Legal | Mohammad Hassan Khalid was sentenced last week in Philadelphia to five years in prison for his part in a failed 2009 plan to kill Lars Vilks, the Swedish cartoonist who drew the head of the Prophet Mohammed on the body of a dog. Khalid, now 20, was a teenager and an honors student when he became involved with Colleen LaRose, aka "Jihad Jane," who in January was sentenced to 10 years in prison for her part in the plot. Prosecutors pointed to the fact that Khalid also translated violent jihad videos into English, which may have helped recruit new terrorists, but they also asked for leniency because he cooperated with them after his arrest. The defense claimed he was simply a vulnerable, awkward teenager who has since been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. Khalid, who had been offered a full scholarship to Johns Hopkins University but was arrested before graduating from high school, will get credit for the three years he has already served in prison. [Reuters]

Digital comics | Joshua Hunt looks at Amazon's recent acquisition of comiXology in terms of the history of the comics industry and its tendency to reinvent itself from time to time, and he comes up with a good reason for Amazon to court comics retailers rather than try to put them out of business: They could be a good retail outlet for Kindles. [The New Yorker]

Creators | Michael May interviews Ron Marz about the Korak the Killer, the online comic he is writing about Tarzan's son, and about why readers, especially young readers, find Tarzan so appealing. [Good Comics for Kids]

Creators | Writer Jason Aaron talks to the local news about his comic Scalped, which is being developed for television by WGN America. [Fox 4 News]

Comics | Dynamite Entertainment will publish a four-issue series, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, based on the video game created by the late novelist; Nathan Edmondson is the writer and Marc Laming is the artist. [The Hollywood Reporter]

Comics | The Weinland Park Story Book is a graphic anthology of over 100 stories told by residents of the Weinland Park neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio, and illustrated by local children and professional artists. The project is being funded by Ohio State University's Wexner Center for the Arts as well as private donations. [The Lantern]

Collecting | Collector Peter Giorgiou says he collects for both love and money, but the irony in this profile is that he doesn't read the comics in his collection. Most of his comics are in a vault in London, but of those he has with him at his home in Dubai, he says, "The ones I have I put them out on the floor and view them at a distance but they are put in protective covers by a company called CGC, which is a third-party grading company. Once they are in the case and sealed, you’d be mad to open it because once you do open it, the grade of the comic has to be redone." [The National]

Retailing | Kevin Healy and Charles Fischer, the owners of Graham Crackers Comics in DeKalb, Illinois, talk about getting ready for this weekend's Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo and why they like it. [Northern Star]