Creators | Legendary comic artist Tony DeZuniga, the co-creator of Jonah Hex, has been hospitalized in the Philippines after suffering from a stroke and pneumonia. The 70-year-old DeZuniga is reportedly in the intensive care unit as friends and family rally to help with his medical expenses. [GMA News]
Retailing | Diamond Comic Distributors announced that retailers have ordered more than 3.5 million comics for Free Comic Book Day, up 23 percent from last year. Diamond also confirmed a second event centered on Halloween. [ICv2]
Graphic novels | The Irish Education Minister, Ruairí Quinn, has given his blessing to a manga-style graphic novel intended to help teenagers develop "emotional intelligence." [TheJournal.ie]
Digital comics | Mark Waid has audio of his digital Comics panel at C2E2; if you prefer to read rather than listen, CBR covered it as well. [Mark Waid]
Comics | David Brothers is tired of the denial that there is a "controversy" over DC Comics' upcoming Before Watchmen series, so he lays out the facts, explains why there is indeed a controversy, and skewers the arguments DC has been putting forward in favor of the book: "I don’t know how to put it any plainer. DC Comics is screwing Alan Moore right here in front of us, and the best Newsarama has to offer is that it’s a 'so-called "controversy"’? One, it is a controversy, and two, you don’t just not talk about the controversy because the books are going to come out anyway. What kind of fatalist, ridiculous garbage is that? I mean, gosh, you don’t tell somebody with cancer, 'Look, we both know you got some cancers up in there, so why don’t we talk about the weather, instead?'” [4thletter!]
Creators | Acclaimed fantasy author China Mieville talks at length about his upcoming relaunch of DC Comics' Dial H, and his aborted plans in 2010 for a Swamp Thing reboot: "The only title I have ever gone to DC on more than one occasion and said, 'You guys should let me do this,' was this title. And after several years of me appending this to every single conversation I ever had with DC, all of a sudden the stars aligned and they were like, 'Actually yeah, OK, let’s see what happens.' So from that perspective what happened with Swamp Thing was a shame, but it’s small potatoes in the big scheme of things." [Kotaku Australia]
Creators | Writer Ales Kot and Riley Rossmo discuss their upcoming Image Comics graphic novella Wild Children. [USA Today]
Publishing | Why are there so many typos in manga these days? Daniella Orihuela-Gruber offers an insider's look at the right and wrong ways to edit manga. [All About Manga]
Awards | Lauren Davis argues that the Eisner Awards committee should expand their definition of digital comics: "I'm not asking that the Eisner panel offer as many awards to digital comics as they offer to print comics. Print is, after all, the heart of the Eisner Awards. But I can't help but feel that, with this single category, the Eisners pay lip service to digital comics rather than invite them to the table. Webcomics would be better honored with three categories in lieu of one: Best Continuing Digital Series, Best New Digital Series and Best Digital Short Story." [Comics Alliance]