Legal | Joint committees in the Philippines House of Representatives have approved a bill banning pornographic comics. The newspaper article defines hentai as "the Japanese cartoon that depicts children in explicit sexual activity," so it's unclear what the language of the legislation is. However, the bill apparently would make the possession of "hentai" punishable by six to 12 years in prison and a fine. [Manila Standard Today]
Publishing | Disney Publishing Worldwide has made a licensing deal with Indian publisher Junior Diamond to release Disney comics in that country in English and Hindi. [Business Standard]
Creators | In an article titled "The Sorcery of Alan Moore," James Parker considers the influence of the comic-book writer on popular culture, dwelling too much on the film adaptations of his work: "If part of the enterprise of comics writers over the past 30 years has been to reclaim and reinterpret an earlier, apparently exhausted symbolic world, then Moore has been the high priest of this postmodern ritual." [The Atlantic]
Creators | Brian Azzarello talks about the end of his "postmodern noir" series 100 Bullets. To mark the occasion -- the final, 100th issue hits stores today -- Tucker Stone examines the writer's other stories, from 1996's Primer #1 to 1998's Jonny Double to 2002's Cage. [The Underwire, The Factual Opinion]
Publishing | Laura Hudson spotlights Sweden's "young, flourishing comics scene" and moves by Top Shelf Productions to publish some of the creators in North America. [PW Comics Week]
Publishing | Johanna Draper Carlson talks with Archie Comics Managing Editor Mike Pellerito about the "Young Salem" storyline in Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and what will happen to the title afterward. [Comics Worth Reading]
Comics | On last night's episode of G4's Attack of the Show, Blair Butler announced Invincible co-creator Cory Walker will return to the Image Comics series for a two-part story in issues 66 and 67. [Fresh Ink]
Comics | Recent comments on Mike Kunkel's blog had left some wondering whether the cartoonist had been removed from DC Comics' increasingly late Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam! However, it looks like Tiny Titans team of Art Baltazar and Franco Aureliani, plus an unnamed artist, will only be providing fill-in issues to help keep the series on a monthly schedule. [Comics Worth Reading, Newsarama]
Comics | Frank Quitely's cover for Batman and Robin #2 has been revealed. Updated with color art. [The Source]
Creators | Dwight Garner reviews Yoshihiro Tatsumi's autobiography A Drifting Life, but the piece serves as a decent profile of the legendary manga creator. [The New York Times]
Creators | Rachelle Goguen chats briefly with Jeff Parker about Mysterius the Unfathomable and collaborating with Tom Fowler. [Living Between Wednesdays]
Creators | Portland State University's student newspaper is thrilled that Achewood creator Chris Onstad has moved to Portland -- even if his characters haven't. "I've thought about this," Onstad says. "Basically, the strip is set in the San Francisco Bay Area, and I don't want to uproot it, I don't want to move it up here. I don't think I need to. Hopefully we'll see a renewed energy, but not trips to the PSU farmer's market or riding bicycles." [Daily Vanguard]
Manga | "What qualities make a manga irresistibly addictive?" John Jakala has some ideas. [Sporadic Sequential]
Comics | Matt Springer considers "American Mash-up Comics" as a genre, of sorts -- and one not confined to comics. [Alert Nerd]
Art | I know that I linked to Paolo Rivera's "Wacky Reference Wednesdays" feature just last week, but this shot of the artist dressed as Doctor Doom is too good to pass up. [The Self-Absorbing Man]