Creators | Raina Telgemeier's newest graphic novel, "Ghosts," debuted this week, generating lots of attention — and a nice profile in The New Yorker, where she talks about the usual things (her inspirations, the comics she read as a kid) but also a problem peculiar to a creator who is able to really reach kids on their own wavelength: They think of her as a peer, not a grownup. "When they realize that I’m their parents’ age, it basically sends them to an existential place," she says. Because they think of her as a friend, they often press her for personal advice, which she feels she isn't qualified to give. Instead, she speaks more generally through her books. The message she wants to convey: "That it’s going to be OK. That everybody, with just a little bit of talking and a little bit of empathy, can find out that they have a lot in common." [The New Yorker]

Creators | In a very different article, Telgemeier writes about her rise as a graphic novelist, from a kid reading the funny pages to one of only two women in her cartooning class at the School for Visual Arts, making minicomics and selling them for a dollar, quitting her job to work on her first graphic novel, to her current success, including a little bit on process. [Cosmopolitan]

Creators | LA Weekly briefly profiles MariNaomi, whose "I Thought You Hated Me" debuts next week. [LA Weekly]

Creators | Panel Patter is profiling a number of indie creators in the run-up to the Small Press Expo, including Lucy Bellwood, who makes comics about tall ships and her experiences sailing on them, as well as correcting a lot of historical misinformation. For a sample, check out her piece on Wind-Powered Shipping at The Nib. [Panel Patter]

Censorship | With Banned Books Week on the way, Steve Duin looks at some graphic novel controversies, including two attempts earlier this year to remove Jillian and Mariko Tamaki's "This One Summer" from school libraries. [Portland Oregonian]

Manga | Cross Infinite World is a new manga publisher that is digital only, at least for now; they started with light novels but have branched out into shoujo (girls') manga. Reporter Krystallina reads their manga and predicts that they will be around for a while. [The OASG]

Figures | Mark Millar announces a new "Huck." [Twitter, Graphic Policy]

Retailing | David Wheeler has built a mini-empire of comic shops, with an unusual franchise structure, in Texas, and it all started because he wanted to get closer to one of his classmates at the University of Texas, Austin. She worked at Capital Comic Company, so he got a job there; when it failed, he hired on at Phoenix Comics, and when it closed down, he went into business for himself. Over the next 30 years he built up Dragon's Lair from one small shop in an odd part of town to a much larger, more centrally located venue. He sold the business last year but is still a franchisor, basically working for the new owners, and he is setting up similar franchise deals with three other stores. [Austin Chronicle]

Conventions | Canton, Ohio, is getting its first comic con in 15 years, thanks to the efforts of five locals, and it will have a strong comics focus, with special guests George Perez, Jim Steranko, Howard Chaykin and Ryan Meinerding. [Canton Repository]