SDCC 2017: It’s Here!

Comic-Con kicks off in just a few short hours, so we’re at the San Diego Convention center putting the shine on new premiums, signed goodies, and much, much more! Make sure CBLDF booth #1918, our welcome party, panels, and auction are on your Comic-Con to-do list! We’ll be ready to meet comics fans and free speech defenders when the hall opens at 6:00 p.m. tonight!

CBLDF’s Comic-Con Welcome Party!

SDCC2017_Party_Auction_Flier_FINALwebKick-off Comic-Con with comics’ greatest creators at the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund’s Comic-Con Welcome Party, sponsored by Image Comics and comiXology, with a special gallery display from Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab! The fun starts at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 20, at the Westgate Hotel, where CBLDF welcomes you to Comic-Con for a night of amazing creators, astonishing artwork, and outstanding exclusives! RSVP now: https://cbldf-sdcc2017.eventbrite.com

Meet Great Creators! Every year the greatest creators in comics drop in at the CBLDF Welcome Party. Dozens of creators are expected to stop by over the course of the night, with Marc Bernardin, Nick Dragotta, Brenden Fletcher, Sina Grace, Megan Hutchinson, Jock, Jeff Lemire, Dustin Nguyen, Amy Reeder, Nicola Scott, Gail Simone, Joshua Williamson, and more already confirmed!

Get Amazing Gifts! The first hundred attendees will get an amazing gift bag that includes a t-shirt courtesy of Image Comics, two surprise items courtesy of comiXology, and more!

Celebrate ComiXology’s 10th Anniversary! ComiXology is celebrating ten years! Join us in toasting the creators and readers who made this milestone happen, with a free drink ticket to the first hundred folks to arrive courtesy of comiXology!

Smell Awesome at the Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab/Trading Post! Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab will be introducing F#@K — a censored scent, reminiscent of sugar crust with a hint of cherry meringue — which will only be available at the CBLDF Welcome Party. Also debuting that night: Neil Gaiman’s 15 Painted Cards From a Vampire Tarot, plus BPAL’s full series of Neil Gaiman’s American Gods fragrances. Proceeds from every sale at the CBLDF Welcome Party benefit CBLDF!

Get First Dibs on CBLDF Exclusives! CBLDF has an exclusive assortment of great items promoting intellectual freedom for Comic-Con attendees! We have all-new stickers, patches, and pins that you can get at the party!

Preview the Incredible Items in CBLDF’s Comic-Con Auction! Get a first look at the amazing original art up for grabs at Saturday’s CBLDF Comic-Con Auction, sponsored by IDW Publishing, Splash Page Comic Art, and the San Diego Comic Art gallery! Items include original art by Frank Miller, Charlie Adlard, John Cassaday, Jeff Lemire, Jock, Sean Phillips, and many, many more!

Come support free speech and experience the best party at Comic-Con during the CBLDF Comic-Con Welcome Party, Thursday, July 20, at the Westgate Hotel (1055 Second Avenue, San Diego, CA 92101), from 8:00 – 11:00 p.m.! This party is FREE for CBLDF Members. Non-members: Suggested $10 – $20 donation at the door, please. You can RSVP here: https://cbldf-sdcc2017.eventbrite.com

CBLDF SDCC 2017 Live Art Auction

SDCC2017_Auction_Flier_FINALJoin IDW Publishing (Booth 2743) and the San Diego Comic Art Gallery and Splash Page Comic Art (Booth 4400) to support Comic Book Legal Defense Fund’s Comic-Con Live Art Auction, happening Saturday, July 22, at the Hilton Bayfront Sapphire AB. The event kicks off at 8:00 p.m. with a keynote address from Batman scribe Scott Snyder will open the evening, while Jeff Smith, creator of Bone and host of Cartoon Crossroads Columbus (CXC), makes live art that will be auctioned off at the end of the night!

