Comics | A July house fire in Minneapolis that killed homeowner Gary Dahlberg spared his meticulously preserved comic-book collection, which experts say could be worth $1 million. The comics, which includes first issues of The Amazing Spider-Man, Fantastic Four and Daredevil, will be sold at auction on May 5 by Heritage Auction Galleries, with the money going to Dahlberg's estate. "To go for the really big money they have to be really perfect, and that what these are," says Barry Sandoval of Heritage Auction Galleries. "The comics look like they just rolled off the printing press and nobody's ever touched them." [KSTP TV, with video]

Crime | A 17-year-old boy accused of attempting to rob Fun 4 All Comics & Games in Ypsilanti, Mich., on Monday has been arraigned on charges of assault with attempt to rob while armed and attempted larceny. Police say the teen, wearing a blond wig, bandanna and dark glasses, gave an employee a list of merchandise -- "most, if not all, of it Yu-Gi-Oh! cards" -- then opened his coat to reveal what appeared to be an improvised explosive device. The boy allegedly threatened to detonate the bomb if he wasn't given the merchandise. When the employee yelled for the owner to call police, then teen said he was only joking, then bought some inexpensive items and left the store. The sheriff's department later arrested the teen in his car in a Burger King parking lot. The Michigan State Police bomb squad responded, and determined the potential explosive device was inert. [AnnArbor.com]



Comic strips | Two years after Washington City Paper eliminated its syndicated comics amid massive budget cuts at its parent company, the alternative weekly is bringing back its comics page. The new lineup, debuting in this week's issue, includes Derf's The City, Shawn Belschwender's Clowntime, Michael Kupperman's Up All Night and David Malki's Wondermark. [FishbowlDC]

Creators | Alex Carr interviews Guy Davis, Dave Stewart and John Arcudi during at last weekend's Emerald City Comicon. [Omnivoracious]

Creators | Kurt Busiek, Austin Grossman, Gerard Jones, Sean McKeever and Gail Simone offer advice on "how to create your own original superhero from scratch." [io9.com]

Creators | Howard Buck reports on a recent visit to Washington State University Vancouver by Josh Neufeld, creator of A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge. [The Columbian]

Creators | Collaborators Molly Crabapple and John Leavitt discuss their “Blade Runner meets Dangerous Liaisons.” clockwork murder mystery The Puppet Makers. [Guerrilla Geek]



Creators | Noah Van Sciver talks about Blammo, Four Questions and his upcoming graphic novel about Abraham Lincoln's life in Springfield: "Blammo drew me to it. I was doing a short story on his duel with James Shields. As I researched it, I became more interested in Abraham Lincoln in his time before the Civil War. He’s my favorite president—he just seems like a cool guy. There’s not a lot out of there about Abraham Lincoln at that point in his life. I was interested in him because of his depression, and also because he came from nothing. I feel a kinship to people who come from nothing, because I come from a very large, very poor Mormon family. I’m trying to do that in comics — come from nothing and achieve something, which I guess is stupid, but it’s what I’ve got." [The A.V. Club]

Creators | The Center for Cartoon Studies has launched a blog dedicated to its visiting artists. [CCS Visiting Artist Blog, via The Comics Reporter]

Comics | Matt Wilson counts down "10 Major Comics Events that Actually Mattered." [Topless Robot]

Comics | Jason Serafino looks at "The 10 Lamest Batman Villains of All Time!" [Complex]