Manga | The first printing of One Piece, Vol. 77, may have dropped below 4 million, but its sales aren't slacking. According to Japanese market research firm, the latest volume of Eiichiro Oda's hit manga has sold nearly 1.67 million copies since its release on Friday, more than seven times that of the No. 2 title on the weekly sales chart, the 67th volume of Tite Kubo's Bleach. That's marks a new weekly sales record for the year, surpassing the 67th volume of One Piece, which sold 1.6 million copies upon its release in January. [Crunchyroll]

Conventions | "It wasn't like the show was canceled, it was buried in a hole and somehow digging itself deeper every day," said John Roach of Salem, Oregon's Cherry City Comic Con, which he managed to bring back from the dead. The previous owners of the Salem, Oregon, event had both financial and marketing problems; at one point they did announce it was canceled — and vendors weren't paid. Roach, whose wife was an exhibitor in last year's show, took over in January and has not only sold out the exhibit floor but brought in some entertainment guests. The show is scheduled for this weekend, and, Roach says, "This is not last year's show. It's way bigger and better." [Polk County Itemizer-Observer]



Digital comics | Seven of the 10 bestselling comics in comiXology's recent Marvel sale featured female leads. [ComiXology]

Comics | Wednesday was "Draw a Bird Day," and Steve Martino, director of the upcoming Peanuts film, posted a video encouraging cartoonists to draw Snoopy's feathered friend Woodstock. Michael Cavna posts the video and rounds up some of the results. [Comic Riffs]

Creators | Mike Mignola discusses Hellboy in Hell in a radio interview. [KCRW]



Creators | Gene Luen Yang talks about the comics he loved as a kid and offers some advice for young people who want to break into the biz. [Parent Co]

Creators | Ruben Bolling, creator of Tom the Dancing Bug, lists six children's books and comics that inspired his latest children's book, Alien Invasion in My Backyard. [BoingBoing]

Creators | Whit Taylor talks about comics as a medium, some of her favorite works, and how her training as a filmmaker has influenced her own work. [National Endowment for the Arts]

Creators | Songwriter and comics creator Jeffrey Lewis (Fuff) talks about music and comics and the ways they have come together in his life. [The Comics Journal]

Retailing | Shane Mason will open the first comic shop in Wollongong, Australia, next month, giving residents an alternative to buying online or driving to Sydney to get their fix. Mason said he was inspired by seeing 3,000 fans turn out for the Comic Gong convention last year, and he has enough money to start the store, but he is raising money on IndieGoGo to allow him to expand the inventory. [Illawarra Mercury]