Retailing | Amazon's war with Hachette has taken an odd turn: The retail giant has restored discounts and preorders for Marvel (which uses Hachette as its distributor), and the shipping delays are gone, but it seems to have doubled down on Hachette imprint Yen Press. [ICv2]
Retailing | Heidi MacDonald reports on Diamond Comic Distributors' year-to-date sales figures, and it's a bit of a mixed bag, with sales of monthly comics down but graphic novels and merchandise up, for a slight uptick in overall sales. Another interesting statistic: The number of individual Diamond accounts (which is generally regarded as a measure of the number of comics shops) is up 1.3 percent for 2014 so far; last year's increase was 3 percent over the entire year. She also reports on the numbers for this year's Free Comic Book Day; retailers ordered 4.65 million comics, and most were happy with the way the day went. [Publishers Weekly]
Retailing | Kate Leth, creator of the webcomic Kate or Die, talks about the international group of women who work in comics retailing, the Valkyries, which she founded: "The Valkyries talk, we share, we're on top of announcements and news in geek culture. Announce a great creative team or do something incredibly sexist; either way, your move is seen by over 200 women who have power over how your books sell. I think that's important." [Austin Chronicle]
Creators | After 64 years on the job, 90-year-old Jack Elrod is retiring from Mark Trail; he stopped drawing the strip last year, as his hands were getting shaky, but he continued to write it. [11 Alive]
Creators | Peter Tonguette talks to Daniel Clowes and several of his admirers as his work goes on exhibit at the Wexner Center for the Arts at Ohio State University. [The Columbus Dispatch]
Creators | Jamie Lynn Lano, one of the few Americans to work in a Japanese manga studio, talks about her journey from reading Elfquest to watching Sailor Moon to becoming assistant to Takeshi Konomi, creator of Prince of Tennis. She has now written a memoir, The Princess of Tennis, about her experiences. [Organization Anti-Social Geniuses]
Creators | Carlee Wright profiles Shawn Cruz of Corrosive Comics, detailing the obstacles he has overcome to draw and publish his own comics. [Statesman Journal]
Comics culture | Jayme Fraser talks to the entrepreneurs at Comicpalooza who make and sell nerd-appeal products like decorated longboxes and suits of armor. [Houston Chronicle]
Webcomics | Srijeeta Biswas picks out five of the best Indian webcomics. [Bangalore Mirror]