Free Latifa’s co-founder, Latifa’s cousin Marcus Essabri, was photographed with her in IcelandThe organisers of a campaign to free Princess Latifa, who was captured three years ago trying to leave Dubai by her father, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, have disbanded it after the latest photograph of the princess out with friends emerged, and her cousin, the campaign’s co-founder, confirmed he had seen her looking happy and well.A photo of Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed al-Maktoum and her cousin, Marcus Essabri, in Iceland along with Sioned Taylor, a British woman who has previously appeared in pictures with Latifa, was posted on Taylor’s Instagram account on Monday. Latifa has not yet spoken publicly. Continue reading...

Exclusive: ministers to make traffic provisions indefinite in expectation of further cross-Channel disruptionEmergency powers to handle post-Brexit queues of lorries heading for France are being made permanent, signalling the government expects further cross-Channel disruption.Operation Brock, a traffic management system designed to cope with queues of up to 13,000 lorries heading for mainland Europe across Kent, was meant to end by October 2021, after being extended once when the Brexit transition period ended in December 2020. Continue reading...

Body and equipment found by Daniel Colegate close to where bone was discovered two weeks agoThe body of the British hiker Esther Dingley has been found by her partner in the Pyrenees, nearly seven months after she went missing on the Spanish and French border.The remains of the 37-year-old were discovered along with her equipment close to where a skull bone was found two weeks ago, according to a charity supporting Dingley’s family. Continue reading...

As the alleged victim of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein files a lawsuit in New York how will taking the action in the US affect the case?On Monday, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, an alleged victim of the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, filed a lawsuit against Prince Andrew in federal court in New York. Haroon Siddique examines what has prompted her to take action now and what will probably happen next. Continue reading...

Along with Poland, the two Baltic states accuse Alexander Lukashenko of ‘hybrid warfare’Latvia has declared a state of emergency and Lithuania is mulling a razor-wire fence to stop record numbers of migrants crossing their borders from Belarus, amid claims Minsk is using the arrivals as leverage on EU states to reverse sanctions.Authorities in the two Baltic states and Poland have faced increases in illegal migration so severe they have appealed to Brussels for help, accusing the Belarusian president, Alexander Lukashenko, of orchestrating the crossings in a form of “hybrid warfare”. Continue reading...

The climate activist says that the last piece of new clothing she bought was three years agoClimate activist Greta Thunberg has used an interview with a top style and culture magazine to call out fast fashion companies for “greenwashing”.In an Instagram post to accompany her appearance on the cover of the first issue of Vogue Scandinavia, Thunberg spoke out about the contradiction between mass produced fashion and sustainability. Continue reading...

Tanks roll through streets of Brasília as congress prepares to vote on plans to change Brazil’s voting systemCritics have denounced Jair Bolsonaro’s “banana republic-style” decision to send tanks on to the streets of Brazil’s capital for a rare military parade in what was widely seen as a beleaguered president’s ham-fisted attempt to project strength.Bolsonaro, whose ratings have plunged as a result of his chaotic response to the Covid pandemic, looked on from the marble ramp outside the presidential palace as a motorcade of armoured vehicles trundled past on Tuesday morning. Continue reading...

Virginia Roberts Giuffre filed lawsuit against Andrew in New York on Monday accusing him of sexually abusing herVirginia Roberts Giuffre sued Prince Andrew after the British royal “stonewalled” requests by US federal prosecutors to cooperate with their inquiries into the child sex trafficking crimes of deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein, court documents have described.Giuffre filed a lawsuit against Andrew in federal court in New York on Monday accusing , him of sexually abusing her at Epstein’s mansion in Manhattan and at other locations in 2001 when she 17, according to court records. Continue reading...

Norse Atlantic Airways to launch low-cost flights between Europe and the US by next springThe new low-cost long-haul Norwegian airline Norse Atlantic Airways has announced plans to fly between Europe and the US from early 2022, as it aims to fill the gap in budget transatlantic air travel left by the Norwegian’s departure from long-haul routes.Norse, which was only formed in March by Norwegian airline industry veterans, will initially fly from Oslo, London and Paris to New York, Los Angeles and Fort Lauderdale. Continue reading...

