Passings | British cartoonist Gordon Bell has died at the age of 79. He was a contributor to DC Thomson's children's comics, including The Beano and The Dandy, in the 1960s and '70s; his creations include The Bash Street Pups. After that, he went on to become a political cartoonist (under the nom de plume Fax) for the Dundee, Scotland, newspaper The Courier, which is also apparently owned by DC Thomson. Lew Stringer has posted a sampling of his work at Blimey! [The Courier]

Passings | Another U.K. creator who drew for weekly children's comics, Anthony John "Tony" Harding, has also died. While Bell's work was on the goofy side, Harding drew soccer stories for action-packed boys' comics such as Bullet, Hornet and Victor. His best-known gig was as the artist for "Look Out for Lefty," the story of a hotheaded soccer player with a skinhead girlfriend, which got a bit too close to reality with its depictions of violence during soccer games. Again, Lew Stringer posts some of his work. [Down the Tubes]

Creators | Cartoonist Spike Trotman is David Brothers' latest guest on the Inkstuds podcast, where she talks about money and comics. Spike has quite a bit of experience in this regard, as the author of the webcomic Templar, Arizona, and the moving force behind the Smut Peddler anthology. She also kickstarted a book that's helpful for those who aren't making money yet, Poorcraft. [ComicsAlliance]

Publishing | Chris Rosa, assistant editor at BOOM! Studios, talks about what it's like working on comics as diverse as Garfield, Hellraiser and Loki: Ragnarok and Roll. He also explains exactly what an assistant editor does. [Women Write About Comics]

History | Ken Quattro is doing some fascinating research on Josette Frank of the Child Study Association, who stood up for comics when Dr. Fredric Wertham was crusading against them. In this first part, Quattro starts with a volley of letters between Frank and the marketer for the Superman radio show, then brings in some of the backstory. Settle in and get comfortable, as Quattro has written five posts all together. [The Comics Detective]

Retailing | Seth Luck oversees the "massive" comics section in the Prescott, Arizona, bookstore Peregrine Book Company, which carries 5,000 used and 220 new comics, and where everything printed before 2012 is just a dollar. It also has a backstock of 30,000 comics, which Luck is organizing. The collection seems to focus on superheroes, and when asked which characters were most popular, Luck had a ready answer: "Superman seems to move the most. Robin also moves. There are a lot of Robin lovers out there. Batman also sells, of course. Everybody loves Batman." [The Daily Courier]

Retailing | Tom Speelman pays a visit to Vault of Midnight Comics in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and talks with owners Liz and Curtis Sullivan as well as a handful of customers. [The Rapidian]

Auctions | The Paris art gallery Daniel Maghen and Christie's auction house are collaborating on an auction of original comics art that will include works by Moebius, Jacques Tardi, Frank Frazetta, Osamu Tezuka, Mike Mignola, Will Eisner, Milo Manara and Peyo, among others. Zainab Akhtar translates the press release for us and also comments that this is a milestone in that works that were created as comics are being treated the same way as other, more traditional, forms of art. [Comics and Cola]

Exhibits | Two longtime collectors have dipped into their collections for a comics-themed exhibit at the Cooper Museum in Upland, California. The show includes original comic art, vintage comics, and pop-culture memorabilia such as Mars Attacks trading cards and Hot Wheels cars. [Inland Valley Daily Bulletin]