Digital comics | Comics by comiXology was the third-highest grossing app on the iPad in 2012. Last year Comics made No. 10 on the charts, and two other comiXology apps, their Marvel and DC apps, also made the Top 20. [Inside Mobile Apps]
Manga | Black Lagoon creator Rei Hiroe has announced that after a nearly two-year hiatus, he'll resume his hit manga in January or February. The violent action/black comedy series, which centers on a team of pirates/mercenaries, is published in North America by Viz Media. [Crunchyroll]
Publishing | Yuriko Fukuzawa, director of licensing for Tezuka Productions, and John Parker, vice president of business development for Diamond Comic Distributors, discuss their plans; Diamond recently became Tezuka's exclusive distributor outside of Japan. Astro Boy is the key property in Japan and elsewhere, but watch for a lot more Kimba the White Lion merchandise in the United States next year as well. [ICv2]
Creators | Mike Mignola talks about his creation, Hellboy, his collaboration with other creators, and what his studio is like. When interviewer Andy Khouri asks how far along we are in the Hellboy saga, his answer is guarded: "There's no way to know. You're basically asking, how long am I gonna live? I have an ending to Hellboy but it's not necessarily the last issue of the comic. That's because I don't trust myself. 'Oh, I've only got six months to live so I'd better draw the last issue of the comic!'" [Comics Alliance]
Creators | Art professor Geo Sipp talks about the graphic novel he is creating, together with novelist Conger Beasley Jr., which is set during the Algerian War and draws parallels to the use of torture in that conflict and in modern times. Sipp, a printmaker, is creating the illustrations by drawing on glass and then using a photographic process to make etching plates from the drawings, so he can do limited-edition prints. [The Kansas City Star]
Graphic novels | David Robinson looks back at 2012, "the year the graphic novel came in from the cold." [The Scotsman]
Gift guides | The USA Today team of David Colton, John Geddes and Brian Truitt offer their suggestions for holiday gifts for comics lovers. [USA Today]
Best of the year | Shawn Conner picks his five favorite graphic novels from 2012. [Vancouver Sun]
Retailing | The local Patch profiles Web-Head Comics, in Wakefield, Massachusetts, which features a mix of comics and graphic novels and hosts a Magic: The Gathering game. [Wakefield Patch]
Publishing | Erica Friedman, who runs a small press, has some tips on writing query letters that are aimed at manga creators but good advice for anyone else who is trying to get a project published as well. [Okazu]