Manga | Nearly two decades into his blockbuster fantasy adventure, it appears creator Eiichiro Oda still has a long way to go before he completes the epic One Piece. Just ahead of the manga's 18th birthday on Sunday, its current editor Taku Sugita revealed on a Tokyo radio show that somewhere around the 60th volume Oda estimated the story had reached the halfway point. With the release of Vol. 78 earlier this month, Sugita guesses One Piece is "maybe" 70-percent complete. "I don’t think it’s at 80 percent yet," he said. "Something like that.” [Rocket News24]
Publishing | The editors of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo have solved the problem of having too much money, something that had never been an issue until recently. After two gunmen attacked the Paris headquarters in January, killing 12 and wounding 11 more, sales of the next issue shot up as millions of non-readers bought it to show their solidarity. The magazine had always run on a shoestring, and the unexpected cash caused some dissension among the staff, some of whom thought the publication should become a cooperative. There are only two shareholders, one of whom is editor Laurent Sourisseau, who has announced that all of the profits from 2015 will go back into the company, with no dividend paid this year; at least 70 percent will be invested in the company going forward. The company also saw a spike in earnings in 2006, after publishing a set of controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, and the shareholders (there were four at the time) kept all the profits. [The Wall Street Journal]
Creators | Alex DeCampi discusses writing Archie Vs. Predator. [Comic Attack]
Creators | Faith Erin Hicks talks about her favorite manga in a video made for Viz Media. [Crunchyroll]
Creators | In advance of Pete's Mini Zine Fest, set for this weekend, Brooklyn writer Alison Wilgus discusses her minicomics Apartment Hunting and Boyfriends of Brooklyn. [Brooklyn Daily]
Creators | Darin Henry, co-executive producer and writer for the Disney Channel show K.C. Undercover, talks about his other project, Sitcomics, which are basically sitcoms in comics form, all set in the central Pennsylvania area where he grew up. [Patriot-News]
Creators | Deb Aoki posts a transcription of the gay manga panel from the Toronto Comic Arts Festival, featuring artist Gengoroh Tagame. [MangaComicsManga]
Manga | In an interview conducted at Anime Expo, Yen Press Publisher Kurt Hassler defends sports manga, discusses light novels and declares this "the summer of Prison School." [Organization Anti-Social Geniuses]
History | Michael Dooley takes a look at Harvey Kurtzman's short-lived (two issues) but influential magazine Trump, designed to be a counterpoint to Mad (which Kurtzman founded and then left). The article includes a nice selection of comics and fake ads. Best quote is from Hugh Hefner on why Trump didn't succeed: “I gave Harvey Kurtzman an unlimited budget, and he exceeded it.” [Print]
Advice | Webcomics creator Byron Wilkins posts a guide to creating press kits that's designed for webcomics creators but has plenty of useful advice for everyone. [Webcomic Alliance]
Retailing | Superhero movies don't have as much of an effect on sales at Chapel Hill Comics as the season: Summer is the store's busiest time, as prospective students flood into town to visit the nearby University of North Carolina. [The Daily Tar Heel]
Conventions | David O'Hare was playing poker with his friends when he mentioned he would like to see a comics convention in New Jersey. He made a bet that he could stage the first one on his own — and he came through. The third Garden State Comic Fest will be held this weekend, in a larger venue and with an expected attendance of 5,000. [NJ.com]