Passings | Manga artist Hiroshi Obi, whose best known work is the Shonen Jump series Ganbare Goemon, died Sunday at age 54. His most recent project was a Yatterman remake, Yatterman Dengeki Daisakusen!, and he also taught in the manga department of Tokyo Kogakuin College of Technology. [Anime News Network]
Publishing | Filip Sablik of BOOM! Studios talks about marketing Lumberjanes on Tumblr, and how Beware the Valkyries, a group of women who work in comic stores, helped promote the comic with a special "Lumber Day." [ICv2]
Creators | Mike Donachie profiles Canadian creator Diana Tamblyn, who's nominated for a Shuster Award for her graphic novel From the Earth To Babylon: Gerald Bull and the Supergun. [Metro]
Creators | Shawn Martinbrough is busy these days: He's the artist for Thief of Thieves and is co-writing a graphic novel, The REN, which is set during the Harlem Renaissance, for First Second Books. [Comics Creator Network]
Creators | Janelle Hessig talks about her comic The Cruising Diaries, and about starting her own publishing company at age 40 (although she's been self-publishing the zine Tales of Blarg for more than two decades). [KQED]
Creators | Editorial cartoonist Ted Zemek talks about his job as he prepares to retire. [Cowichan News Leader Pictorial]
Webcomics | Michael Machosky has a fresh take on the webcomics scene, including conversations with creators Ed Piskor, Tom Scioli, and Jordan Crane about how they are using online comics to make money and reach a new audience. [TribLive]
Academics | When Sheena Howard, now a professor at Rider University, started working on her dissertation about African-American comics creators, she couldn't find a book devoted solely to the subject. So she created one, which one this year's Eisner Award for Best Scholarly/Academic Work. Howard co-edited the book, Black Comics: Politics of Race and Representation, and wrote the introduction and two chapters. She's the first African-American woman to win an Eisner Award. [Trenton Times]
Conventions | Whit Taylor reports on the recent Comics and Medicine conference. [The Comics Journal]
Conventions | Robert Sorrell pays a visit to Rob-Con, in Bristol, Tennessee, and chats with organizer Robert Pilk, co-owner of Mountain Empire Comics, as well as several attendees. [Bristol Herald Courier]
Conventions | The Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF), which has become one of the hottest small-press shows, will give preference for next year's event to creators who didn't exhibit there this year. [Comics and Cola]