Graphic novels | Image Comics had a strong December in bookstores, snagging nine slots on BookScan's Top 20 chart: Eight volumes of The Walking Dead (including the very first one, at No. 4), plus the first Saga collection, which was originally released in October 2012. The first two volumes of Attack on Titan, which are more than a year old, were also on the chart. [ICv2]
Legal | Colleen R. LaRose, aka "Jihad Jane," was sentenced Monday to 10 years in prison for her role in a failed conspiracy to murder Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks, who drew images of the Prophet Mohammed that offended many Muslims. [The New York Times]
Legal | Anime studio Tatsunoko Productions announced last month that it owns the worldwide intellectual property rights to Speed Racer, having settled two lawsuits with the American company Speed Racer Enterprises. The American comic Speed Racer: Circle of Vengeance stopped publication in November because of the licensing dispute; apparently the publishers, Allegory LLC, signed a deal with Speed Racer Enterprises in May 2011 and paid a hefty advance in June, after the license had expired. [Anime News Network]
Publishing | Marvel Publisher Dan Buckley compares sales in the digital, bookstore and direct market channels, and discusses the company's kids' comics lines and how it ties in to animation properties. [ICv2]
Creators | Writer Tom Taylor talks about his digital-first comic Injustice: Gods Among Us, which returns this week after a brief hiatus. [USA Today]
Creators | Tom Spurgeon's latest holiday interview is with political cartoonist Kevin "KAL" Kallaugher, whose work can be seen in The Economist and The Baltimore Sun and who recently funded a collection of his Economist cartoons, Daggers Drawn, via Kickstarter. [The Comics Reporter]
Creators | Whilce Portacio returns to his native Philippines and encourages his fellow creators to spread Filipino culture throughout the world. [ABS-CBN News]
Creators | Kat Chow interviews Yumi Sakugawa, creator of I Think I Am in Friend-Love With You. [NPR]
Creators | Doonesbury cartoonist Garry Trudeau will speak Jan. 28 at Stanford University as part of a lecture series honoring the late professor Harry Rathbun, who delivered a "last lecture" every year for 20 years. [Stanford News]
Retailing | Tulsa, Oklahoma, comics shop Starbase 21 will close its doors on Jan. 11, due to several factors, including the owner's health
problems. [Tulsa World]
Retailing | The local newspaper profiles Statesville, North Carolina, comic shop R&B Games, Cards, and Comics. [Statesville Record & Landmark]