Conventions | The San Diego Tourism Authority is asking hotels in the Comic-Con International room block to freeze their rates at the 2016 level for the following two years, as part of its bid to keep the convention in the city. Already, 30 of the 50 participating hotels have agreed to do so. Meanwhile, Mayor Kevin Faulconer will attend the next Comic-Con board meeting to make an appeal to organizers to remain in the city; Tourism Authority CEO Joe Terzi said Anaheim has made a bid for Comic-Con, but the city's convention bureau wouldn't comment.

A plan to expand the San Diego Convention Center collapsed after the hotel-tax funding scheme was ruled unconstitutional, but Anaheim is preparing to break ground on its own 200,000-square-foot expansion. However, Comic-Con spokesman David Glanzer said, "Some people had mistakenly implied that an expanded convention center would be the thing that solidified our decision to stay or go, but there are a number of factors to be addressed: hotel room rates, available space within hotels and outside the center, things that could mitigate the issue of having outgrown the convention center. An expansion would be great for the city and us, but if it doesn’t happen we’ve been able to make do without it, and if we can mitigate the concerns we do have we’ll be able to stay here." [U-T San Diego]

Passings | Ed Summer, who in 1971 opened one of the first comic shops in the United States, New York City's Supersnipe Comic Book Emporium, passed away Nov. 13 from cancer. Summer also owned a comic art gallery and was a writer or co-writer of several movies, including Conan the Barbarian. He wrote comics and magazine articles, and was the founder of the Buffalo Film Festival. [ComicMix]

Comics | Ana Sofia Knauf covers a panel on international comics, featuring Finnish creator Anna Sailamaa, Alex Spiro of the U.K. publisher Nobrow Press, and South African artist Jean de Wet, which was part of Seattle's Short Run Comics Festival. It's a fascinating discussion of the comics traditions and the challenges that creators face in their different countries.  [The Seattle Globalist]

Comics | Ron Regé Jr. interviews Jill Lepore about her new book The Secret History of Wonder Woman, focusing on a few specific issues and personalities. [The Comics Journal]

Creators | Neil Gaiman was the guest on the NPR game show Ask Me Another, in an episode recorded at New York Comic Con. [NPR]

Creators | The Malaysian cartoonist Zunar, who is being investigated for the second time under the Sedition Act, says the government's reaction to his work — and the fact that no one has sued him in civil court for defamation — is evidence he is speaking the truth. [The Malaysian Insider]

Creators | I talked with artist Raul Gonzalez about his artwork for Lowriders in Space; it's a children's book done in a lively and unusual style that has adult appeal as well. [Good Comics for Kids]

Comics | Lew Stringer posts an entertaining array of ads that appeared in British comics in the early 1970s. [Blimey!]

Collecting | Barry Sandoval of Heritage Auctions offers some tips for collectors who think of their comics as an investment. [ThinkAdvisor]