Conventions | This Japan Times article about Comiket provides a fascinating look behind the scenes of the dojinshi (self-published manga) fair, which each August and December new draws between 560,000 to 590,000 visitors to Tokyo Big Sight. However, even that massive convention center is becoming too small for the event; of the 51,000 booth applications for August's Comiket 84, only 35,000 were granted because of space limitations. Incredibly, the organizing Comic Market Committee has just eight full-time employees (but more than 3,000 volunteers). [The Japan Times]

Creators | MariNaomi discusses her experience of being sexually harassed by another creator while participating in a panel at a comics convention. That's right, she was sexually harassed onstage. [xojane]

Creators | Tom Spurgeon kicks off his holiday interview series with a lengthy chat with Paul Pope, whose Battling Boy was one of the notable graphic novels of the year. [The Comics Reporter]

Creators | Jeff Smith talks about his new webcomic, Tuki, and the Best American Comics 2013 anthology, which he edited. [Graphic Novel Reporter]

Creators | Michael Fiffe talks about Copra. [Factual Opinion]

Comics | For his second holiday interview, Spurgeon engages writers-about-comics Sean T. Collins and Joe "Jog" McCulloch in a wide-ranging conversation about indie, art and literary comics, including the effects of PictureBox and its recent demise, why there is no business journalism about alt-comics, and the future of Fantagraphics. [The Comics Reporter]

Comics | Visual linguist Neil Cohn explains how comics have a language all their own. [Fast Company]

Comic Strips | KC Carlson reminisces about reading Peanuts as a child, saving the strips, getting a new Peanuts book every Christmas from his Grandma Lil, and even corresponding with Charles Schulz. [Westfield Comics]

Retailing | Savannah Comics in Savannah, Georgia, is closing its doors, although it's not exactly going out of business; it will merge with a sister store, Comics & More. Owner Chuck Durden explains that the shop started as a video store that also carried magazines and comics on the side, until strong customer demand for the Batman comic A Death in the Family forced Durden to join the direct market. With the Savannah College of Art and Design nearby, he had plenty of customers, and a few celebrities dropped by from time to time as well. Ironically, the store is closing not because of any problem with the comics side but because movie rentals have plummeted. [SavannahNow]