Superheroes | Writer Jim Zubkavich tackles the burning question of why there are so few Canadian superheroes: "We don’t have a long standing superhero tradition in this country. We don’t have a long-standing focal point character people recognize (I like Captain Canuck, but the average person on the street does not know who he is). We’re not a country galvanized by heavy-duty patriotic pride that lends itself to a Superman, Captain America or even a Batman. We don’t have the kind of rampant crime that ‘needs’ a heroic symbol to fight back against." [Zub Tales]
Digital comics | The first issue of Mark Millar's Jupiter's Legacy sold more than 100,000 copies in stores, but was that because he refused to allow it to be sold in digital format the same day? Steve Bennett is doubtful, because so many people (including himself) didn't realize until the last minute it would be print-only for now. [ICv2]
Digital comics | Mike Romo won't pay $3.99 for a digital Marvel comic, but he voluntarily paid $5 for the second issue of Brian K. Vaughan and Marcos Martin's The Private Eye (which is available on a pay-what-you-want basis). His explanation? His relationships with Marvel and the creators are very different. [iFanboy]
Publishing | Dan Nadel interviews Dean Mullaney and Bruce Canwell, the founder and associate editor, respectively, of the Library of American Comics, which is not a library but an imprint featuring collections of classic comic strips. [The Comics Journal]
Creators | Gary Erskine talks about drawing the Doctor Who comic Prisoners of Time #4, which features the Fourth Doctor. [Down the Tubes]
Creators | Writer F.J. DeSanto discusses adapting Shotaro Ishinomori's classic manga Cyborg 009 into an American-style graphic novel. [PreviewsWorld]
Creators | James Romberger talks to Michael DeForge, whose newest graphic novel Very Casual, debuted over the weekend at the Toronto Comic Arts Festival. [Publishers Weekly]
Graphic novels | Seventeen-year-old Kylie Larkin has just published her first graphic novel Midnight High, which has been in the works for the past two years. Larkin, who has Asperger's Syndrome (her mother calls her "an artistic autistic"), developed the graphic novel with help from a local art studio that has programs for children with autism. [The Press-Enterprise]
Editorial cartoons | A pro-gun website took an anti-NRA cartoon by Mike Peters and Photoshopped it so it was the exact opposite of the original (basically, the group rearranged the "before" and "after" panels). Peters pointed out that not only did this violate copyright laws, it also infringed his right to free speech. The cartoon has since been taken down. [The Daily Cartoonist]
Conventions | If you couldn't make it to the real thing, you can have your own private Toronto Comic Arts Festival thanks to Jamie Coville, who recorded nine panels plus the Doug Wright Awards ceremony. [Jamie Coville's MP3 Files]
Criticism | A panel of judges, led by Ng Suat Tong, presents their picks for the best comics criticism of 2012. [The Hooded Utilitarian]