Legal | Japanese publisher Square Enix is voluntarily recalling all volumes Hi Score Girl and has suspended its digital distribution and sales following allegations the manga contains more than 100 unauthorized uses of characters owned by the game company SNK Playmore. However, the series will still continue to run in the monthly Big Gangan magazine, and a Square Enix spokesperson said the publisher isn't admitting to the allegations. The publisher sent mixed signals on whether the anime adaptation in development will continue as planned. The manga also contains characters from games produced by CAPCOM, Sega and Bandai Namco, all of whom confirmed to IT Media that they had granted permission. [Anime News Network]
Censorship | The new owners of the Venezuelan newspaper El Universal seem to be imposing their own editorial mandate on the newspaper, and that includes killing a cartoon by editorial cartoonist Rayma Suprani. [Pan Am Post]
Creators | Focusing on Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy and Rocket Raccoon co-creator Bill Mantlo, Dave Itzkoff looks at efforts to get writers and artists credit and compensation when the characters they created are used in films. Mantlo's brother Michael reveals he contacted Marvel as soon as he learned Guardians of the Galaxy was in development, telling executives, "If you’re making a film with Rocket Raccoon, you need to talk to me about the use of that character. [...] The negotiation started at that point, and we managed to secure a very nice contract for Bill.” [The New York Times]
Crime | The owners of the Mandarake anime and manga store in Tokyo are threatening to post a photo of a shoplifter who walked off with a figure of the manga/anime character Tetsujin-28go valued at 250,000 yen (about $2,400). [The Japan Times]
Creators | Lucy Knisley talks about her graphic novel memoir Relish, and the book she is working on now, Something New, which is about her upcoming wedding. [Comics Alliance]
Creators | As part of a series of posts on making a living as a manga creator, Queenie Chan (The Dreaming, Odd Thomas) explains how advances work. [Queenie Chan]
Retailing | The Japanese bookstore chain Kinokuniya is adding western comics and graphic novels to the merchandise mix in its New York City store, which is already known for its large selection of manga in Japanese and English. Terence Irvins, who has been promoted to graphic novel buyer, tells Calvin Reid of Publishers Weekly the store has added two bookcases of Marvel and DC titles and devotes a similar amount of space to indie publishers. Kinokuniya has made similar moves in its Singapore and Dubai shops; "Kinokuniya’s mission is to reach out to fans around the world and offer them books in their native languages," Irvins said. [Publishers Weekly]
Retailing | Adrienne Blaine visits two female-friendly comics stores in Santa Cruz, California. [KQED]
Retailing | Myles Ma looks at how the popularity of The Walking Dead and other media franchises has affected comics retailers in Bergen County, New Jersey. This is interesting: "While many bookstores suffer from the problem of customers coming into stores for recommendations before ultimately buying online, [Joker's Child co-owner Len] Katz has observed the opposite behavior with comic books: Fans find out about comics they want online, but seek them out in brick-and-mortar shops." [NJ.com]
Retailing | Chris Rupp started out selling sports cards at the age of 13; now he is the owner of Rupp's Comics in Fremont, Ohio. Although Rupp emphasizes good customer service, only 20 percent of his work is local; the other 80 percent is networking with and providing services to other retailers. [The News-Messenger]