Month: April 2011

CBLDF Gets Festive at LA Times Festival of Books

by Betsy Gomez • April 29, 2011 • Comments Off

This weekend, the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books takes place on the campus of the University of Southern California, and CBLDF is on hand to celebrate in the sun with hundreds of stellar author guests and thousands of book lovers!

Executive Director Charles Brownstein and President Larry Marder will be joined by Good Fighter Pam Noles at booth 843 in the green-flagged Childs Way area of the festival. You’ll find them at a booth well-stocked with autographed premiums for bookworms of all ages and CBLDF’s new “I Read Banned Comics” t-shirt, all in support of the First Amendment work of CBLDF.

Started in 1996, the Los Angeles Times Book Festival brings together the people who create books and the people who love to read them. One of the largest book festivals in the United States, it attracts 140,000 book lovers each year!

The Los Angeles Times Book Festival takes place May 30 – April 1, 2011, starting at 10:00 a.m. each day. General admission to the festival is free, so come out to support CBLDF at booth 843!

The Good Fighters: Angela Moeny

by Betsy Gomez • April 29, 2011 • Comments Off

Angela Moeny claims to have the best jobs — paid and unpaid — and when you talk to her, you can do nothing but believe her claim. She’s as enthusiastic a librarian and educator as anyone could find. A staunch youth advocate, you can find her working as an elementary school librarian, spending her summers with a youth theatre ensemble, and running events such as book fairs. Moeny recently joined the ranks of CBLDF volunteers, and we’re delighted to have her aboard!

Also a professional photographer, writer, compulsive doodler, urban chicken farmer, comics junkie, and more, Moeny recently took some time out of her busy schedule to talk to CBLDF in this installment of The Good Fighters.

Wired Talks Transmetropolitan Art Book

by Betsy Gomez • April 27, 2011 • Comments Off

This May will see the release of the Transmetropolitan art book, which celebrates the visionary dystopian comic series by Warren Ellis and Darick Robertson. Funded entirely by a Kickstarter donation drive, proceeds from the sale of the book benefit CBLDF and The Hero Initiative.

Wired.com has an exclusive preview of artwork from the book. They touched base with CBLDF about the project:

“Transmetropolitan is one of those rare works that functions as a compelling genre story, perceptive science fiction and cutting social satire all at the same time,” said Charles Brownstein, executive director of Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, in an e-mail to Wired.com. “The series uses edgy, and sometimes taboo, topics to address the changes that are happening to our society, and that’s what expressive speech is supposed to do. Transmet does it exceedingly well.”

Wired.com also spoke with Ellis, Robertson, and Brian Pulido of The Hero Initiative about the project. You can catch the full article and exclusive images here.

Chief Justice Roberts and the First Amendment

by Betsy Gomez • April 26, 2011 • Comments Off

The nomination of John G. Roberts to the Supreme Court in 2005 caused considerable protest among politicians and law experts, many of whom voiced concerns over Roberts’ typically conservative stance in his decisions.

The First Amendment Center recently analyzed Roberts’ decisions regarding First Amendment cases, starting with the idea the “Conservatives are often portrayed as hostile or indifferent to First Amendment issues.” They found that Roberts “has not been a disaster — far from it.”

WILSON, signed by Dan Clowes

by Betsy Gomez • April 25, 2011 • Comments Off

Wilson is an original graphic novel by comics legend Dan Clowes (Ghost World, Ice Haven, David Boring). The story of a misanthrope named Wilson as he tries to find his way in the world, this book captures the sly wit and subtle cartooning that has made Dan Clowes one of the literary world’s favorite comic creators. These hardcovers are signed by Clowes. Available now!

Neil Gaiman NEW POEM with art by Tony Harris- SIGNED

by Betsy Gomez • April 24, 2011 • Comments Off

Neil Gaiman, the award winning author of The Graveyard Book, Coraline, Sandman and more writes this all-new, unpublished poem to benefit Comic Book Legal Defense Fund! Illustrated by Tony Harris of Ex Machina and Starman fame, “In Relig Oran” is…

A Con Grows In Stumptown

by cbldf • April 21, 2011 • Comments Off

Last Friday comics creators and fans converged on a rain streaked Portland night to kick off the 2011 Stumptown Comics Festival. A growing showcase for handcrafted comics and art, Stumptown behaves less like a traditional comic book convention, and more like a pageant honoring the distinctive creative culture of Portland, Oregon. For three days, the city’s various institutions, including comic shops and galleries host comics focused parties while artists show their wares on the festival’s curated exhibit hall. The CBLDF was there to participate in the festivities.

Beasts of Burden: Animal Rites HC, signed by Jill Thompson!

by Betsy Gomez • April 21, 2011 • Comments Off

From award-winning creators Jill Thompson (Scary Godmother, The Invisibles, Death: At Death’s Door) and Evan Dorkin (Milk & Cheese), this beautiful hardcover edition collects the Eisner Award-winning short stories, as well as all four issues of the acclaimed series. It is signed by illustrator and painter Jill Thompson.

About Beasts of Burden: Welcome to Burden Hill — a picturesque little town adorned with white picket fences and green, green grass, home to a unique team of paranormal investigators. Beneath this shiny exterior, Burden Hill harbors dark and sinister secrets, and it’s up to a heroic gang of dogs — and one cat — to protect the town from the evil forces at work. These are the Beasts of Burden Hill — Pugs, Ace, Jack, Whitey, Red and the Orphan — whose early experiences with the paranormal (including a haunted doghouse, a witches’ coven, and a pack of canine zombies) have led them to become members of the Wise Dog Society, official animal agents sworn to protect their town from evil. This turns out to be no easy task, as they soon encounter demonic cannibal frogs, tortured spirits, a secret rat society, and a bizarre and deadly resurrection in the Burden Hill cemetery — events which lead to fear and heartbreak as our four-legged heroes discover that the evil within Burden Hill is growing and on the move. Can our heroes overcome these supernatural menaces? Can evil be bested by a paranormal team that doesn’t have hands? And even more importantly, will Pugs ever shut the hell up?

Get your copy now!

Muzzled!

by Betsy Gomez • April 20, 2011 • Comments Off

Each year, on or around Thomas Jefferson’s April 13 birthday, The Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression “awards” the individuals and organizations who put in a concerted effort to abridge free speech in the previous year. The 2011 “winners” of these awards — called the Jefferson Muzzles — were recently announced.

Who can we thank for impeding free speech during 2010? The dubious honorees included no less than the Obama Administration and BP “for restricting media access to the Gulf oil spill,” the TSA “for having a young man arrested for stripping off much of his clothing to display the text of the Fourth Amendment,” and more. You can check out the full list of recipients here.

The Jefferson Muzzles serve as a reminder that free expression isn’t always as safe as we think it is.

Jeffrey Brown’s Inspiring Membership Cards

by Betsy Gomez • April 18, 2011 • Comments Off

As any past and present member knows, CBLDF membership has its benefits, including a number of incentives and premiums.

We have a membership level for everyone, and each membership level has its own incentives. Everyone gets a membership card — this year’s features Green Lantern — but if you sign up for the CBLDF Defender Membership at a $250 donation, you will also get a hand-drawn membership card! You can choose a card by celebrated comics artists Jeffrey Brown, Matt Wagner, Eric Powell, Cliff Chiang, or Dean Haspiel.

Brown just sent us a slew of eye-catching, full-color cards! We’re inspired both by these gorgeous cards and by the time Brown donated to make the cards for us, and we hope this inspires you to become a defender of Free Speech for the comics community. Become a member now!

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