Comic Riffs reported last month that Justin Bieber was getting his own comic book, courtesy of the Vancouver-based publisher Bluewater Productions. Now, a Los Angeles attorney is saying: Not so fast.
Bluewater publisher Darren G. Davis tells Comic Riffs that his company has received a cease-and-desist order from licensing attorney Kenneth Feinswog, whose clients reportedly include Bieber and Lady Gaga.
“The original cease-and-desist was about Bieber,” Davis tells ‘Riffs, adding: “We got a letter from the lawyer citing a bunch of cases about non-related biography comic books.”
“Fame: Justin Bieber” is planned as a 32-page bio-comic tracking the pop idol’s rise from YouTube discovery to global phenomenon.
“We have the legal right to use Justin Bieber’s name, likeness and persona in our truthful expressive works, our comic books, and we stand by our First Amendment rights,” Davis tells us, contending that the same right applies to its Lady Gaga comics, too.
Bluewater had announced Tuesday that it was releasing its first sequel bio-comic: a new issue on Lady Gaga, according to BleedingCool.com. The site notes that “Feinswog is the same lawyer who (unsuccessfully) sued Revolutionary Comics on behalf of the New Kids on the Block and Motley Crue in the early nineties over that company’s comic book biographies.”
The Revolutionary Comics connection is even stronger: MTV reports that in 2009, “Bluewater purchased the right to reprint ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics,’ a line of unauthorized biography comics published by Revolutionary Comics in the 1990s.”
Specializing in biographical nonfiction comics, Bluewater has multiple series, including “Political Power” and “Female Force.” The “Fame” series has also featured Robert Pattinson and Taylor Swift. The comics are unauthorized biographies.
