Conventions | The doors open today on the 25th annual Motor City Comic Con, held through Sunday in Novi, Michigan, northwest of Detroit. Comics guests include Art Baltazar, Elizabeth Breitweiser, Talent Caldwell, Chris Claremont, Matthew Clark, Gerry Conway, Katie Cook, J.M. DeMatteis, Clayton Henry, Mike McKone, Jame O'Barr, Ryan Ottley, Dave Petersen, Don Rosa, Bill Sienkiewicz, Charles Soule, Mark Waid and Skottie Young. The Detroit Free Press previews the event, and speaks with Claremont, while Metro Times provides a beginner's guide. [Motor City Comic Con]

Digital comics | Kate Reynolds looks at the recent Image Humble Bundle promotion and compares it to sales of hard copies of the individual titles in comics shops. Her key insight is that this is Image's first attempt to sell comics directly to the video game audience rather than established readers: "Many people who check the Humble website with some frequency may have been surprised to see comics books on a video game page, and for many, surprise turned to intrigue. While it’s impossible to tell whether the purchasers of the Image bundle were frequent comic buyers or not, it’s logical to assume that many were not. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if for some, the Image bundle was the first comic purchase of their lives." [feminism/geekery]

Comics | Gay comics creator Steven H. Garcia and Bent-Con founder Sean Z. Maker discuss the evolution of the LGBT comics scene. [Long Beach Press-Telegram]



Webcomics | Lauren Davis lists 10 webcomics that deal intelligently with mental illness. [io9]

Webcomics | Lana Jaeger counts down the Top 10 all-ages webcomics. [Women Write About Comics]

Creators | Greg Pak and Charles Soule discuss their work on the Superman: Doomed crossover event. [Comicosity]

Creators | Box Brown talks about his new graphic novel, Andre the Giant: Life and Legend. [Public Radio International]



Creators | U.K. political cartoonist Leon Kuhn had struggled with mental illness for years and was in a state of despair over the failure of his marriage and other issues when he took his own life in December, a coroner's inquest has found. [Ham & High]

Graphic novels | University of Oklahoma professor Jeremy Short will use a graphic novel that he created as a text in his online class "Introduction to Management." Other course materials will include rap videos made by a local improv group. [NewsOK.com]

Retailing | "We are not that dark, cavelike store you see on TV where a girl walks in and everyone turns to look," says Phil Boyle, owner of the Florida-based comics chain Coliseum of Comics. "We are a community store that serves a diverse group of people who would never meet outside of their interest in comics." They must be doing something right, as they just opened their sixth store in New Tampa. [Tampa Bay Times]

Retailing | Justin Vahosky of the Canton, Michigan, Comic City store says that this past winter wasn't that grim, and sales are ticking upward as the weather improves. [Observer & Eccentric]