Tidalwave Comics Issues 'Biography' of Stormy—And She Ain't Happy

CYBERSPACE—Earlier today, AVN received a press release from TideWater Comics announcing a "biographical" comic book they'd produced, Political Power: Stormy Daniels, which tells a somewhat fictionalized story of how the actress "rose from the strip clubs of Baton Rouge to the top of the adult film industry." "Today, however, she is best known as the woman at the center of a hush money scandal involving the president of the United States," the press release continues. "Through threats, lawsuits, and politically motivated arrests Clifford has refused to back down in her demand that the president be held responsible for his actions. Witness her journey from scrappy opportunist to unlikely feminist icon in the newest issue of Political Power!" There's just one problem: Although publisher Darren G. Davis told AVN that his company had "reached out to her" about the comic, he acknowledged that she had not authorized the book—and that's a problem for them, for more than one reason. "Since I know that 'Stormy Daniels' is not her legal name, I'm very confident that she has acquired some type of intellectual property rights to the use of the name 'Stormy Daniels'; otherwise, anybody could use that," noted attorney Jeffrey Douglas. "It's unimaginable to me that she has not copyrighted and/or trademarked her name and image. California has a 'Right to Publicity' statute, Civil Code Sec. 3344, which begins, 'Any person who knowingly uses another's name, voice, signature, photograph or likeness in any manner on or in products, merchandise or goods for the purpose of advertising or selling ... merchandise, goods or services, without such person's prior consent ... shall be liable for any damages sustained by the person. ... In addition, in any action brought under this section, the person who violated the section shall be liable to the injured party or parties in the amount equal to the greater of $750 or actual damages suffered by him or her as a result of the unauthorized use, and any profits from the unauthorized use.' "There is an interesting First Amendment question here, though," he continued. "She's a public figure, so if I were to write an unauthorized biography of, say, Tom Cruise, and if I use photographs that are the public domain, or pay for the rights from Getty Images or whatever, I wouldn't think that's actionable, but in a graphic novel where I'm creating images and I am doing that for, presumably, the promotional impact, that may or may not be actionable—but I assume Avenatti [Daniels' attorney] will sue whether there's a First Amendment defense or not, and they would then use the First Amendment defenses, including anti-SLAPP, so it's an interesting question." The comic book itself is just 24 pages long, and begins with a meditation on Donald Trump's relationships with women, quoting a bit from the widely known Access Hollywood tape, which the then-candidate dismissed as "locker room talk." But the scene then moves to what appears to be Michael Avenatti's office, where Daniels tells the attorney, "No more. It's time we go public. I will no longer sit around and watch him insult people for being victimized by men just like him." The scene then shifts to the golf tournament where Trump and Daniels first met, where writer Joe Paradise imagines Trump calling out to Daniels, "Hey sweetheart! You in the mood for some stroke play?"—but it's nothing sexual; just inviting her to join his golfing foursome. But the following page finds Stormy being invited into Trump's hotel suite, where more (apparently imagined) dialog about Stormy's career ensues between the pair, leading Trump to say, "you could be the most interesting woman I ever met!"—and Paradise commits what's become almost an obligatory "sin" in the adult world: He uses Daniels' real name. The story continues with more flashbacks of Stormy's "history" in adult entertainment, then segues to Trump offering Daniels a spot on his show The Apprentice. (It was recently suggested that Trump even offered to help Stormy illegally "cheat" to stay on the show longer.) Nothing sexually explicit is shown—in fact, there's no nudity at all—and the story concludes with brief synopses of the Forbes magazine spanking, the non-disclosure agreement, some speculations of just what Trump might have wanted to remain hidden with the agreement, the threat Daniels received in that Las Vegas parking lot, and Daniels' Columbus vice squad bust earlier this year where the charges were quickly dropped. AVN contacted Daniels upon receiving the TidalWave PR, and by coincidence, someone had just forwarded to her an image of the book's cover. She indicated to AVN that she had not authorized the book, and that she was contacting her attorney to see what actions should be taken. She said she would comment further after she had spoken to Avenatti, but at press time, no comment had been received. Political Power: Stormy Daniels is currently available from Amazon.com as either a print publication or a Kindle book.