Bone Survives School Library Challenge!
UPDATE: Jeff Smith responds to school board
Twincities.com reports that the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan school district has voted 10 to 1 that the graphic novel series Bone should not be banned in its schools.
The graphic novel series came under fire earlier this month when parent Ramona DeLay objected to the series’ placement in the school libraries because it contains depictions of adults smoking, drinking, and gambling.
Melinda Martin, the school district’s media specialist told twincities.com:
“It’s important to understand selection from censorship,” she said. “I respect her right to object to the series, but not for her to censor it for the rest. I feel you would be doing a disservice to our district if you remove this book from our elementary schools.”
The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund applauds the school district for the fair hearing Bone received, and its decision to keep the series in its collection.
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CBLDF Supporter Auction Highlights!
Did you know that you can support the CBLDF on eBay, with just one easy step? When listing your next auction, you can give 10% to 100% of the final auction value to the Fund by using eBay Giving Works! The CBLDF has been a recognized charity on eBay since 2007, our nonprofit ID is 19329. Check out what our supporters are auctioning to benefit the CBLDF by entering that ID into your eBay search, or by clicking here: http://bit.ly/givingworks.
The CBLDF is grateful to those supporters listing us on eBay, so we’re listing selected eBay Giving Works auctions on the lower right column of this page. We’ll also create update posts like this from time to time to highlight what’s available on eBay for the CBLDF. As long as you keep supporting the CBLDF on eBay, we’ll keep promoting those auctions here on CBLDF.org
After the jump, check out some highlights from what CBLDF supporters are offering this week!
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News Media Responds to EMA v. Schwarzenegger
by Amy Long
for The Media Coalition
Over 100 newspapers, websites, and blogs reported on the Supreme Court’s decision to grant California’s petition for certiorari in EMA v. Schwarzenegger. Papers across the United States, Canada and Britain carried the news, which reached as far as New Zealand’s Top News, the Ethiopian Review and Thailand’s The Thaindian paper, which takes a view that is generally supportive of the state’s position (though it notes that Schwarzenegger “seemed a tad too pleased with the court’s decision”). The case will be taken up by the Court in its fall term. Full coverage after the jump.
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BPAL Debuts Neverwhere Fragrances!
Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab continues their extraordinary series of fragrances based on the literary works of Neil Gaiman with Neverwhere, a set of fragrances based on the characters, locations, and ideas found within the popular Neil Gaiman novel!
Neverwhere boasts eleven fragrances, and proceeds from each bottle benefit the First Amendment legal work of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. Since beginning the Neil Gaiman fragrance program, BPAL has donated proceeds in excess of $50,000 to the CBLDF’s efforts! Please visit them at: http://www.blackphoenixalchemylab.com
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Supreme Court to Decide Whether States Can Regulate Violent Video Games
On Monday, the Supreme Court agreed to review a ruling that the First Amendment bars restrictions on video games with violent themes. The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund has actively opposed such restrictions, including participating in a 2008 friend-of-the-court (aka amicus) brief filed by the Media Coalition, addressing this same case. In hearing this case, the Supreme Court will decide whether or not it will adopt a new constitutional standard that allows states to ban violent content.
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CBLDF Attends LA Times Festival of Books & Stumptown Comics Fest!
This weekend, the CBLDF team will be hitting the West Coast to meet supporters in Los Angeles at the LA Times Festival of Books and Portland, Oregon at the Stumptown Comics Festival!
Beanworld creator Larry Marder will join the Fund in LA, signing books and making sketches to benefit the Fund’s legal work. The CBLDF will also have a vast array of donation rewards, including books signed by Neil Gaiman, Geoff Johns, and more, plus fragrances from our friends at Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab!
In Portland, we’re hosting a membership drive, co-hosting signings with creators including Paul Pope, Craig Thompson & Mike Allred, and raffling off a copy of Adobe Illustrator CS4!
If you’re in Los Angeles or Portland, come on out and support the Fund!
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Supreme Court Strikes Down Overbroad Content Law in U.S. v. Stevens
By Alex Goldman
In a ruling on Tuesday, the Supreme Court voted 8-1 to strike down a 1999 federal law that criminalizes the possession or sale of “depictions of animal cruelty,” saying that the statute is overbroad and it violates the First Amendment. The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, who participated as a member of Media Coalition’s amicus group, welcomes this important ruling as an affirmation of the First Amendment’s guarantee to free speech.
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Neil Gaiman Talks CBLDF in Chicago!
Neil Gaiman Talks CBLDF with Rick Marshall at MTV News at last week’s C2E2 convention! Also check out Neil’s press appearances in Time Out Chicago and Geek Girl On The Street!
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Bone Prompts School Library Controversy
By Alex Goldman
Of all the comics out there, Jeff Smith’s self-published fantasy epic Bone, recipient of innumerable Harvey and Eisner awards is certainly not one you would think of as the subject of controversy. Yet it was last week when a Minnesota parent petitioned her school district to remove Bone comics from her son’s elementary school library.
