Legal | Algerian cartoonist Djamel Ghanem is seeking asylum in France as the prosecution and plaintiff appeal his acquittal on charges that he insulted Algeria's president in an unpublished cartoon drawn for the newspaper Voix d'Oranie. The newspaper brought the criminal charges against Ghanem; in possibly related news, Ghanem is suing his employer for seven years' unpaid wages. Ghanem now claims Algeria wants to make an example of him. [Radio France International, Ennahar Online]

Conventions | Mark Rahner, who has been going to Emerald City Comicon since the first one in 2003, initially as a reporter and then as a creator, talks about why the event has grown so big (75,000 attendees are expected this weekend) and why it's still awesome anyway. [Seattle Weekly]

Creators | "I love my parents. I did love them. It's complicated," says New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast, whose latest book is Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?, her memoir of taking care of them in their final days. [The Washington Post]



Creators | Writer G. Willow Wilson and editor Sana Amanat talk about the new Ms. Marvel, Kamala Khan, and the risks they took in introducing the character: "People love to talk about new and different," Wilson said. "They don’t always love to buy and read new and different." [Hero Complex]

Creators | Michael DeForge gives a brief explanation of his new graphic novel Ant Colony to run alongside a preview. [The New Yorker Blog]

Comics | As opening day approaches, Matt White counts down 12 baseball-themed comics — including manga, graphic novels and a motion comic. [Publishers Weekly]

Comics | Frank Santoro writes about the evolution of Chester Brown's composition and paneling in Yummy Fur, an early comic that younger readers (like those he spoke to recently at The Center for Cartoon Studies) may not have seen. [The Comics Journal]

Comics | Kurt Cobain is the latest dead celebrity to get a tribute comic from Bluewater. [The Hollywood Reporter]