Conventions | The Salt Lake Comic Con spinoff event FanXperience is shaping up for its April 17 debut with the addition of KidCon, a pavilion dedicated to younger attendees. “We don’t want the impression that we have KidCon there for everything else to become less kid-friendly,” says co-founder Dan Farr. “Although I would imagine 99 percent of the people that are coming are going to take their kids throughout the whole hall, it’s just to have an area where they can go and spend a little more time with their kids." The inaugural Salt Lake Comic Con in September drew an estimated 80,000 attendees; organizers anticipate as many as 100,000 for FanX, which will have almost double the floor space. [Deseret News]
Legal | The judge was a no-show for what was supposed to be the announcement of the verdict in the trial of Algerian cartoonist Djamel Ghanem, who stands accused of "insulting the president of the republic" in a cartoon that was, bizarrely, never published. Ghanem's lawyer says the verdict has been postponed; the cartoonist faces up to 18 months in prison and a fine of 30,000 dinars ($380 U.S>) if found guilty. [Global Post]
Legal | Tunisian cartoonist Jabeur Mejri was released from prison on Tuesday, six weeks after being pardoned by President Moncef Marzouki. Mejri was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison for posting caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed on his Facebook page. Despite the pardon, he stayed in custody because of prior charges of embezzlement. His lawyer says he is now home, but he is taking some precautions as he has received threats from Muslim Salafi extremists. [gulfnews.com]
Documentaries | Dave Kellett and Frederick Schroeder discuss their documentary Stripped and the way comic strips have changed as traditional newspapers fold and the action shifts online. The film, which was partially funded on Kickstarter, will be released on April 1. [Popdose]
Creators | Mark Waid talks about his work on Daredevil and his collaboration with artist (now co-storyteller) Chris Samnee. [The Kindle Post]
Creators | As Titan Comics launches a complete reprint of his Accident Man, writer Pat Mills discusses his character Mike Fallon, a hitman who always makes his hits look like accidents. [Digital Spy]
Comics | On the eve of Indy Comic Con and the beginning of her new online course Social Issues Through Comic Books, Christina Blanch dispels some preconceptions and talks about why she likes comics. [Indianapolis Star]
Digital comics | Katie Rife pays a quick visit to the Digital Comic Museum, a website with thousands of copyright-free Golden Age comics that can be legally downloaded for free. [The AV Club]
Libraries | The Union County Public Library in North Carolina unveiled a special library card featuring several superhero characters drawn by local artist Al Bigley (who has done work for DC, Marvel, and Disney). It has super powers, too: The user can check out more books than standard library card holders and has a one-day grace period on overdue fines. Library director Nina Meadows hopes the special card will attract new users to the library. [Charlotte Observer]
Advice | British cartoonist Nigel Parkinson, who draws for The Beano and others, kicks off a series of advice for would-be comics artists with the caution that the hard part of cartooning is the dailiness of it: "Far too many young cartoonists and wannabe cartoonists, drawing alone in their room for an hour or two at night, think they've cracked it, they can draw cartoons. Nice try, but that's only the beginning. It's only the start of the beginning of the beginning. Can you draw a cartoon? Fine. Can you do another one tomorrow? And tomorrow? And every day, with luck." [Nigel Parkinson Cartoons]
Conventions | Moyoco Anno, creator of Sugar Sugar Rune, Sakuran, and Insufficient Direction, will be coming to the Toronto Comic Arts Festival in May. [Anime News Network]