Editorial cartoons | The public-relations consultant hired by the city of Murrieta, California, after residents protested the arrival of refugee children to be processed there, told cartoonist Lalo Alcaraz that referring to Murietta as "Hate City USA" was "actionable." "There IS a fine line between your constitutional right to draw cartoons and expressed (sic) your opinions," Hermosillo wrote in a comment on Alcaraz's Facebook page, "and falsely, deliberately, and maliciously labeling and attacking an entire community as racist or as 'Hate City.' You are working overtime to damage Murrieta and such a false premise is actionable. There’s a fine line between humor and stupidity. You may have crossed that line at your own peril." Murrieta spokesperson Kim Davidson walked that back, however, saying the city has no plans to sue Alcaraz. [The Press Enterprise]

Creators | Harvey Pekar's widow Joyce Brabner is auctioning off 200 of the late writer's jazz CDs to benefit the family of Jim Brenner, a restaurant owner who was killed last month during a robbery. The auction ends Sunday. [Reuters]



Creators | Bryan Lee O'Malley talks about how food, music and moving on figure into his new graphic novel Seconds. [Grantland]

Creators | Faith Erin Hicks demonstrated her drawing techniques last weekend at the Saskatchewan Festival of Words, and talked about how she works and how comics are getting more diverse of late, so there's more to read than just superheroes. "I’m always excited to see people, especially teenage girls, enthusiastic about comics," she said. "Now publishers are really starting to understand that girls read comics, they buy comics and you should make comics that are not exclusive to girls, but comics that are for everyone." [Moose Jaw Times Herald]

Creators | When he began crafting his Star Wars parodies, Jeffrey Brown thought of them as being for adults, but it turns out kids like them too, he says, and that's why his new book Goodnight Darth Vader is written for them (although there's plenty for adults to enjoy as well). [Chicago Tribune]



Creators | Ales Kot discusses the role of collaboration in his Image Comics espionage series Zero, and his efforts to adapt the project for television. [The Hollywood Reporter]

Creators | Elaine Will (Look Straight Ahead) talks about her new graphic novel Dustship Glory, the Depression-era story of a man who builds a ship on the Saskatchewan prairie, and about her hopes of putting Saskatchewan on the comics map. [Metro]

Creators | Benjamin Dewey will end his absurdist webcomic Tragedy Series with its 500th episode, and it will be published in book form next March. In this interview he shares his four rules for the comic and why he sets each "tragedy" before 1900: "The reason behind that is removal from a situation — comedy is tragedy plus time. You have 100 years between living memory and the experiences happening to people,. Also, everybody in that era regardless of whether they’re a fingerless onion peddler or the King of Spain all have some costuming element that makes them seem like a straight man. If everyone is Dean Martin to fate’s Jerry Lewis, you can subvert constantly." [PBS Newshour]

Creators | Frank Santoro interviews Lane Milburn, author of Twelve Gems. [The Comics Journal]

Retailing | Retailers respond to the death of Archie and the new interest the event has brought to the medium and their stores. [Hartford Courant]