Passings | Inker Rick Ketcham has passed away. Details are sparse, but Ketcham's Facebook quickly filled with tributes from friends and colleagues who hailed his kindness, his professionalism, and his willingness to mentor others. Ketcham worked on a number of titles for DC Comics, Marvel, Dark Horse, Image Comics and other publishers, including The Amazing Spider-Man, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, G.I. Joe, New X-Men, Runaways and Venom. [Tsunami Studios Facebook]

Awards | Philadelphia Daily News editorial cartoonist Signe Wilkinson won two major awards on Thursday: the grand prize in the 15th World Press Freedom International Editorial Cartoon Competition, which focused on cartoons about the Charlie Hebdo attacks, and the Overseas Press Club of America's Thomas Nast Award for international cartooning, an honor she received twice before. [Philly.com]



Creators | In a recorded studio talk, Dylan Horrocks discusses obstacles to creativity, including fear of the blank page and of being judged by others. [Creative Mornings]

Creators | Writer Paul Tobin discusses Plants vs. Zombies, the game tie-in comic he writes for Dark Horse, as well as his Eisner-nominated Bandette. [ICv2]

Creators | Dean Haspiel talks about his life and career, including the time Harvey Pekar tried to hire him and he thought it was a prank call. [Delaware Online]



Creators | Michael Moreci talks about his space-travel comic Roche Limit. [Comic Riffs]

Creators | Matt Seneca interviews Guy Colwell, whose Inner City Romance has just been reprinted by Fantagraphics. [The Comics Journal]

Creators | Writer Steve Hamaker likes to write with a beer in hand, in familiar surroundings; his comic PLOX features a World of Warcraft guild and is set in Columbus, Ohio. [Columbus Alive]

Digital comics | ComiXology co-founder John D. Roberts discusses how his company evolved from a digital pull list to a digital-comics platform that changed the industry — and maybe saved it. Roberts was part of a Kickstarter-sponsored panel on the state of the comics industry that also included Columbia University librarian Karen Green, CBLDF Executive Director Charles Brownstein, and retailer Joshua O'Neill, owner of Philadelphia's Locust Moon Comics. [Technical.ly Brooklyn]

Libraries | The University of Chicago library has acquired Daniel Clowes's papers, which include sketches, notes, dummies and layouts. Clowes and his family have many connections to the university. [University of Chicago]