Crime | An alert employee of JHU Comic Books in Staten Island helped foil a would-be shoplifter who was trying to make off with $114 worth of comics in his pants. According to police, Dani Ward noticed that Nicholas Perciballi, 22, was acting nervous, and she suspected he might be up to something, so she kept her eye on him as he shopped. Sure enough, as he was leaving the store, he allegedly dropped some comics from underneath his shirt. Ward reportedly called out and ran after Perciballi, then called the cops, who picked him up about 20 minutes later. When he was searched, police say they found four packets of heroin and a number of comics hidden in his clothes. Perciballi has been arrested three times in recent months on drug charges, and he allegedly told police, "I’m selling to support my habit and to cover my court fees from my last case." [New York Daily News]

Comics | George Gene Gustines looks at the recent surge in gay and trans characters in comics, and how that expands the types of stories that can be told — as well as the potential audience. [The New York Times]

Creators | Tom Eaton, whose The Wacky Adventures of Pedro has been a staple in Boys Life magazine for years, is retiring at age 75 due to health reasons. More than 50 years ago, when he was a student at the University of Kansas, Eaton made the decision to forgo engineering for cartooning. "I realized one day that I would probably make a mediocre engineer, whereas I would probably make a better cartoonist if I followed my passion," he said. After a stint in the army, and working for Hallmark Cards and Scholastic, he started freelancing and wound up taking over Pedro, as well as Dink and Duff and Webolos Woody. [Boys Life]

Awards | The Virginia Library Association has announced a new Graphic Novel Diversity Award, with two categories, Youth (for ages 6-17) and Adult (ages 18 up). [Virginia Library Association]

Best of the year | Scott McCloud's The Sculptor was the top vote-getter in Publishers Weekly's annual critics poll, and two graphic novels tied for second place: Adrian Tomine's Killing and Dying and Jillian Tamaki's SuperMutant Magic Academy. With so many critics participating, the full list is long and very diverse. [Publishers Weekly]

Best of the year | Former Robot 6 contributor Graeme McMillan picks his top comics of 2015. [The Hollywood Reporter]

Best of the year | Joshua Rivera rounds up 10 of the best graphic novels of 2015. [GQ]

Editorial cartoons | Crain's Detroit Business puts a nice spin on the year-in-review article with a look back at 2015 in editorial cartoons and an interview with their cartoonist, Daniel Saad. [Crain's Detroit Business]

Conventions | Jennifer Sangalang rounds up the Florida comics and pop culture conventions scheduled for 2016, so you can start your planning early. [Florida Today]