Creators | Jim Toomey sets his comic strip Sherman's Lagoon under the sea, and now he's going to get a close-up look at underwater life: As the artist in residence on Alvin, a Navy deep-sea submersible vehicle, he will get an up-close look at undersea life in the Gulf of Mexico. "Only three people are able to go down on the sub at a time, so it’s a very coveted opportunity," said Toomey, who will talk to his children's class from aboard the submersible and has set the current Sherman's Lagoon story in the Gulf so he can introduce the sea creatures he is seeing firsthand. [The Washington Post]
Creators | Liza Donnelly talks to The New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast, whose graphic novel about caring for her aging parents, Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?, is getting a lot of attention these days. [Forbes]
Creators | Jason Shiga has some thoughts on growing older as a cartoonist. "Although it would be nice, my 15 year body of work, my Ignatz and Eisner awards, and ultimately my name mean nothing to a new reader. If I’d gotten a degree from CCS, that piece of paper wouldn’t mean anything either. All that really matters, I feel, is what’s on the page. If it’s gripping and captivating, looks somewhat appealing then people will want to read it. Unlike other industries, I can’t just put in 30 years and ride it out. I have to prove myself on the page every single freakin’ day for the thin trickle of readers that come to my site (thank you by the way!)" [Shigabooks]
Comics | David Brothers writes about quitting the Big Two: "Wednesdays aren’t new comics days any more. I don’t read comics news sites when I can help it. I discover new comics via word of mouth or Tumblr. I unplugged in a way that let me maintain my decision instead of waffling and crumbling. I read other comics now, and the further I get from the Big Two, the easier it is to stay away. The less I indulge, the less I want it." [4thletter!]
Comics | Zainab Akhtar looks at some new risographed comics from the Swedish publisher Peow Studio! [Comics and Cola]
Manga | Tom Gill looks at storytelling techniques in three manga by Garo contributor Yoshiharu Tsuge. [The Hooded Utilitarian]
Museums | Yoshito Watari and Kan Kashiwazaki look at the popularity of manga museums in Japan. [Asahi Shimbun]
Retailing | Retailer Brandon Schatz discusses his difficulty with ordering and promoting the works of Brian Wood since the writer was accused of (and apologized for) sexual harassment last fall. Schatz writes as someone who enjoys Wood's writing but who's uncomfortable with his actions. He feels that as a retailer he has a responsibility to his customers, but that can cut both ways, and his resolution is rather nuanced. [The Beat]
Events | Darth Vader was reading Mo Willem's Don't Let a Pigeon Drive the Bus to children at the Weber County Library's Fantastic Con, a local, first-time convention that reflects the popularity of comics — and geek culture in general — among both the patrons and the staff at the Ogden, Utah, library. [Standard Examiner]