Bid on original art, including work by CBLDF Defender of Liberty Frank Miller, Splash Page Comic Art starsincluding Charlie Adlard, Jock, Duncan Fegredo, Sebastian Fiumara, Sean Phillips, and Paolo Rivera, plus contributions from CBLDF supporters including Sergio Aragones, Chris Burnham, John Cassaday, Terry and Rachel Dodson, Gene Ha, Sam Kieth, Carla Speed McNeil, Gabriel Rodriguez, Alex Ross, Jill Thompson, and many, many more.All this, plus out-of-print Artist Editions from the IDW vaults! More than 60 lots will be on offer to benefit CBLDF’s important work, with more surprises to come in the days leading into the con!

Register to bid: https://cbldfauction.eventbrite.com

This auction is open to all – YOU DO NOT NEED A COMIC CON BADGE TO ATTEND!

REMOTE BIDDING
If you are unavailable for the live auction, but still interested in bidding, please send a list of the pieces you are interested in with the HIGHEST donation you would be willing to bid. If the high bid on the auction floor is below your highest bid, your final bid will be 10% higher than the last highest bid on the floor.

Your bids should be delivered to Betsy Gomez (betsy.gomez@cbldf.org) by 3:00 p.m. PACIFIC TIME July 22 to be eligible. You will be contacted immediately after the auction with any winning bids.

ITEM LIST As of 7/14
(Please note: More items will be added as they arrive. This list does not reflect order of items in the auction. Some items to be finalized)

1 Frank Miller Sin City Liberty Annual 2010 Pin-Up
2 John Cassaday Avengers World #1, Cover
3 Gene Ha Cyborg (from mural at DC’s Burbank HQ)
4 Jill Thompson Wonder Woman painting
5 Terry & Rachel Dodson Princess Leia #2, page 2
6 Frank Quitely All-Star Superman Portrait
7 Charlie Adlard & Stefano Gaudiano The Walking Dead #154, page 9
8 Alejandro Aragon 28 Days Later #24, page 22
9 Roland Boschi Punisher: In the Blood #4, page 10
10 Duncan Fegredo Monsters on the Prowl #1, page 16
11 Bob Fingerman TMNT Presents: April O’Neil The May East Saga #1, page
12 Sebastian Fiumara Abe Sapien #13, cover
13 Owen Freeman Lazarus #15, cover
14 Marcelo Frusin Hellblazer #186, page 22
15 Sina Grace Lil’ Depressed Boy #10, Cover
16 Jock Batman #44, page 3
17 Alvaro Lopez (i) & Marcos Martin (p) Batgirl Year One #1, page 22
18 German Peralta Axis: Carnage #1, page 3
19 Sean Phillips Fatale #24, page 23
20 Ben Stenbeck Baltimore: Dr. Leskovar’s Remedy #2, page 9
21 Paolo Rivera Daredevil #10, page 15
22 Edgar Salazar Conquistador de la Luna
23 Dalibor Talajic Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe I #2, page 7
24 Brian Thies Predator Life & Death #2, page 17
25 Tonci Zonjic Lobster Johnson Caput Mortuum, page 18
26 Richard Ortiz Lady Death Unpublished Cover
27 Alex Ross Earth X The Moon Knight Character Design
28 Kevin Eastman TMNT Dimension X #3 cover
29 Jeff Lemire Animal Man #29, page 8
30 Chris Sprouse Thors #1, Page 2 (inks by Karl Story)
31 Khary Randolph Archie #9, Cover B
32 Jim Valentino Guardians of the Galaxy Omnibus (signed & sketched)
33 Frank Miller & David Mazzucchelli Batman Year One Absolute Ed. HC Slipcase (signed)
34 Jenny Frison Original Artwork
35 Brian Stelfreeze Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther painting
36 John Celardo Two Consecutive Buz Sawyer strips (1989)
37 Alexis Ziritt 3 Original Consecutive Pages from Mekano Turbo
38 Jim Mahfood Original Artwork
39 Sam Kieth Batman Painting
40 Denis Kitchen Untitled Drawing
41 Gabriel Bá Umbrella Academy Pin-Up
42 Fábio Moon Cosplay Pin-up
43 Sergio Aragonés
44 Terry Moore Motor Girl #6, page 10
45 Sonny Liew
46 Jeffrey Brown CBLDF Defend Comics 2017, Cover
47 Gabriel Rodriguez
48 Carla Speed McNeil Legends of Red Sonja #1, page 9
49 Dan Brereton
50 Chris Burnham
51 Yanick Paquette Wolverine Watercolor
52 Yanick Paquette Wonder Woman Watercolor
53 Mark Bagley Thunderbolts Citizen V Sketch
54 Ryan Stegman Inhumans Triton Sketch
55 SERGIO ARAGONÉS GROO THE WANDERER ARTIST ED HC S&N VARIANT AP
56 BEST OF EC ARTIST ED HC VOLUME 1 S&N VARIANT AP
57 DAVE STEVENS’ ROCKETEER ARTIST ED HC NEW
58 DAVID MAZZUCCHELLI’S DAREDEVIL BORN AGAIN ARTIST ED HC S&N AP
59 GIL KANE’S THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ARTIST ED HC S&N VARIANT **NO NUMBERING
60 JACK DAVIS EC STORIES ARTIST ED HC S&N VARIANT
61 JOE KUBERT’S TARZAN OF THE APES ARTIST ED HC S&N VARIANT
62 MIKE MIGNOLA’S HELLBOY IN HELL ARTIST ED HC REMARQUED VARIANT
63 MIKE ZECK’S CLASSIC MARVEL STORIES ARTIST ED REMARQUED VARIANT AP
64 Alan Moore Saga of the Swamp Thing #37 Signed Script Copy (first app. Hellblazer)
65 Alan Moore Swamp Thing #51 Signed Script Copy
66 Alan Moore Swamp Thing #54 Signed Script Copy
67 Paul Pope Liberty Tree Artist Test Proof Lithograph, signed (one color test shot)
68 Joëlle Jones Original Page from Fables: A Wolf Among Us #26