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Welcome To The New CBLDF.Org!
The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is a community of people who love comics and recognize the First Amendment as the cornerstone of the medium’s creative vitality. The new CBLDF.org is designed to reflect and serve that community, with frequently updated news about comics, free expression, and the people who are taking strides to keep both healthy and strong.
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Fight Censorship!
Celebrate Liberty!
Join the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund today!
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Cross The Border-Go Directly to Jail
What if the comics you took on a plane landed you in jail? That’s the danger facing one American, who could spend a minimum of a year in a foreign prison for doing just that. Turns out that anyone leaving or entering the country can be stopped, searched or detained by customs agents because of comic art in print or on laptops, tablets or cell phones – even without suspicion of criminal activity. The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is leading a coalition to defend this case, and has resources to protect travelers traveling internationally. Learn more here, and please make a donation to support this case.
Newest Rewards
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Absolute Death, signed by Neil Gaiman
Signed by Neil Gaiman, CBLDF Board Member and recipient of the Defender of Liberty Award! From the pages of The Sandman comes the young, pale, perky, fan-favorite character Death in a new Absolute Edition collecting her solo adventures! Featuring the miniseries Death: The High COst of Living #1-3, in which Death befriends a teenager and helps a 250-year-old homeless woman find her missing heart, and Death: The Time of Your Life together with “The Sound of Her Wings” and “Façade” from The Sandman #8 and #20, the P. Craig Russell-illustrated “Death and Venice” from The Sandman: Endless Nights, and the never-before reprinted stories “A Winter’s Tale” and “The Wheel.” This deluxe volume also features an introduction by The Dresden Dolls’ Amanda Palmer as well as extensive galleries of Death portraits and retail products, sketches by artist Chris Bachalo, and the complete original script by Gaiman for The Sandman #8. Proceeds from this deluxe signed edition benefit the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund!
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CBLDF Grab Bag!
Donated by HEROES AREN’T HARD TO FIND in Charlotte, North Carolina (http://www.heroesonline.com/), these grab bags contain a vast array of rare comics from the silver, bronze, and modern age to support the CBLDF. Comics included somewhere in these Grab Bags include Avengers #57 (1st Appearance of the Vision), X-Men #46, X-Men #48, Batman #185, Luke Cage #1, Nick Fury: Agent of Shield #3, Sub-Mariner #5, and dozens more. Signed comics were contributed directly from their artists, including Amanda Conner, Garth Ennis, Neil Gaiman, Jim Lee, Frank Miller, Jill Thompson, Gail Simone, and many more!
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BAKE SALE, signed by Sara Varon
Cupcake’s life is pretty good. He’s got his bakery and his band and his best friend, Eggplant. His days are full of cooking, socializing, and playing music. But lately, Cupcake has been struggling in the kitchen. He’s sure the solution to all his problems is out there somewhere. But maybe that solution is hiding closer to home. Sara Varon returns with an ageless tale as dreamy and evocative as her break-out hit graphic novel Robot Dreams. At once deeply metaphorical and hilariously literal, Bake Sale is a story for anyone who’s ever looked for an easy answer to life’s intractable difficulties. It’s also a cookbook: Varon includes seven delicious recipes, from classic cupcakes to sugared flower petals to marzipan. These exclusive copies of Bake Sale have been signed by cartoonist Sara Varon to benefit the legal work of the CBLDF. They premiered at Small Press Expo 2011, as an exclusive event with the cooperation of First Second Books.
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The Graveyard Book Hardcover, Signed by Neil Gaiman
Bod is an unusual boy who inhabits an unusual place — he’s the only living resident of a graveyard. Raised from infancy by the ghosts, werewolves, and other cemetery denizens, Bod has learned the antiquated customs of his guardians’ time as well as their timely ghostly teachings-like the ability to Fade. Can a boy raised by ghosts face the wonders and terrors of the worlds of both the living and the dead? And then there are things like ghouls that aren’t really one thing or the other. This chilling tale is Neil Gaiman’s first full-length novel for middle-grade readers since the internationally bestselling and universally acclaimed Coraline. Like Coraline, this book is sure to enchant and surprise young readers as well as Neil Gaiman’s legion of adult fans. Signed by the author! -
Criminal Deluxe Edition, signed by Ed Brubaker
This oversized deluxe hardback edition features Criminal books 1 thru 3: Coward, Lawless, and The Dead and the Dying. This is a fantastically designed and printed book showcasing the Eisner and Harvey Award-winning crime comics from the creators of Sleeper and Incognito. It also features many extras, including a Criminal short story and the never-before-printed five page “movie trailer in comics form” that Brubaker and Phillips created to announce the series online. A true collector’s edition spectacular from two of the hottest creators in comics, and a must-have for any fan!
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Absolute Death, signed by Neil Gaiman
The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund was founded in 1986 as a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of First Amendment rights for members of the comics community.
The CBLDF complies with all federal, state and local laws regarding discrimination and/or harassment and any concerns should be directed to Chris Powell, President
Copyright © 2012 CBLDF | 
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