Publishing | Tom Spurgeon has word that Wizard Entertainment has laid off Benji DeJohn, who in February moved from the company's West Coast sales office to manage the Chicago and Philadelphia conventions. [The Comics Reporter]
Publishing | Archie Comics continues to garner mainstream-media attention for the marriage storyline that kicks off this week. In addition to the prominent segment on last night's Colbert Report, there's a fan-reaction article in today's New York Daily News, and an interview with Editor-in-Chief Victor Gorelick on The Washington Post's Comic Riffs blog. "Overall, it's been a very positive response," Gorelick tells Michael Cavna. "An overhwhelming response. There's also been a very large response [from people] being disappointed that he proposed." [Archie Comics]
Editorial cartoons | The Chicago Tribune has hired Scott Stantis (Prickly City) as staff editorial cartoonist, filling a position that's been vacant since the death of Jeff MacNelly in 2000. [Chicago Tribune]
Editorial cartoons | Kirk Anderson ponders the future of editorial cartooning: "Editorial cartoons used to have power and influence. This was back in the days of Thomas Nast, when the corrupt politician Boss Tweed famously said of Nast's blasts, "Stop them damn pictures! I don't care what the papers write about me. My constituents can't read. But, damn it, they can see the pictures!" (True quote.) Editorial cartoons might still carry such power today, were it not for the destructive rise in literacy." [MPR News, via The Daily Cartoonist]
Comics | Minneapolis City Pages' third annual "Comix Issue" features contributions by Zander Cannon, Bill Prendergast, Kevin McCarthy and more. [City Pages]
Comics | Retailer Steve Bennett considers how superhero comics "have gotten far edgier than primetime network television." He's talking, at least in part, about that scene in Justice League: Cry for Justice #2: "... It should come as no surprise I'm squarely with those who found this wildly inappropriate. But the worst thing about the whole business is if you're of a mind to write torrid superhero sex scenes we already have a medium where you can do that to your heart's content. ... It's called fan-fiction." [ICv2.com]
Retailing | Ian Mason reports on the closing of They Walk Among Us, the Richmond, England, comic store best known for its appearances on the TV shows Spaced and Red Dwarf. The shop will reopen in October under new ownership as Ace Comics. [Richmond and Twickenham Times]
Creators | Cartoonist Josh Neufeld discusses A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge with the New Orleans newspaper. [NOLA.com]
Creators | Sean Collins continues his series of interviews with contributors to Marvel's Strange Tales MAX miniseries. Today, the subject is John Leavitt, who's collaborating with Molly Crabapple for a Victorian tale of She-Hulk. Kiel Phegley also takes a look at the anthology series. [Marvel.com, PW Comics Week]
Creators | Artist Amy Mebberson talks about her work for BOOM! Studios on Monsters Inc. [Disney Comics Worldwide]
Creators | NBC's Today show profiles 14-year-old creator Jake Tinsley, whose comic-book superhero will tackle the real-world abduction and murder of Amber Hagerman. [Today]
Graphic novels | Author Malorie Blackman recommends 10 graphic novels (and comics collections) for teens. [Guardian]
Employment | The library at Northwestern University is hiring a library assistant to catalog its comics collection. [Comix 411]