letter, his main point was sound, and I am interested in (eventually) seeing if he can bolster his arguments further.

* Happy birthday to Neilalien. Maybe he'll be able to spend his birthday money to get something new besides all those Dr. Strange comics he must have worn to tatters by now... (Oooh, I know you didn't! I know I did!)

* It's almost too self indulgent, but what the hell, I'm only in this for the money anyway: the Pulse takes a look at the current crop of comics bloggers in today's installment of The Beat.

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Anyway, that's that for today. Those of you interested in these things might like to know I'm planning (cross fingers) on possibly dropping another extended essay this weekend. If it gets anything near the response my last essay did, I might just make Alan David Doane's head explode. Which is the idea, after all.