Military takeover of Kabul will cast insurgents as ‘global pariahs’ warns US ambassador as more towns fallA US peace envoy to Afghanistan has warned the Taliban that any government that comes to power through force in Afghanistan will not be recognised internationally, after the hardline Islamist movement captured five out of 34 provincial capitals in less than a week.As the Taliban appeared to consolidate its hold across a swath of the country’s north, and pressed attacks across the country, the US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad went to Doha, Qatar, where the Taliban maintain a political office, to tell the group that there was no point in pursuing victory on the battlefield because a military takeover of Kabul would guarantee they would be global pariahs. Continue reading...

A young female journalist describes the panic and fear of being forced into hiding as cities across Afghanistan fallTwo days ago I had to flee my home and life in the north of Afghanistan after the Taliban took my city. I am still on the run and there is no safe place for me to go.Last week I was a news journalist. Today I can’t write under my own name or say where I am from or where I am. My whole life has been obliterated in just a few days. Continue reading...

Berlin prosecutors allege defendant and victim met via an online dating siteA 41-year-old teacher who is accused of having killed another man and eaten pieces of the victim’s body has gone on trial in Germany’s capital.Prosecutors say the man on trial met his victim, a 43-year-old mechanic, on an online dating site a few hours before the September killing, the German news agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur reported. They said there was no indication the victim had agreed to be killed. Continue reading...

Women’s sports associations accuse heads of IHF and EHF of ‘blatant sexism’ after Norwegian team finedWomen’s sports associations across Europe have called for the resignation of the presidents of both the international and European handball federations, accusing them of “blatant sexism” for rules that require female playersto wear bikini bottoms.The Norwegian women’s beach handball team was fined €1,500 (£1,270) for wearing shorts in protest against the rule during a European Beach Handball Championships match against Spain in Varna, Bulgaria, on 19 July. Continue reading...

A series of big films this year will focus on Indian military conflicts with Pakistan, reflecting an escalation of political belligerenceIndia’s military will take a starring role this summer. On 12 August, in time for Independence day on the 15th, Amazon Prime’s big Hindi release is Shershaah, the biopic of the revered figure of Captain Vikram Batra, posthumously awarded India’s top military honour, the Param Vir Chakra, after he died fighting Pakistani troops in the heights of Kargil in 1999. “Shershaah” (which means “King of Lions”) was Batra’s code-name during radio communications.Shershaah is one in a long and popular tradition of Indian military films – the Kargil war alone has inspired eight box-office hits – and launches the day after another big-budget production, Bhuj: The Pride of India, about the behind-enemy-lines construction of an airstrip by the Indian air force, with the help of 300 village women, during the 1971 war with Pakistan that resulted in the creation of Bangladesh. September will see the release of Ekkees (Twenty One), a biopic of the youngest recipient of the Param Vir Chakra, Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal, who died in the same conflict. Continue reading...

Nuthalapati Ramana issues extraordinary rebuke over ‘custodial torture and other police atrocities’In an extraordinary rebuke over police brutality, India’s chief justice has said the most dangerous places in the country for threats to human rights are police stations.Nuthalapati Ramana said that rather than being the safest places, “the threat to human rights and bodily integrity are the highest in police stations”. Continue reading...

About 1.35m Americans a year fall ill from the bacteria. Why are there still so many infections?In my kitchen, I treat raw chicken as if it’s crawling with bacteria that could make me and my family sick. I use separate cutting boards for meats and produce; I wash my hands and disinfect everything that comes close to the bird, then cook it to 74C (165F). A little paranoid, but with good reason.Chickens, turkeys and other fowl commonly harbour salmonella bacteria that are harmless to the birds but not to humans. Continue reading...

A long-suffering sauna worker finds a bag stuffed full of cash in a crime caper with perfectly pitched performancesWhen Korean director Bong Joon-ho won the best picture Oscar in 2020 for his near-universally acclaimed Parasite, he suggested that maybe now is the time for Anglophone viewers to get over the “one-inch-tall barrier of subtitles” and discover the world of pleasure awaiting them. Although there’s a bottomless back catalogue of great Korean films out there to catch up with, those who have embraced the challenge of leaping that tiny barrier might enjoy this new, jet-black comedy by Bong’s fellow countryman Kim Yong-hoon, who is making his directorial debut. Based on a Japanese novel by Keisuke Sone, this is an arch, multi-strand, multi-character three-ring circus, revolving around a Louis Vuitton overnight bag full of cash that long-suffering sauna worker Joong-man (Bae Seong-woo) finds in an abandoned locker at work.While Joong-man sees in the bag a chance to escape his drudgery-filled life, dealing with his overbearing mother and pissed-off wife, another set of characters are no less invested in acquiring this untraceable fortune. Sleazy customs official (Jung Woo-sung) is in hock to gangsters for a debt incurred by his missing wife, while fed-up-and-ready-for-revenge escort (Shin Hyun-bin) is regularly beaten by her vile husband and sees in a besotted client the chance to pull off a Double Indemnity-style con. And then there’s the escort’s imperious boss Yeon-hee (Jeon Do-yeon, a goddess in lipstick and a dab hand with a broken bottle), who knows what it’s like to be hurt by men. Continue reading...

