Digital publishing | As expected, Barnes & Noble on Tuesday unveiled its Nook Color e-book reader, priced at $249. The 7-inch LCD touch tablet runs on the Android 2.1 operating system, and offers web browsing, audio and video playback, and basic games (CNET notes that Barnes & Noble is pushing the device as a "reader's tablet"). The device ships on Nov. 19. [CNET, Salon, paidContent]
Internet | PayPal has announced its much-anticipated micropayments system, with Facebook and a number of other websites lining up behind it. PayPal describes the new product, available later this year, as an “in-context, frictionless payment solution that lets consumers pay for digital goods and content in as little as two clicks, without ever having to leave a publisher’s game, news, music, video or media site.” Scott McCloud is quick out of the gate with reaction: "This is so close, in almost every respect, to what we were asking for over a decade ago, it’s almost eerie. They’re even using the same language to describe it." [TechCrunch]
Digital piracy | A pair of interviews about the unexpected sales spike following the bootleg posting of Underground on 4chan: Comic Book Resource's Jonah Weiland talks with co-creators Jeff Parker and Steve Lieber, while Techdirt's Mike Masnick chats with Lieber and studio mate Erika Moen. [Underground]
History | The one-time studio in Meredith, New Hampshire, of Archie creator Bob Montana is scheduled to be torn down to make way for retail space and professional offices. [The Citizen]
Comic strips | Cartoonist Garry Trudeau marks the 40th anniversary of Doonesbury with an interview tour that includes Slate, NPR and The Guardian. His remarks about the future of the medium sparked a brief controversy in webcomics circles that was quickly calmed by PvP creator Scott Kurtz. [Doonesbury]
Comics | Shaenon K. Garrity kicks off discussion with a perhaps-controversial list of "Ten Things to Know About the Future of Comics" -- "Monthly comic books are dead," "Superheroes are not comic-book characters" -- which leads to a response about the future of webcomics from Larry Cruz. [comiXology, The Webcomic Overlook]
Digital comics | Shannon O'Leary provides a broad overview of the digital arena, tied to New York Comic Con and the ICv2 Comics and Digital Conference. [Publishers Weekly]
Retailing | Bozeman, Montana, store Rook's Comics and Games is spotlighted as it re-opens in a new, 5,300-square-foot location. [Bozeman Daily Chronicle]
Creators | Jim Lee talks about his career and the new hardcover retrospective Icons: The DC Comics and Wildstorm Art of Jim Lee. [Splash Page, Publishers Weekly]
Creators | Aaron Sagers interviews The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman and The Zombie Survival Guide author Max Brooks. [Kentucky.com]
Creators | Nightmare World writer Dirk Manning is profiled by his local newspaper. [Toledo Blade]
Comics | Douglas Wolk takes a look at the history of vampire and Frankenstein comics. [Techland]