Publishing | DC Comics' Vertigo imprint is the first comics company to use the Wattpad "social reading app," where writers and publishers can share their work with potential readers around the world. Survivors' Club writers Lauren Beukes and Dale Halvorsen are starting things off with a list of their favorite horror movies, and Gail Simone and Holly Black are expected to check in as well. [TechCrunch]

Conventions | Journalist Tom Spurgeon and Bone creator Jeff Smith, co-organizers of Cartoon Crossroads Columbus, discuss their concept for a truly comics-focused festival. "We’re almost at the point where we’re treating comics as a weigh station before you make your money or impact," Spurgeon says. "Comics are solely what we do and it’s solely where our efforts go. We want this to be important. We want to celebrate older cartoonists who may have fallen out favor. We want to celebrate the anniversaries of great comics. It’s solely comics-focused." [Paste]



Creators | Chip Zdarsky expands on his refusal to accept the special Harvey Award for humor because it named only him and not his Sex Criminals collaborator Matt Fraction: “If it was art, sure I’d accept!" he said. "If it was writing, I’d be ecstatic for Matt to get it! But ‘humor’? That’s both of us, with the emphasis on Matt, frankly." [Comic Riffs]

Editorial cartoons | Daryl Cagle presents a brief history of The New York Times' use of editorial cartoons. At one point the newspaper was asking cartoonists to submit their work for free, and now The Times is running a contest for student cartoonists that doesn't seem like such a great deal either, as the prize is publication but no pay. [Daryl Cagle]

Creators | Leah Mandel profiles Australian cartoonist Simon Hanselmann, creator of Megg, Mogg, and Owl. [The Fader]



Creators | Gene Luen Yang talks about his new graphic novel, Secret Coders, a kids' story that combines adventure and coding. [Entertainment Weekly]

Creators | John Freeman interviews The Walking Dead artist Charlie Adlard ahead of the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. In addition to his usual zombie duties, Adlard is working on a graphic novel, Vampire State Building, for a French publisher. [Down the Tubes]

Comics culture | Kaori Shoji looks at mangakamono, the genre of Japanese films that deals with the lives of manga creators, both real and fictitious. [The Japan Times]

Awards | Taiwanese creator Antenna Gyugyo is the winner of the first-ever KYOMAF (Kyoto International Manga Anime Festival) Manga Award for the first volume of his manga-inspired comic BlueRoseAge. The organizers of the Kyoto event teamed with the Taiwanese event Comic Exhibition to administer the award. [Asahi Shimbun]

Conventions | Gavin Sheehan takes a hard look at what this year's Salt Lake Comic Con got right — and wrong. [Salt Lake City Weekly]

Conventions | The Zion Show reports on the Black Age of Comics event with a portfolio of photos and creator interviews. [The Zion Show]