Awards | The National Press Foundation has named political cartoonist Robert Ariail, who draws for Universal UClick and the Spartanburg, South Carolina, Herald-Journal, as the winner of this year's Berryman Award. [The Washington Post]

Creators | Brothers Wesley and Bradley Sun discuss their upcoming graphic novel, Chinatown; Wesley is a hospital chaplain in Chicago, and Bradley quit his job in Florida to join his brother and work on the book. [Hyde Park Herald]

Creators | Tom Spurgeon continues his round of in-depth interviews with a conversation with Alex Cox of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. Over the weekend, he also talked to My Friend Dahmer creator Derf Backderf and Robot 6 contributor J. Caleb Mozzocco. [The Comics Reporter]

Manga | As planned, the historical manga Kingdom has secured its designation as the Guinness world record holder as the manga written by the most people. Really, it should be the manga drawn by the most people; there is only one writer, Yasuhira Hara, but as a publicity stunt, members of the general public were invited to redraw a panel from volume 26. A number of prominent manga creators, including Eiichiro Oda (One Piece), Masashi Kishimoto (Naruto), and Takehiko Inoue (Vagabond) were among the 1,087 people who contributed. [Anime News Network]

Retailing | The Walla Walla, Washington, comics shop North Star Comics will close its doors at the end of the year, following the death of owner Brice Jones last September. Jones, who was paralyzed from the neck down in an accident at the age of 15, was a former computer programmer who went into comics because of the low startup costs, but it was his relationships with customers that made the shop a favored destination for gamers and comics readers. [Union Bulletin]

Best of the year | Charlie Jane Anders and Rob Bricken count down their picks for the best comics of 2012. [io9]

Best of the year | For those who like to veer a bit farther off the mainstream, Andy Oliver has a list of dont-miss comics from UK small presses. [Broken Frontier]

Gift guide | Michael Cavna has a list of last-minute comics and graphic novel gifts, many of which you should be able to find in a well-stocked bookstore. [The Washington Post]

Gift guide | And if you're not up for a trip to the mall on Christmas Eve, Chris Sims has some suggestions for digital comics gifting. [Comics Alliance]

Advice | If you're using the holiday break to wrap up that manuscript and send it in, Gina Gagliano of First Second has some suggestions and reminders for you. [First Second]