Legal | There's one fewer party in the lawsuit over the use of the term "comic con": Newspaper Agency Corp., which produces materials for Salt Lake Comic Con, has settled with the organizers of Comic-Con International in San Diego. Comic-Con sued both in August, claiming trademark infringement. Update: A Comic-Con International spokesman clarified that the settlement with the Newspaper Agency Corp. -- a printing, advertising and delivery company owned by The Salt Lake Tribune and the Deseret News under a joint operating agreement -- is already in effect, with the company agreeing to a court order that prevents it from using the mark "Comic-Con," "Comic Con" or its variants in the materials it produces. The lawsuit against Salt Lake Comic Con organizers continues. [The Salt Lake Tribune]

Crime | Someone tossed a homemade fire bomb into the offices of the German newspaper Hamburger Morgenpost at about 2 a.m. on Sunday. Firefighters put out the fire quickly, and no one was in the offices at the time. The paper published three of the controversial Prophet Muhammad cartoons from Charlie Hebdo on Thursday with the headline "This much freedom must be possible!" [The Telegraph]

Editorial cartoons | Michael Kupperman relates his frustrating, and short-lived, experience as a cartoonist for The New York Times. [The Hooded Utilitarian]



Publishing | Ron Turner of the underground comics publisher Last Gasp, which published Zap Comix and Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary, talks about his experiences with controversial material, including death threats from the Manson family. [KQED]

Comics | Scholar Anthony R. Ramirez and comics writer Jaime "Jimmy" Portillo discuss the rising influence of Latino creators in comics, and why that hasn't translated into an increase in Latino characters. [Voxxi]

Creators | Ben Hatke, creator of Zita the Spacegirl, reveals the cover of his next graphic novel Little Robot, and talks about how he developed the story and why his heroines are all little girls. [Hero Complex]



Creators | Paul Gravett interviews Dylan Horrocks about his new graphic novel Sam Zabel and the Magic Pen. [Paul Gravett]

Creators | Chuck Forsman looks back at 2014, in terms of both his cartooning and his personal life. [Medium]

Manga | Ryan Holmberg writes about Osamu Tezuka and Fukui Ei’ichi in the early days of manga. [The Comics Journal]

Conventions | Doug McCash's report from Wizard World New Orleans includes an interview with local artist Tim Lattie, creator of Night Stars. [Times-Picayune]

Retailing | Dennis Barger, who moved his Wonderworld Comics online, has opened a new brick-and-mortar store, Quick Stop Comics, in Lincoln Park, Michigan. [The News-Herald]

Retailing | Sky High Comics, which opened in April 2014, will close soon, leaving Turlock City, California, without a comic shop once more. The store's most recent shipment of new comics was its last, but it will continue to sell back issues until it closes. [Turlock City News]