Awards | Big Questions by Anders Nilsen has won the Lynd Ward Graphic Novel Prize for 2012, the second such award given by the Pennsylvania Center for the Book. The organization also named four honorees: Freeway by Mark Kalesniko, Habibi by Craig Thompson, Life with Mr. Dangerous by Paul Hornschemeier and Zahra's Paradise by Amir and Khalil. The awards will be presented during a ceremony at Penn State later this year. [Pennsylvania Center for the Book]
Publishing | IDW Publishing has promoted Dirk Wood to vice president of marketing. Wood joined IDW in 2010 as director of retail marketing. [IDW Publishing]
Conventions | Misha Davenport previews this weekend's Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo. [Chicago Sun-Times]
Publishing | Image Comics Publisher Eric Stephenson shares his speech from Thursday's Diamond Retailers Summit, leading into the C2E2. [iFanboy]
Creators | Joe Casey and Nate Fox discuss their work on Image's Haunt. [Multiversity Comics]
Creators | Kelly Sue DeConnick discusses her upcoming work on Ghost for Dark Horse, Captain Marvel for Marvel and the costumes for both: "We wanted to keep the feel of the costume since it's so iconic, but update it a little bit, have it make sense in context. This is the same conversation I've had about Captain Marvel too--it has to make sense for the character. The new costume's still sexy, it's still revealing, but it makes sense for the character in the modern day, in the current context." [Multiversity Comics]
Creators | Brad Guigar discusses newspapers, webcomics and more. [Fleen]
Conventions | The Comikaze Expo, set for Sept. 15-16 in Los Angeles, has signed a "strategic partnership" with Stan Lee's POW! Entertainment to rebrand itself as "Stan Lee’s Comikaze Expo presented by POW! Entertainment." That is a mouthful. “Stan is one of the greatest entertainment icons of our generation and the godfather of modern comics. We expect him to be instrumental in developing the Los Angeles Comikaze Convention. We have partnered with one of pop cultures most celebrated figures and we plan to wow not only LA but also the world. Audiences can anticipate a highly interactive experience at Stan Lee’s Comikaze Expo, unlike any other show. We want to change the way conventions are created and make an ultimate fan experience year round. Besides, it’s about damn time Stan had his own convention!” said Regina Carpinelli, Founder and CEO of Comikaze Entertainment Inc. [Convention Scene]
Comics | The New York Times looks at the small but growing comics culture in Iran. [The New York Times]
Fandom | WJXT in Jacksonville profiles 9-year-old Kaleb Brown, creator of his own comic book The Big M. [WJXT]