Creators | Saying his job has become "too much to bear," cartoonist Renald Luzier (Luz) is leaving the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. He said he worked too hard in the aftermath of the January attack on the Charlie Hebdo offices in which 12 people, most of them his co-workers, were killed, and he did not give himself time to grieve. "I needed time but I carried on for solidarity and not to let anyone down," he said. However, the loss is taking its toll: "Each issue is torture because the others are gone." He had previously announced he would no longer draw cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, saying it no longer interested him, and he is tired of the media attention. "We are not heroes, we have never been, we never meant to be," he said. "Everyone evokes the spirit of Charlie for anything and everything now." [The Independent]
Political cartoons | The Committee to Protect Journalists has issued a special report on the threats facing political cartoonists worldwide, both direct actions from governments (as in the case of Zunar, the Malaysian cartoonist who faces a possible prison sentence because of his work) and the self-censorship that comes with fear of violence from extremists, which drove American cartoonist Molly Norris underground. "I don’t think very many Americans understand that a cartoonist in our midst has had to enter what is effectively a version of the F.B.I.’s witness protection program," said Robert Russell, the executive director of Cartoonists Rights Network International. [The New York Times]
Comics | Mad Max: Fury Road director George Miller discusses the prequel comics to be published by Vertigo, which will fill in the backstories of several of the movie's characters. [USA Today]
Creators | Matt Slay talks about his double life as a business consultant by day and comics artist by night. [The News & Advance]
Advice | Tired of all the Twitter requests she gets from strangers to promote their books or Kickstarters, blogger Deb Aoki collects comments from others about why that's bad — and how to do it right. [Storify]
Digital comics | For those who haven't taken the plunge yet, Susana Polo provides a guide to buying digital comics. [Polygon]
Conventions | Both Wizard World and ReedPOP launched comic conventions in China this month. While locally run conventions, such as ChinaJoy, are larger, the new shows offer international guests and content to a hungry audience: One woman interviewed in the article paid a fifth of her monthly salary to meet Hannibal actor Mads Mikkelson. [Hero Complex]
Conventions | Reporting in on Motor City Comic Con, Jay Lonski muses about the paradox of the popularity of celebrities in geek subculture and also describes one of the greatest pleasures of comic cons: "The flip side to all that celebrity folly is the chance to interact meaningfully with independent and up-and-coming artists and comic creators from places like Ypsilanti and Hazel Park, locals reveling in the opportunity to make their work visible to a sea of could-be fans. Though one day you’ll probably have to pay $5 to shake their hands too, it’s always a trip meeting a fellow fan gone pro, a person in that elusive stage bridging consumer and creator." [Detroit Metro Times]
Retailing | Danville, West Virginia, now has a comics shop: Spoiler Warning Games and Comics, which is both a comic shop and a board game cafe. Local creator Travis Tomblin stopped by recently to promote his comic Canada Jack, a story about a bumbling superhero. [Coal Valley News]
Retailing | The Phoenix, Arizona, comic shop All About Books and Comics is moving to a new location, one of several moves in the store's long history — but this one was partly funded by Kickstarter. [Phoenix New Times]