Museums | The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., has added comics to its permanent collection for the first time. Abigail and William Gerdts donated 176 comics, including Zap Comix and Arcade: The Comics Revue. Judith Brodie, curator of modern prints and drawings, cited the influence of comics on artists such as Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein: "They were all drawing their inspiration from cartoons and comic books. It seems totally logical that we’d want a representation of those." [The Washington Post]

Passings | Greek cartoonist Ilias Skoulas died passed away Thursday at age 87. Skoulas began his career as an editorial cartoonist at the age of 32, and his work was published in numerous Greek newspapers and magazines, as well as 13 books. [Greek Reporter]

Best of the year | Michael Cavna makes his picks for the best comics of the year, and he adds some "if you like this you might enjoy that" suggestions as well. [The Washington Post]

Creators | Matt Fraction talks about his work, including Sex Criminals and ODY-C, his sci-fi take on The Odyssey. "The story itself is so archtypical that it’s easy to… at least it’s easy for me to just go with it, to not question or think about it, just take what is given and roll along. For me the effort comes in trying to make any of that believable, relatable. I’m a parent. I am trying to imagine how, short of incarceration, anything could keep me away from my wife and children for ten years. So how do I walk the line between narrative fidelity and anything remotely relatable to human beings alive today (as opposed to idealized god-like legends ..." [Entertainment Weekly]

Creators | In a podcast interview, Jules Feiffer talks about turning away from political satire and creating his first graphic novel, Kill My Mother. [Virtual Memories]

Creators | Syndicated cartoonist Jerry King says he has "the best job in the world" because he works from home, in his pajamas if he feels like it, but his daughters are not impressed. [The Independent]

Comics | Sarah El Deeb looks at the emerging zine scene in Egypt, including the new monthly feminist comics anthology Shakmagia (Jewelry Box). [The Associated Press]

Comics | Frank Santoro discusses what comics people were buying from his back-issue boxes at Comic Arts Brooklyn. [The Comics Journal]

History | Stephen Heller writes about the history of Zap Comix, and he talks to Patrick Rosenkranz, who provides the commentary for Fantagraphics' five-volume The Complete Zap Comix. [The Atlantic]

Retailing | The local newspaper profiles retailer Mike Sterling (author of the long-running blog Progressive Ruin) as he opens his own comic shop, Sterling Silver Comics, after more than 20 years working in other people's stores. [Camarillo Acorn]

Festivals | Zainab Akhtar reports in on the Thought Bubble Festival. [Comics & Cola]