Passings | Jan Berenstain, who with her husband Stan created the popular children's book characters the Berenstain Bears, passed away Friday at a hospital near her home in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Berenstain, 88, had suffered a stroke earlier in the week. Since the release of The Big Honey Hunt in 1962, the Berenstain Bears series has grown to more than 300 books and sold about 260 million copies worldwide, inspiring animated television specials and series, museum exhibits and a stage show. Stan Berenstain passed away in 2005 at age 82. [The Washington Post]
Events | This year's 24-Hour Comics Day will be held Oct. 20. [ComicsPro]
Comics | Here's a variation on the comics-aren't-for-kids-anymore theme, with reasonable parents who know they need to check what their kids are reading, and a retailer who gets it. [WNYT.com]
Conventions | Robot 6 contributor Brigid Alverson and yuri manga publisher Erica Friedman report in on last weekend's MangaNEXT convention, the only comic con in the U.S. that is devoted solely to manga. [Publishers Weekly, Okazu)
Conventions | Todd Allen offers some final thoughts on last weekend's Image Expo: "Bottom line, great fan experience and surprisingly smoothly run for an event that was put together in a short time frame. The nice thing about regional shows is a level of creator access you just can’t get with something the size of SDCC and Image Expo had an abundance of that." [The Beat]
Comics | Tom Spurgeon responds to an article we linked to Monday by David Brothers that drew a correlation between constant changes in Marvel’s art teams and their twice-a-month publishing plans for many of their books: "Imagine a network having a popular television production film a half-dozen extra episodes. I would imagine without looking that someone at Marvel has described this in terms of giving the fans more of what they want. The thing is, according to Brothers' piece, this practice has exacerbated the company's publication of issues by artists other than those primarily affiliated with the series in question. So imagine a network having a different set of actors, writers and directors film a half-dozen extra episodes of a popular television production. Is that still a boon?" Retailer Brian Hibbs also offers commentary. [The Comics Reporter]
Awards | Nominations for the comic book category in the 10th annual Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards include Xombi, Hellboy: The Fury, The Walking Dead and Planet of the Apes, among others. [Rondo Awards]
Creators | Sacrifice and Our Love Is Real writer Sam Humphries discusses his work on Marvel's upcoming series John Carter: The Gods of Mars. [Hero Complex]
Creators | Tanpopo creator Camilla d’Errico discusses her career, inspirations and more. [The Mary Sue]
Creators | Classic comics artist Bob McLeod helps teach high school kids how to create comics. [Journal Register News Service]
Creators | The Forbidden Planet blog presents part two of its Trip City roundtable, featuring Dean Haspiel, Nick Abadzis, Jennifer Hayden, Kevin Colden and Joe Infurnari talking about their "Brooklyn-Filtered Literary Salon." [The Forbidden Planet Blog Log]
Creators | Robot 6 contributor Brigid Alverson talks to MIT economics professor Jonathan Gruber and Xeric-winning artist Nathan Schreiber about their nonfiction graphic novel Health Care Reform: What It Is, Why It’s Necessary, How It Works. [Publishers Weekly]
Comics | Comics Should Be Good! contributor Kelly Thompson shares "10 graphic novels for the literary minded." [Lit Reactor]
Digital | A blogger checks out Viz Media's iPad app and finds a number of reasons why the digital format is better for manga — but one significant disadvantage for her young son. [GeekDad]