Auctions | A rare drawing of Tintin by Hergé from the 1936 book The Blue Lotus was sold at auction Monday in Hong Kong for $1.2 million. The black-and-white illustration, which depicts Tintin and Snowy being pulled in a rickshaw through the streets of Shanghai, is the only original piece from the book that remains in private hands. [BBC News]



Publishing | The first two volumes of Viz Media's Tokyo Ghoul landed on BookScan's list of the Top 20 adult graphic novels sold in bookstores in September -- in the fifth and seventh spots, respectively -- suggesting the makings of a new manga hit in the United States. (Created by Sui Ishida, the dark fantasy follows a college student who barely survives an attack by a ghoul, only to discover he's been transformed into a half-ghoul who must eat human flesh.) However, the fifth volume of Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples' space opera Saga topped the list, ahead of the 24th volume of Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard's The Walking Dead, which ICV2 notes seems to reflect the recent trend in the direct market. [ICv2]



Passings | Cartoonist Roger Bollen, creator of the long-running Animal Crackers comic strip and illustrator of dozens of children's books, passed away Saturday. He was 74. Debuting in 1967 Animal Crackers centers on a group of animals -- Lyle Lion and Eugene the elephant, among them -- in the fictional jungle of Freeborn. Bollen, a Cleveland native, drew the strip until 1992, when he moved to television (the strip has continued, drawn by Fred Wagner). Animal Crackers soon moved with him, airing as a television series from 1997 to 1999. Bollen also collaborated with his second wife Marilyn Sadler on more than 50 children's books, including the Zenon, Girl of the 21st Century series. [The Plain Dealer]



Conventions | As New York Comic Con kicks off, organizers anticipate attendance to increase by about 15,000 from last year's reported total of 150,000, testing the limits of the Jacob K. Javits Center. “We keep getting greater demand for content, but, unfortunately, the Javits Center isn’t getting any bigger,” says Lance Fensterman, ReedPOP’s senior global vice president. To relieve some of the strain, several larger panels will be held at the nearby Hammerstein Ballroom; organizers expect to further broaden the event's footprint next year, creating "more of a campus-style experience." [The Wall Street Journal]

Conventions | A perfectly timed article examines how to prevent the next outbreak of "con flu," aka "con crud" or "con cough." It boils down education, with the suggestion of hospital-style PSA posters reminding attendees to, say, sneeze into their elbows, wash their hands when they leave the restroom, and sanitize their hands whenever they think about it. [Inverse]



Creators | Coinciding with the release of the first collection, writer Kelly Sue DeConnick discusses her sci-fi feminist comic Bitch Planet, or "B Planet," as she calls it when talking to her children. [NPR]

Publishing | The U.K. domain registry Nominet has ordered a Norfolk businessman to hand over "thebeano.co.uk" to The Beano publisher DC Thomson, finding that the domain name qualified as an "abusive registration." [BBC News]