The PM wants Australians to focus on the light at the end of the tunnel, rather than the Queensland MP spreading Covid misinformationThe prime minister, Scott Morrison, has sought to cast forward the country’s collective imagination to a time close to Christmas, a time when the country’s troubles could be largely behind it.“By the end of this year, we will be able to say that we have saved the lives of over 30,000 Australians, we have put a million people back into work and we have vaccinated the country,” Morrison told parliament on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Chris Rock, Jennifer Saunders and more have argued that ‘wokeness’ is stifling comedy. But the idea of the joke police is actually nonsenseIs cancel culture destroying comedy? A lot of comedians seem to think so. John Cleese has fretted that “wokeness” will “stifle creativity”. Chris Rock attributed all the “unfunny TV shows” he sees to the fact that “everybody’s scared to make a move”. Shappi Khorsandi wrote: “The fear of being ‘cancelled’ is real and it will be the death of standup comedy as we know it.”When Dawn French was asked on Times Radio if she felt cancel culture was “imaginatively restrictive”, she said: “One hundred per cent yes,” before expressing concern about how a comic couldn’t do “edgy” material these days “because you’d just have so many haters on your back”. Ricky Gervais – also on Times Radio – said the BBC had become “more and more careful” and nowadays “would worry about some of the jokes” in The Office. Inbetweeners star James Buckley has said fear of causing offence was “killing comedy … there seems to be a joke police”. Continue reading...

Plan for representative offices draws angry response from Beijing amid heightened tensions with TaipeiBeijing has recalled its ambassador from Lithuania and asked Vilnius to do the same, over plans by the European country and Taiwan to establish reciprocal diplomatic offices.In a statement on Tuesday, the Chinese ministry of foreign affairs accused Lithuania of disregarding “China’s repeated representations and articulation of potential consequences” in agreeing to such a move with Taiwan. Continue reading...

The man reportedly left a coronavirus-infected family member in hospital so he could inspect property in the Northern Rivers

‘You can’t legislate against stupidity, arrogance and entitlement,’ health minister says

At Hang, Scotland’s first hip-hop conference, the country’s MCs are given a hero’s welcome – but there’s also important discussion about the prejudices they face“Here’s a golden oldie,” Nova laughs, breaking into her 2019 single 3am. The crowd scream like she’s just won Olympic gold. This is Hang – Scotland’s first hip-hop conference – and it’s the Edinburgh rapper’s first IRL show since she bagged the Scottish Album of the Year award in 2020 for her debut Re-Up. Topping off a day packed with DJ workshops, breakdance, spoken word and panels of industry experts, Nova’s triumphant headline set is a middle finger to anyone who still thinks there’s no hip-hop in Scotland.Ransom FA, an Aberdonian rapper who’s competed on BBC’s The Rap Game and shared stages with heavyweights such as Skepta and Wiley, says: “One of the biggest hurdles I had was being a young Black kid with a Scottish accent trying to enter an English-based scene. It was like: people from Aberdeen shouldn’t rap!” He raises an eyebrow incredulously. Edinburgh MC Lotos shares a similar story: “When I first started out, people didn’t see it as viable to be a Scottish rapper. I’d come to London and they’d be like, ‘They’ve got Black people in Scotland?’ And they still do that! I find it remarkable. So I just started touring in the US.” Continue reading...

