Publishing | The Amazing Spider-Man #700 led the pack in the December comics numbers with 200,000 copies selling to comics shops, and with a cover price if $7.99, it racked up a cool $1.6 million in sales. Avengers #1 sold 186,000 copies but at a more reasonable price, so the dollars didn't pile up as high for that one. ICv2 also has the December charts for the Top 300 comics and graphic novels in the direct market. John Jackson Miller takes it to the next level with sales estimates for the top 1,000 comics and trades of 2012. [ICv2]

Publishing | At the other end of the scale, Rob Clough talks to Chuck Forsman, the guy behind micropublisher Oily Comics. [The Comics Journal]

Creators | Robot 6 contributor J. Caleb Mozzocco talks to Roger Langridge about the Popeye series he's writing, and sometimes drawing, for IDW Publishing and his feelings about doing creator-owned comics versus working for the Big Two. [Good Comics for Kids]



Creators | Drew McCabe interviews Princeless writer Jeremy Whitley, who discusses the genesis of the comic, the rise of all-ages comics, and who he would like to cross over with: "Just from a pure comedy and fun perspective though, I would love to have Adrienne encounter Marvel’s Asgard. I’d love to see her trade blows with Thor and train with Sif. I even think she’d be a match for Volstagg at the kitchen table." [Comic Attack]

Creators | Warren Ellis talks about "dystopian America, the space age and breaking other people's websites with the power of Twitter" in a half-hour video done by the Institute for Art and Ideas. [iai]

Creators | Milo George interviews minicomics artist Arthur Jones. [StudyGroup Blog]

Comics | Hannah Means-Shannon discusses comics journalism, memoirs and autobio comics, and the distinctions between them. [Welcome to Trip City]



Digital comics | Retailer Brian Hibbs reports in on his experience as an affiliate of Diamond Digital; so far, he has netted just over $22 in the first three quarters. [The Savage Critics]

Manga | The Japanese seinen manga magazine IKKI launched a webcomics site last week, and one of the comics is in both English and Japanese; I talked to the editor and translator about the new manga and what's coming next. [MTV Geek]

Best of the year | Paul Gravett lists his choices for the best graphic novels of 2012. [Paul Gravett]