Manga | Kodansha Comics is teasing the "Biggest 'Attack on Titan' Manga Announcement Ever" for its Oct. 8 panel at New York Comic Con. Considering the worldwide popularity, and sales, of Hajime Isayama's post-apocalyptic fantasy, that's certainly a bold claim. The series has more than 50 million copies in circulation around the world; 2.5 million of those are in the United States. Kodansha also publishes the manga spinoffs Attack on Titan: Before the Fall and Attack on Titan: Junior High. [Anime News Network, Deb Aoki]

Manga | Attack on Titan has changed the manga market, Kodansha Comics' top brass tell Deb Aoki, showing that manga can still sell in the millions even after the market slumped, and give publishers a new multimedia model, with spinoff manga and light novels, to build on its success. Hiroaki Morita, editor-in-chief of Shonen Magazine when Attack on Titan debuted, also talks about his early impressions and how he knew the manga would be a hit. Alvin Lu of Kodansha Advance Media also discusses plans for the company's new digital division, which is publishing digital editions of Kodansha Comics' current manga but will expand to do digital-first books as well. [Anime News Network]

Political cartoons | The Committee to Protect Journalists has named Malaysian cartoonist Zunar as the winner of a 2015 International Press Freedom Awards. He was the only cartoonist among the recipients, who also included journalists from Paruguay, Ethiopia and Syria; he's also the first full-time cartoonist to receive the award. Zunar faces up to 43 years in prison on sedition charges stemming from a tweet he sent that was critical of the prime minister. He has faced prosecution in the past and his books have been banned and confiscated by the Malaysian government. [Comic Riffs]



Creators | Scott Snyder, Brian Azzarello and Jock discuss the themes of police brutality and gentrification in Batman #44, which Snyder says are directly inspired by incidents such as the death of Eric Garner: "If we were going to do an issue that dealt with potent problems that people face in cities that are reflected fictitiously in Gotham, then we want to really put our money where our mouth was and explore something that’s extremely resonant right now, and, I think, tricky, murky waters." [The Guardian]

Creators | Following the publication of her graphic novel about podcasting and radio narratives, Out on the Wire, Jessica Abel has taken the logical next step and started her own podcast, also called Out on the Wire. [Observer]



Creators | Mike Grell and other creators talk about how The Hero Initiative has helped them— and why it's necessary. [ABC 2 News]

Creators | Swedish comics creator Mattias Adolfsson discusses his work and his creative life: "The internet is a great invention for keeping you away from work, I tend to produce my best work when I’m as far away from the grid as possible. Having too many projects ongoing at the same time also tends to bring me to a halt as well." [Down the Tubes]

Graphic novels | The diocese of Brownsville, Texas, is about to publish a 45-page graphic novel about its history, produced by the French publisher Editions du Signe. "It’s a story of adventure and faith of how these priests and sisters came here 50 years ago without Google and how they started these churches along the river," says spokeswoman Brenda Nettles Riojas. [The Monitor]

Conventions | Comics creators of color and women artists and writers will be front and center at this weekend's MECCAcon in Detroit. "I feel like diversity is very important for our city to succeed and progress," says organizer Maia "Crown" Williams. "You can draw and create many black characters in mainstream comics ... but are you paying people of color to create them, to write them." [Michigan Radio]

Exhibits | If you can't make it to Liège, France, for The Golden Age of Belgian Comics, Cynthia Rose's detailed write-up, with analysis and pictures, is the next best thing to being there. [The Comics Journal]