Drinking at home was once a guilty pleasure. Now everyone from bored homeworkers to professional influencers is swapping cocktail recipes and photos of colourful aperitifs. Is gin o’clock turning into unhappy hour?The shadow of a palm frond falls on a young woman in a bikini, holding an emerald-coloured cocktail in one manicured hand. A negroni glows from the depths of a darkened bar; a tray of fruit-laden glasses sits beside a swimming pool. The #cocktail hashtag on Instagram is a passport to a magical land of aspirational drinking, where everything comes garnished with rose petals and nobody ever seems to get hangovers.Its inhabitants are a mix of amateur enthusiasts reviewing their latest discoveries, and professional “ginfluencers” making a living from creating lusciously photographed cocktail recipes or sponsored posts promoting this rhubarb gin or that new tequila. Colourful drinks are popular, says Inka Kukkamäki, a full-time drinks influencer whose @onthesauceagain account has 21,000 Instagram followers. “Something a bit interesting and unusual, or just something simple like a negroni – any kind of negroni twist becomes popular. The Italian aperitivo culture has really spread into the UK in the last year.” Continue reading...

NSW records 356 new Covid cases as virus spreads across the state; Queensland records three new cases; Victoria records 20 new cases. Follow the latest updates live

Mental ill-health and ‘warped’ notions of masculinity among reasons mooted for rise of nearly 50% in a yearThere is growing alarm in Kenya over a shocking rise in the number of suicides in the country.Almost 500 people are reported to have killed themselves in the three months to June this year, more than the whole of 2020, according to the Kenyan police. Continue reading...

Five-month-old Mia suffered critical injuries after her mother fell while trying to avoid the birdThe devastated aunts of a baby who died after her mother tried to protect her from a swooping magpie have described the feelings of torture the parents have been left with.Mia was in her mother’s arms when a magpie swooped at them at a Brisbane park on Sunday. Continue reading...

Pressure on undertakers leads to widespread delays after record number of coronavirus infections and deaths last monthA group of women sing hymns at the cemetery in Harare as undertakers, dressed in Covid-19 protective gear, gently lower a white casket into the grave.“This world is not our home,” they sing, as relatives, standing a few metres away, mourn their loss. Continue reading...

He’s DJ’d naked, put a great dane on the catwalk – and now with an album, Shayne Oliver is on a mission to bring New York’s queer underground to the world. Is the former Hood by Air designer the 21st century Andy Warhol?Interviewing Shayne Oliver is a conversational rollercoaster. We hurtle from cult 90s guitar bands to Arthur Jafa, from the problem with political correctness to the pressure on creatives, from Kanye West to Vin Diesel, with little warning of which thrill or spill is next. “I’m such a scatterbrain,” he says at the end of our call. “I’m sorry.”But Oliver is far from a scatterbrain. He is best known as a fashion designer, the former vogue-dancer who founded the critically adored label Hood By Air, or HBA, in 2006. However, he is no longer limiting himself to clothes. Oliver is moving into music, having formed Anonymous Club – a “creative studio” focused on young talent that began as a series of parties. The studio’s debut release is Screensavers Vol 1, a compilation album based on Oliver’s demos, executive produced by Yves Tumor. Continue reading...

Max Woosey, 11, hoped to secure £100 for a Devon hospice but his charity pitch became a marathonMax Woosey has woken up in his tent in the depths of winter, teeth chattering, his sleeping bag and blankets coated with frost. The 11-year-old was almost tempted indoors one night when his tent blew down in a storm but he repitched and carried on.This summer there have been some uncomfortably hot, sticky nights, especially after the family labradoodle, Digby, took to snuggling in with Max and licking his face at all hours. Continue reading...

10 August 1971: Violence sweeps Belfast as government brings in detention without trialAt least 12 people had been killed by the early hours of this morning in a terrifying wave of rioting, shooting, and bombing which engulfed Northern Ireland after the reintroduction of the Special Powers Act regulation allowing for the internment without trial of political subversives. Between 300 and 400 people have been held.The dead included a Roman Catholic priest who was caught in a cross-fire as he administered the last rites to a wounded man on the New Barnsley estate in Belfast, a member of the Ulster Defence Regiment who was killed at Clady, County Tyrone, and a civilian who died from wounds after a shooting at Armagh. Continue reading...

Decision quashes temporary orders that had stayed the executions of 14 men on death rowA ruling by Papua New Guinea’s national court has cleared the way for the country’s first executions in almost 70 years.The 14 condemned prisoners have a chance to appeal to a government-appointed committee for clemency, but if that fails the executions will proceed pending a decision by a committee as to the most appropriate mode of execution. Continue reading...

