[Above, the Best American Comics look you straight in the eye.  Below, the Dispatch cowers in fear.]

• The Isotope Award for Excellence in Mini-Comics, presented annually at the Alternative Press Expo, has put out an excellent teaser video to get you pumped for this year’s competition.
• Want to learn how to draw? Let the New York Times teach you. Artist and author James McMullan’s Line By Line series outlines the basics.
• In Brooklyn? Come see Dean Haspiel and Inverna Lockpez read an excerpt from their new graphic novel, Cuba: My Revolution, at Book Court on Wednesday, October 6 at 7:00pm.
• David Steinlicht did a commendable job covering the Minneapolis branch of this year’s 24 Hour Comics Day, by both blog and twitter.
• In anticipation of their new graphic novel, Evolution: The Story Of Life On Earth, the Cannons of Big Time Attic are posting a Dino-A-Day on their blog from now until the book’s release date.
• Vanessa Davis will be reading from her new book, Make Me A Woman, at The Strand in New York on October 6 from 7:00-8:00pm.
• Neil Gaiman, Bryan Lee O’Malley, Jessica Abel, and Matt Madden will sign from Best American Comics 2010 on Thursday October 7, at 7:00pm at the Union Square Barnes & Noble.
• New York Comic Con is this weekend, October 8-10. Get your Bruce Campbell autograph ticket now (only forty dollars).

— Athena Currier