Creators | Hajime Isayama's hometown of Hita City has named him "Tourism Friendship Ambassador to the 'Beautiful Riverside Location of Hita.'" Isayama, the creator of Attack on Titan (which describes a city under siege by man-eating giants and defended by teenagers), came to town over the weekend for a cultural event titled "Shingeki no Satogaeri" ("Attack on Returning Home"), and he mentioned in a speech that the area was his inspiration for the scenery in the manga. [Anime News Network]
Publishing | Dark Horse announced there are 500,000 copies of its Plants vs. Zombies: Lawnmageddon graphic novel in print; this presumably means that sales are in that range as well. The key here may may be that the book is available at Scholastic book fairs, where the numbers really add up. [Dark Horse]
Creators | Artist Steve McNiven talks about his work on Civil War, the Marvel comics event that forms the basis of the next Captain America film. [The Kindle Post]
Creators | Biochemist and video game creator Jeremy Bernstein talks about his new supernatural thriller Santa Claus: Private Eye, which is being serialized on Thrillbent. Bernstein was thinking of writing a supernatural detective story when he got the idea to use Santa Claus as his hero: "The more I thought about it, the more I said … well hang on, he knows if you’re naughty or nice. Maybe he doesn’t know the details, but he’s got a very good vibe on that, which would be useful as a private investigator. He can climb down chimneys, so he’s got a real easy time sneaking in places to snoop around. You know what, this is a job that’s a job that’s a pretty good match for Santa’s skill set." [Hero Complex]
Comics | In case you didn't get enough politics on Tuesday, C. Anthony Burdette writes about the way politicians have been depicted in comics, from Golden Age Captain America to V for Vendetta. [Albany Times-Union]
Digital comics | Japanese publisher Kadokawa this week launched its Book Walker app, which includes manga from a number of publishers, including Viz Select, Dark Horse and the now-defunct JManga. [Anime News Network]
Reviews | Dominic Umile takes a long look at Tim Lane's The Lonesome Go, which was published last month by Fantagraphics. [Hyperallergic]
Festivals | Legendary MAD Magazine illustrator Al Jaffee and Garbage Pail Kids creator Mark Newgarden are among the guests at this weekend's Comic Arts Brooklyn festival. [Brooklyn Daily]
Exhbits | Veteran Indian political cartoonist Sudhir Tailang talks about his craft as a retrospective exhibition of his works opens in New Delhi: "External features are important, but unless you capture the essence of the personality that’s beyond the canvas, you won’t get the true caricature." [The Hindu]