Comments distancing the US from the conflict come as militants capture more cities and violence escalatesThe US has said it is up to Afghan security forces to defend the country after Taliban militants captured a sixth provincial capital, along with border towns and trade routes.Fighting in Afghanistan’s long-running conflict has escalated dramatically since May, when the US-led military coalition began the final stage of a withdrawal set to be completed before the end of the month. Continue reading...

Kim Yo-jong, a key adviser to North Korean ruler, interrupts surprise thaw in relations on Korean peninsulaThe influential sister of the North Korean ruler, Kim Jong-un, has called Seoul authorities “treacherous” over the South’s joint military exercises with the US, warning the two allies would face greater security threats as a result.Kim Yo-jong’s latest remarks come despite a surprise thaw on the Korean peninsula, prompted by a series of personal letters between her brother and the South Korean president, Moon Jae-in. Continue reading...

A spate of attacks on one of the world’s busiest shipping trade routes is part of an escalating tit-for-tat conflict playing out between Iran and Israel, says Martin Chulov, the Guardian’s Middle East correspondentIn the last week of July, an oil tanker managed by an Israeli company was making a routine journey from Dar es Salaam in Tanzania to Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates when it was hit by an explosive, believed to be a drone. Two men, a Romanian and a British national, were killed in the attack. The Israeli government immediately blamed Iran who has denied any part in it.The Guardian’s Middle East correspondent, Martin Chulov, tells Nosheen Iqbal that it is the latest action in what is now a rapidly escalating ‘shadow war’ between Israel and Iran. With both countries under new leadership in recent weeks, there is an added layer of unpredictability to relations that have been tense for some time. Continue reading...

Ebola-like disease kills man in Guinea as WHO says it is working with local health authorities on swift response to stop spreadHealth authorities in Guinea have confirmed one death from Marburg virus, a highly infectious haemorrhagic fever similar to Ebola, the World Health Organization says.It marks the first time that the deadly disease has been identified in west Africa. Continue reading...

Giuffre accuses Andrew of sexual abuse at Epstein’s mansion when she was under 18Virginia Roberts Giuffre, an alleged victim of the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, on Monday filed a lawsuit against Prince Andrew in federal court in New York.She accused the British royal of sexually abusing her at Epstein’s mansion in Manhattan and at other locations in 2001 when she was under the age of 18, according to court records. Prince Andrew has denied having sex with her. Continue reading...

• Fans to show negative test or proof of both vaccinations• Season starts with Brentford v Arsenal on FridayThe Premier League has announced fans are set to be subject to random spot checks of their Covid-19 status at some grounds in the opening few weeks of the new season.The 2021-22 campaign, with supporters returning to stadiums following the easing of coronavirus restrictions, kicks off on Friday when Brentford host Arsenal. Continue reading...

Trains cancelled as railway lines closed amid downpours as wet start to August continuesTorrential rain and thunderstorms have brought flooding and travel disruption to parts of the UK amid the wet start to August. Rail operators warned of blocked lines and cancellations on Monday, while motorists in some parts of the country negotiated water-filled roads.The Met Office had earlier issued three yellow warnings for heavy showers and thunderstorms, covering parts of Scotland, Northern Ireland, and London and southern England, which were due to expire by 9pm or 11pm. Continue reading...

Iranian media reports say one person dying of Covid every two minutes as crisis worsens; in the UK one company left test drop boxes overflowing amid requirement for returning travellers to get tested after arriving

Members of Jalisco New Generation cartel circulate video threatening Milenio Television and anchor Azucena UrestiMasked men claiming to represent Mexico’s most powerful drug cartel have taken the unusual step of circulating a video threatening to kill a national television news anchor for what they viewed as unfair coverage.The video circulated Monday showed masked and heavily armed men surrounding a man seated at a small desk who delivered a message he said was from Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, aka “El Mencho,” leader of the Jalisco New Generation cartel. It was unclear if the person reading the message was Oseguera himself. Continue reading...

A video has been released by the Italian carabinieri military police showing a hidden camera capturing an arsonist starting a fire in the countryside.The video released on 6 August showed a person light a match and place it on the grass before running away near Montesarchio, a town 31 miles (49km) from Naples in Italy. The man was arrested.In Italy, the civil protection authority warned on Monday of more fires to come as temperatures in parts of the country reach 45C.

