Publishing | Douglas Wolk uses a classic comics trope — who would win in a fight between Marvel and DC Comics, or rather, Batman and Iron Man? — to talk about the strengths and weaknesses of the two companies and how their business models have evolved. [Slate]

Comics | Archie Comics Co-CEO Jon Goldwater and writer and artist Dan Parent talk about the latest story arc, which takes the Riverdale gang to India for an encounter with Bollywood. [The Times of India]

Manga | Charles Brownstein, executive director of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, spoke about manga and the importance of freedom of expression at the most recent Comiket, the world's largest comics event, in Tokyo. [CBLDF]



Creators | Jaime Hernandez talks about why he thinks real life makes for a more interesting comic than superheroes, why he likes female characters, and the challenge of making them age. Hernandez is in Minneapolis for the Autoptic indie-arts festival and an exhibit of his work at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, where he will speak this evening. [Minneapolis StarTribune]

Creators | Graeme McMillan admits he didn't like Jack Kirby's art as a child, but he now appreciates both the beauty and the larger significance of his work: "At his peak, Kirby created popular culture as we know it today. So many of the ideas and characters that fill today have been shaped in some basic, important way by Kirby’s work. It didn’t matter that his work wasn’t slick enough for kids like me in the 1980s; Kirby transcended that kind of thing. It’s not just that quality will out, because he transcended that, as well. Decades earlier than they happened, Jack Kirby drew the 21st century." [Time]



Creators | Dan Boultwood discusses his homage to 1950s B-movies It Came!, which debuted this week from Titan Comics. [WhatCulture!]

Creators | Chris Bell and Bill Giancoli went to the same high school and college, but it wasn't until years later that they realized they had a common dream — to create a comic. The two collaborated on Gears, the story of a robot and a monkey, which they self-published with funding through Kickstarter. [Star Gazette]

Comics | Jennifer Heddle pens an appreciation of Marvel's much-maligned Star Wars comics. [Star Wars Blog]

Digital comics | Jeffrey L. Wilson posts a thorough review of comiXology's Comics reader for Android devices. [PC Magazine]

Conventions | The Latino Comic Expo is expanding from its original base in San Francisco to a new event at the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach. [Patch.com]

Conventions | Florida Supercon is moving to bigger quarters in the Miami Beach Convention Center next year, and organizers have already announced their first guests: John Romita Sr. and John Romita Jr. [Florida Supercon]

Retailing | Jeff Blevins got tired of being a manager at Wal-Mart, so he opened Punk Monkey Comics in Forest Acres, South Carolina. While he acknowledges that comics these days are made for men aged 16-50, Blevins hopes to have an all-ages friendly store and he is instituting Friday night gaming events. [Columbia Star]