Manga | Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto has collaborated with Kenji Taira, author of the Naruto spinoff Rock Lee & His Ninja Pals, on a one-shot comic that will appear in the Japanese edition Shonen Jump (and most likely in the North American version as well). The story ties in to the upcoming Boruto: The Naruto Movie, which opens on Aug. 4 in Japan before receiving limited U.S. release in October. The issue also includes a variant cover for the collected edition of the Naruto sequel Naruto: The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring. [Anime News Network]
Conventions | Ethan Gilman looks forward to Boston Comic Con, which kicks off today and will feature appearances by Stan Lee, Jason Latour, and some movie and TV people as well. Boston Comic Con drew 900 attendees for its inaugural show, in 2007, and organizers expect 50,000 this year. [Boston Globe]
Creators | Writer Don Jon Arneson talks about the creation of Lobo, the first African-American character to star in his own comic. Not to be confused with the DC character of the same name, Arneson's Lobo was a black cowboy who had served as a Union soldier. Published by Dell in 1965, the series lasted for just two issues. "There were claims some stores refused to carry a comic book with a black Western character," Arneson said. "I don’t know if that is true." Arneson was recently honored at the East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention for his creation. [Litchfield County Times]
Creators | The Memphis Commercial Appeal pays tribute to its late editorial cartoonist, William "Bill" Garner, with reminiscences from his family and a colleague. Garner died on July 21. [Commercial Appeal]
Creators | Sam Bosma discusses his Ignatz Award-winning graphic novel Fantasy Sports, which was recently published by Nobrow. [Sktchd]
Creators | Rich Tommaso talks about his latest crime comic, Dark Corridor, which will be published by Image, and about the ups and downs of self-publishing his own line of comics, Recoil. [13th Dimension]
Creators | Greg Hunter interviews Caitlin Skaalrud, creator of Houses of the Holy. [The Comics Journal]
Manga | Veteran translator William Flanagan explains why most manga are published in black and white. [Slate]
Minicomics | Andy Oliver suggests eight worthy minicomics to spend your hard-earned paycheck on. [Broken Frontier]
Anthologies | John Tamarri reviews the Image Comics anthology Island, which features work by Brandon Graham, Emma Rios, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Marian Churchland and others. [PopMatters]
Retailing | The Tennessee Traveler pays a visit to the exuberantly decorated Krypton Comics in Knoxville, and interviews its equally exuberant owner, Randy Cross. [WVLT]
Retailing | Elkhart, Indiana, will get a new comics and gaming shop when Secret Door Games opens its doors in about a month; the owner, Daniel Halstead, has a doctorate in artificial intelligence and works as a software engineer for a local company. [Elkhart Truth]