Comics | In possibly the most awesome local-news profile ever, Jeff Linehan of Boxford, Massachusetts, talks about what it's like to be the son of Jughead: His father, Richard "Skinny" Linehan, was a classmate of Archie creator Bob Montana, and the original model for ol' Needlenose. The elder Linehan was a classmate of Montana's at Haverhill High, and Montana is known to have drawn several of the characters from people he knew there. The interview is promoting an upcoming show of Archie memorabilia that will include a screening of the documentary Archie's Betty, which looks at the real-life inspirations for the Riverdale gang. [Tri-Town Transcript]



Passings | Will Pfeifer writes about creator and self-publishing advocate Tim Corrigan, who died last week, and how Corrigan's zine, Small Press Comics Explosion, provided not only instructions but much-needed encouragement when he published his first few minicomics. [X-Ray Spex]

Comics | Alastair Reid looks at the growing trend of comics journalism, citing several striking examples such as a first-person account by a victim of sex trafficking that appeared in The Guardian and another story about four Ugandan women returning to everyday life after being forced to be child soldiers by the Lord's Resistance Army. [journalism.co.uk]

Creators | Tom Spurgeon's latest in-depth interview is with Robert Goodin, creator of The Kurdles, an all-ages graphic novel about a lost teddy bear who falls in with a strange new group of friends. [The Comics Reporter]

Creators | Gilbert Hernandez talks Love and Rockets. [Guernica]



Commentary | Ta-Nehisi Coates likes Secret Wars: "Everything I usually hate is here—specifically parallel worlds, and multiple versions of the same character. (There is an entire legion of 'Thors.') But Secret Wars is proof-positive that story does not make the writer, writer makes the story." [The Atlantic]

Political cartoons | A Cincinnati news station profiles its own political cartoonist, Kevin Necessary, who discusses his cartoon about the on-air shootings of a news team in Virginia on Wednesday. [WCPO]

Manga | Vertical Comics has licensed The Abandoned Sacred Beasts, by the creative team Maybe. [Anime News Network]

Piracy | Jay Gunn discusses how piracy hits him particularly hard as the author of a creator-owned comic. [Down the Tubes]

Creators | Artist Sara Richardson explains how she organizes her work and stays on top of things. [Women Write About Comics]

Conventions | Rhode Island Comic Con is returning in November, with Star Wars star Carrie Fisher as the featured guest. The convention is expanding to a second venue, the Dunkin Donuts Center, and will use a new "scan-in, scan-out" system for counting attendees that will hopefully prevent the overcrowding problems that occurred last year. [NBC 10 News]

Exhibits | A new exhibit at the Orlando Museum of Art, titled "BAM! It’s a Picture Book – The Art Behind Graphic Novels," features art by a number of popular creators, including Raina Telgemeier (Smile, Drama, Sisters), Mark Crilley (Brody's Ghost), Matthew Holm (Babymouse), and Jarrett J. Krosoczka (Lunch Lady). [Orlando Sentinel]