Publishing | The latest BookScan numbers reveal June was a good month for manga in bookstores, with eight volumes of Attack on Titan making the top 20 — a new record. The first volume topped the list, which means new readers are still discovering Hajime Isayama's dark fantasy. Overall, manga had a slight edge, with 11 titles, and all three volumes of Saga were on the list, but only one volume of The Walking Dead. And despite the Amazon-Hachette battle, the Yen Press title Sword Art Online: Aincrad made the chart. [ICv2]

Publishing | ICv2 and Comichron's John Jackson Miller joined forces to calculate the size of the entire comics market, including the direct market, bookstore and digital channels, and both single issues and graphic novels. Inevitably some things get left out, such as subscription services, sales to libraries and the juggernaut that is the Scholastic Book Fair, but it's a good snapshot. The bottom line: $850 million in 2013. [Comichron]



Comics | Marvel Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso, Thor editor Will Moss and writer Jason Aaron discuss Tuesday's big news that Thor will be a woman. It sounds like they are serious about it, as Alonso says "There really is this one Thor for an extended period of time for which we have no real exit plan." CBR also has an interview this morning with Aaron. [Time]

Creators | Tom Taylor discusses his two series, Injustice: Gods Among Us and Earth 2, and why he likes working outside the standard continuity: "For me, there’s nothing worse than a great idea coming from nowhere but being stuck in an unbreakable mold. I revel in being able to change a story when a character comes along and changes it. You can’t write Harley Quinn and know what she’s going to say or do ahead of time." [Kindle Post]



Creators | Gabrielle Bell talks about her latest comic, Colombia Diaries, which is based on her own experiences but written in the third person by a secretary who is supposedly traveling with her and recording her experiences. [Medium]

Graphic novels | Here's a list of the top 10 graphic novels (so far) of 2014, compiled by a U.K. writer, so some of the titles will be new to American readers. [Creative Bloq]

Editorial cartoons | It's becoming increasingly rare for newspapers to have editorial cartoonists on staff, so it's news that Newsday has brought Matt Davies on board. [Newsday]

Conventions | Clinton Stamatovich, an American living in Korea, writes about his experiences at Comics World, a bimonthly (!) comics convention in Busan, South Korea. [The Elkhart Truth]