Passings | Spanish artist Luis Bermejo Rojo has passed away at age 84. Often credited as "Luis Bermejo" or just "Bermejo," he began his career with Spanish comics in the 1940s and later was an artist for Warren Publishing's Creepy as well as numerous British comics, from Girls' Crystal to Battle Picture Library. "His work could turn the most banal of story lines into an absolute visual treat," said fellow artist Ron Tiner. "His masterful grasp of narrative composition, his delicate ink line and consummate skill in the use of deep shadow endowed his story sequences with a bewitching, moonlit quality unmatched by any other artist-storyteller I ever saw." [Down the Tubes]
Comics | Rob Salkowitz looks at the top five comics stories of the year, from the Charlie Hebdo shootings to convention consolidation. [ICv2]
Comics | Reed Beebe considers the similarities between Star Wars and the French comic Valerian and Laureline. [Nothing But Comics]
Creators | Craig Thompson discusses the making of his kids' comics Space Dumplins on the latest Deconstructing Comics podcast. [Deconstructing Comics]
Creators | Writer Andrew Wheeler and artist Paulina Gancheau talk about Another Castle, their new comic from Oni Press about a fairy-tale princess who isn't just sitting around waiting to be rescued — and who isn't afraid to wear pink: "We can always use more stories about amazing tomboy girls who take on the system, but we also need stories that say you don’t have to choose between being a princess and kicking butt. You don’t have to put away the pink to be competent, heroic, or in control." [MTV News]
Creators | At 17, Justice Ryan is already an award-winning comics creator: Her story The Escape, about a girl who escapes from a residential school for aboriginal children, won a James Bartleman Aboriginal Youth Creative Writing Award. The story was inspired by Ryan's visit to a former residential school, and the sight of comics, toys, and candy wrappers that the children had squirreled away under floorboards and in the walls. Now she is working on a comic on the same topic for younger children. [Beach Metro Community News]
Academia | Elizabeth Coody has some advice for anyone thinking of writing a scholarly dissertation or thesis on comics. [Women Write About Comics]
Retailing | Nick Patch pays a visit to Page & Panel, the comic shop attached to the Toronto Reference Library, and chats with the staff and customers; as a bonus, the folks there offer some holiday gift suggestions. [Toronto Star]
Retailing | Tony Capo made pizzas for his family's pizza restaurant when he was growing up, and now he has his own small business: He just opened Robot Zero comics in Geneva, Ohio. [Ashtabula Star Beacon]