Crime | Police in Amarillo, Texas, are searching for a man who robbed the Big Apple Comics at gunpoint on Tuesday. An employee was locking up the store at about 7:10 p.m. when a man approached him and told him to unlock the doors. The employee resisted, and the robber reportedly drew a semi-automatic pistol and demanded money. The employee handed over an undisclosed amount of cash. [Amarillo Globe-News]
Passings | Zack Davisson, who translated Shigeru Mizuki's works into English for Drawn and Quarterly, pens the definitive obituary of the late manga master, writing not only about his impact on Japanese culture but also his criticism of Japan's actions in World War II and its treatment of disabled veterans, which led writer Jake Adelstein to call him "the Voice of Japan’s Conscience." [The Comics Journal]
Legal | Tom Spurgeon notes that the sedition trial of Malaysian political cartoonist Zunar has been delayed until January. Zunar faces nine counts of sedition based on a series of tweets that were critical of the Malaysian justice system. [The Comics Reporter]
Creators | Speaking of Zunar, a Malaysian publication has a nice profile of him, with some background on his life and career and an interview about his current work, which is sharply critical of Prime Minister Najib Razak and his wife, Rosmah: "Najib is boring compared to his wife, who is 'cartoon-able'. She is so reckless in her actions and speeches, which easily becomes fodder for me as a cartoonist," he said. "Besides, you can't do much in terms of cartooning with Najib, who is often silent on many issues." [The Malaysian Insider]
Best of the year | Paste Magazine counts down its picks for the 25 best comics and graphic novels of the year. [Paste]
Best of the year | The AV Club lists its favorite serial and ongoing comics of the year. [The AV Club]
Creators | I interviewed John Allison, creator of the webcomics Bad Machinery and Scary Go Round, about his new comic Giant Days, which has been promoted by BOOM! Studios from a miniseries to an ongoing. [Publishers Weekly]
Creators | "I knew I would be looking at this thumb for a long time": Ellen Forney discusses how she got just the right pair of hands for the murals of a pinky swear and walking fingers that she created for the Capitol Hill light rail station in Seattle. [The Stranger]
Comics | Matt White looks at 12 comics about presidential politics. [Publishers Weekly]
Comics | Henry Jenkins has written a multi-part essay about Indian comics, starting out with a post contrasting early decorative art with the contemporary graphic novel Bhimayana: Incidents in the Life of Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, an exploration of the caste system and how it plays out in real life. [Henry Jenkins]
Retailing | Glen Booth of the Duluth, Minnesota, comic shop Collector's Connection has some issues with the Local Comic Shop Day promotion, noting the event focused on variant covers, which are rare and sell above cover price, and therefore are not a good product for new customers — especially Black Friday customers, who are looking for bargains, not markups. [ICv2]
Retailing | With the premiere of the new Star Wars movie just around the corner, James Tutten takes the opportunity to make the rounds of the local comic shops in Orlando, Florida. [Orlando Sentinel]