Comics A.M. | Two plead guilty to selling fake Comic-Con badges

Legal | Two Los Angeles men accused of selling counterfeit passes to this year’s Comic-Con International have pleaded guilty to theft and were placed on probation for three years. Farhad Lame and Navid Vatankhahan, both 24, were each ordered to pay a $750 fine, complete 10 days of community service and pay restitution to the victims.

Prosecutors say the two photocopied Comic-Con badges and sold them on Craigslist to people looking for last-minute memberships. They were arrested in July after two of their victims attempted to enter the convention using the counterfeit badges, which the women bought for $120 each. [The San Diego Union-Tribune]

Technology | Tech blog Chip Chick names DC Entertainment President Diane Nelson as one of its “Top 13 Women Who Impacted Technology in 2010.” [Chip Chick]

Publishing | A woman who attended the junior prom with Archie creator Bob Montana contends recent Archie Comics developments — the introduction of gay Riverdale resident Kevin Keller, the death of Geraldine Grundy — wouldn’t have taken place if the cartoonist were still writing the stories. “It wouldn’t be what he would have written,” Jane Murphy says. [Eagle-Tribune]

Education | Manga and anime programs at Japanese universities are drawing more interest from foreign students. [The New York Times]

Retailing | Nathan Solis profiles Los Angeles store Comics vs. Toys, which last month changed its name from Mini Melt Too. [Eagle Rock Patch]

Best of the year | Johanna Draper Carlson and Manga Xanadu select the best manga of 2010. [Comics Worth Reading, Manga Xanadu]

Comic strips | R.C. Harvey concludes a two-part essay on the end of Brenda Starr. [TCJ.com]

Blogosphere | I’ve somehow fallen way behind on linking to Tom Spurgeon’s wonderful holiday interview series, so I’m going to slap a catch-all “blogosphere” label on this and play catch-up: cartoonist and longtime retail/convention employee Dustin Harbin; Drawn and Quarterly Associate Publisher Peggy Burns; Malaysian editorial cartoonist Zulkiflee Anawar Ulhaque (aka Zunar); and Comic Book Resources News Editor Kiel Phegley. [The Comics Reporter]

Creators | Brian Heater begins a four-part interview with cartoonist Sarah Glidden, creator of How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less. [The Daily Cross Hatch]

Comics | Douglas Wolk rattles off the comics he’s most looking forward to in the new year. [Techland]