Publishing | Comics archivist and publisher Rachel Richey will launch a Kickstarter campaign in September to fund a collection of Johnny Canuck comics. Created by Leo Bachie and published from 1941 to 1946 by Dime Comics, the character was a super-patriotic hero who once fought Hitler mano-a-mano. Richey was behind last year's successful Kickstarter to revive another uniquely Canadian character, Nelvana of the North. [Global News]
Digital comics | Todd Allen chats with the Madefire folks about branching out to Windows 8; they launched a free five-issue Transformers motion comics on Windows 8 just last week. Madefire is also available on iOS and via DeviantArt. [Publishers Weekly]
Creators | Artist Mike Mayhew talks about working on The Star Wars, the series based on George Lucas' original draft for Star Wars: "One of my goals was to give to the most hardcore Star Wars fan an adaptation that was chock full of Easter eggs and references they could appreciate. I dropped in art from the earliest concepts that George commissioned artist Ralph McQuarrie to do. I included twists on familiar, yet little known characters. I even let Bernie Wrightson's Swamp Thing influence the look of our Han Solo since in our book he is a big, green alien, which was actually an original intention of George's." [Phoenix New Times]
Creators | Writer (and CBR contributor) Shaun Manning discusses his graphic novel, Interesting Drug, during a signing at Green Brain Comics in Dearborn, Michigan. [Press & Guide]
Comics | A Scottish indie-comics publisher and a brewer have teamed up to create a comics adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's poem "The Heather Ale," just in time for Glasgow Comic Con. [The Scottish Herald]
Comics | YA fantasy and science fiction author Kailin Gow is launching her own line of comics. Details are thin in this press release, but it looks like she will be using local California and Nevada artists. [Empty Lighthouse]
Education | Spartanburg Community College in Spartanburg, South Carolina, is offering a summer course on how to make comics; the class is designed to give would-be comics creators a taste of what the work is like, according to instructor Alicia Schwalm, who recently graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design. [GoUpstate]
Retailing | Southboro, Massachusetts, has a new comic shop, The Hall of Comics, which features a mix of new and old comics, superhero and indie titles. Co-owner Jake Johnston talks about the look of the store, which he designed with his wife Laurie: "Color was very important to us. We went with the primary blues and reds. It makes you think of Captain America. It makes you think of Superman (and) Spider-Man. And we wanted it to be memorable when you walk in here. Even if you didn't buy anything, you'd go away remembering, 'Wow, that's a fun place to be. It's exciting to be in there, even if I don't necessarily find what I'm looking for that day.'" [Worcester Telegram]
Retailing | The Android's Dungeon, a new comic shop in Avon, Indiana, has launched a book club so fans can read and discuss a comic together. First up: The Walking Dead. [The Indianapolis Star]
Retailing | Bob Temuka sings the praises of messy comic shops — not dirty, just full of unusual products. [The Tearoom of Despair]