Graphic novels | Five volumes of The Walking Dead made the November BookScan list of the Top 20 graphic novels sold in bookstores. As ICv2 points out, the fact that the first volume is still charting (at No. 13) bodes well for the series, as it means new readers are continuing to come in. The latest volume of Naruto took the No. 2 slot, and there were nine volumes of manga overall, including three volumes of Attack on Titan and the newest volume of Yotsuba&! There were five DC Comic titles on the list, as well as the latest volume of Dark Horse's Avatar: The Last Airbender. Completely missing from the Top 20? Anything from Marvel. [ICv2]
Publishing | After three years at DC Entertainment, John Rood will step down on Jan. 1 as executive vice president of sales, marketing and business development. The position is being eliminated, with marketing and publicity to fall under the auspices of Amit Desai, senior vice president of franchise management. Sales, custom publishing and business development will again be overseen by Co-Publishers Dan DiDio and Jim Lee. [The Beat]
Gift Guides | Here's a spin on the traditional gift guide: Ten things not to buy a comics fan. [Crave Online]
Creators | Writer Vivek Tiwary talks about his new book, The Fifth Beatle, which tells the story of the Beatles' manager, Brian Epstein. [BBC]
Creators | John Romita Jr. shares some thoughts about some things. [Metro]
Creators | Robot 6 contributor J. Caleb Mozzocco interviews Sholly Fisch, writer of the Scooby Doo! Team-Up series. [Good Comics for Kids]
Creators | Attack on Titan creator Hajime Isayama says he changed the original ending he had planned for the series, which is a monster hit in the United States and Japan. At one time, he contemplated killing off all the characters, but as the story went along, and new characters appeared, he decided against that — although he still wants to "betray his fans." [Anime News Network]
Creators | Tom Spurgeon talks to Karl Stevens, whose new book Failure was recently published by Alternative Press. [The Comics Reporter]
Political cartoons | Cartoonist Jonathan Shapiro, who goes by the pen name Zapiro, talks about his long career as a political cartoonist in South Africa, including his phone conversation with President Nelson Mandela. [Al Jazeera]
Publishing | Rebecca Taylor talks about her work as an editor at Archaia, which is now part of BOOM! Studios. [Graphic Policy]
Exhibits | A new exhibit "Marvels & Monsters: Unmasking Asian Images in U.S. Comics 1942-1986" looks at stereotypes of Asians, looks at eight different stereotypes of Asians and how they were expressed in the comics of the times. [Hero Complex]
Retailing | Bismarck, North Dakota, has a new comic shop, Juke Joint Comics & More, which opened last month. Owner Mike Swenson noticed an upswing in comics collectors in the area, and he decided that rather than put his own collection into storage, he would open up a store and give them a place to buy and trade comics. [The Bismarck Tribune]