Fighters overrun Aibak without meeting resistance, leaving pro-government forces in region cut offThe Taliban captured another provincial capital on Monday and were pressing on the biggest city in the region, Mazar-i-Sharif, following a stunning weekend offensive in which the insurgents have overrun a series of urban centres across northern Afghanistan.Armed fighters swept into the city of Aibak without meeting any resistance. The deputy chief of Samangan province confirmed that the local governor had withdrawn his soldiers in order to protect the civilian population. The Taliban were in “full control”, Sefatullah Samangani said. Continue reading...

The families will be funded for just four months, says one readerI am sure that your readers will feel relieved at the generosity of our government towards the Afghan interpreters arriving in the UK, as detailed by Chris Philp, minister for immigration compliance and justice (Letters, 8 August).I am the chair of trustees for a welcome group for refugees that is preparing to welcome families of Afghan interpreters in the near future. The funding package that comes with each family is far more generous than the funding offered for other refugees, until you see that the Afghans will be funded for four months. Four months, in which time they need to find work, learn English, settle the children into school, find their way around a local area, which is totally different from where they lived in Afghanistan, as well as begin to feel safe and process their recent terrifying experiences.

Poll ratings of CDU and Green candidates take a hit and could result in complex coalition negotiationsGermany is bracing itself for complex coalition negotiations following September’s national elections, after the leaders of the two strongest parties failed to impress voters with their response to last month’s devastating floods and boosted the confidence of smaller parties.A two-way coalition between the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) of the outgoing chancellor, Angela Merkel, and the German Greens has long looked the most likely outcome when the country votes in seven weeks’ time, with polls showing a consistent governing majority between the two parties. Continue reading...

Police investigating incident after Campanito the bull forced its way out of ring and injured two peoplePolice in Spain are investigating after a half-tonne fighting bull pushed its way out of a bullring, injuring two people as it charged through the streets of a small town in central Spain before being reportedly rammed to death by a car.The incident took place in the early hours of Sunday as many in the village of Brihuega, population 2,400, had gathered in the local bullring to take in a concurso de recortadores, in which participants take turns jumping, twirling and manoeuvring around a bull or heifer in hopes of being deemed the most “courageous” in the ring. Continue reading...

Amelia Moses’ feature debut keeps us guessing as to who is the hunter and who is the prey as a holiday in the woods turns sourWriter-director Amelia Moses makes her feature debut with this tautly constructed work of psychological horror which, although far from perfect, certainly suggests she’s a talent to watch out for. Like British film-maker Rose Glass’ outstanding horror-adjacent breakthrough Saint Maud, Moses’ story circumnavigates a relationship between two women, one that is charged with an intensity that’s more than platonic but less than erotic, and inflected by an unequal power distribution.The story takes place in Canada. We largely we see it unfold through the eyes of Rowan (Lee Marshall, excellent), a young office drone who meets the more confident and glamorous Emily (Lauren Beatty) at work when Emily saves her from a sexually predatory co-worker. With the pair having become friends, Emily invites Rowan to come with her for a holiday stay in a secluded, snow-capped cabin in the woods along with Emily’s boyfriend Brendan (Aris Tyros). Continue reading...

Exclusive: increasing numbers of children also being radicalised by far-right groups, say policeUp to seven in 10 people referred to the official scheme intended to stop people becoming terrorists may suffer from mental ill health or other vulnerabilities that could leave them prone to falling for propaganda from violent extremists.Simon Cole, a chief constable and the police lead for Prevent, said such psychological problems were much more of a potential factor than first thought. Continue reading...

As the comics giants make billions from their storylines and characters, writers and artists are speaking out about their struggles for fair paymentWatch any superhero movie and you will see a credit along the lines of “based on the comic book created by”, usually with the name of a beloved and/or long-dead writer or artist. But deep, deep in the credits scroll, you will also see “special thanks” to a long roster of comic book talent, most of them still alive, whose work forms the skeleton and musculature of the movie you just watched. Scenes storyboarded directly from Batman comics by Frank Miller; character arcs out of Thor comics by Walt Simonson; entire franchises, such as the Avengers films or Disney+ spinoff The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, that couldn’t exist without the likes of Kurt Busiek or Ed Brubaker.The “big two” comic companies – Marvel and DC - may pretend they’ve tapped into some timeless part of the human psyche with characters such as Superman and the Incredible Hulk, but the truth is that their most popular stories have been carefully stewarded through the decades by individual artists and writers. But how much of, say, the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s (MCU) $20bn-plus box office gross went to those who created the stories and characters in it? How are the unknown faces behind their biggest successes being treated? Continue reading...