Conventions | IRS filings show that San Diego Comic Convention, the nonprofit that operates Comic-Con International and WonderCon, bought two office buildings and a warehouse in the Barrio Logan neighborhood of San Diego last year. The price tag for the real estate was $6.3 million, and the SDCC board approved the creation of Barriohaus, LLC, to own the property. SDCC is staying mum for now: "It is part of a potential future business operation that is not appropriate for disclosure at this time," the organization said in a statement. "Also, there are tenants currently occupying the building and we prefer they not be bothered." [Los Angeles Times]
Conventions | Silicon Valley Comic Con, which was conceived by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, is going overseas with a new convention, the first-ever Tokyo Comic Con. [Crunchyroll]
Comics | Shan Wang produces a fascinating and multifaceted report, with plenty of images, about comics creators doing journalism — or, if you prefer, journalists using the comics medium. The piece includes interviews with Kevin Necessary, Susie Cagle, Jen Sorensen and others, as well as a discussion of the unique advantages of comics as a journalistic medium and how the comics reach the audience. [Nieman Journalism Lab]
Creators | Nobody conducts manga interviews like Deb Aoki, who does her homework and has a knack for getting creators to open up. Her latest is a wide-ranging talk with Tsutomu Nihei, creator of "Knights of Sidonia," "Biomega" and "Blame!" Nihei was in San Diego to promote "Blame!," which was originally released by Tokyopop and is being published by Vertical Comics in an oversized deluxe format; an anime is in the works for next year as well. [Anime News Network]
Creators | Cartoonist and writer Paul Karasik discusses his preferred drawing tools and shows off his work space (it's a closet). [A Case for Pencils]
Digital comics | For those new to the medium, Stephen R. Clark has a nice introduction to digital comics, including a discussion of tablets and several different comics platforms. [GeekDad]
Analysis | Dr. Neil Cohn uses science to defend a much-maligned comics page layout, by having actual people read pages laid out in different ways and tracking how they do it. [The Visual Linguist]
Academia | Kate Tanski convenes a roundtable on teaching "Bitch Planet" in various contexts, from prison to graduate school. [Women Write About Comics]
Retailing | Ariell Johnson, owner of Amalgam Comics and Coffeehouse in Philadelphia, talks about her business, which opened last year: "I want to be very proactive and conscious to make sure we are carrying diverse titles. The smaller stuff, the independent stuff, the more diverse stuff that you really have to look for and I think it's worth it. Seeing people representative of you can be important in your development and your self esteem." Johnson is the first black woman to open a comic shop on the East Coast. [CNN Money]
Retailing | Full Service Comics is a comic shop for those who don't have time to go to the comic shop: They take customers' orders, get the comics from Diamond, and deliver them to the customer. There's no brick-and-mortar store yet, but founder Keith Finch says he hopes to have one eventually. [Nooga.com]