CBLDF Panels and Signings!

Panels

THURSDAY

CBLDF: State of Censorship 2017 • 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. • Room 11
Get a global look at comics censorship from CBLDF! See how the new political climate is affecting free speech in the U.S., with increased scrutiny at the border and an abundance of local challenges to comics addressing diversity and equality. Explore how cartoonists are being prosecuted, threatened, and intimidated by authorities around the globe for making art. Learn how you can participate with CBLDF in making a difference and standing up for free expression! CBLDF Executive Director Charles Brownstein and Editorial Director Betsy Gomez lead the conversation. 

CBLDF: She Changed Comics • 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. • Room 11
Meet the women who changed free expression in comics! From the turn of the 20th century to today, women have overcome censorship and more to make comics, inspiring today’s landscape of increasingly diverse and empowering comics storytelling. Join Joyce Farmer (Special Exits, Tits & Clits), Thi Bui (The Best We Could Do), Jennifer L Holm (Babymouse, Sunny Side Up), CBLDF Editorial Director Betsy Gomez (She Changed Comics), and more for a discussion about the women who changed the format!

FRIDAY

At the San Diego Central Library
Handling Challenges & Bans of Comics • 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. • Shiley Special Events
Comics are uniquely vulnerable to challenges and bans, especially comics for teen audiences. Learn about challenged and banned comics and what you can do if they’re challenged in your school or library with panelists Raina Telgemeier (Drama, Ghosts), Candice Mack (Teen Services manager, Los Angeles Public Library), Gina Gagliano(marketing and publicity manager, First Second), and David Saylor (VP / creative director / trade publishing / editorial director, Graphix). Moderated by Betsy Gomez (editorial director, Comic Book Legal Defense Fund).

CBLDF: Intellectual Property, Comics, and the Law • 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. • Room 11
Some of comics’ greatest clashes never appeared within the panels — they were decided by a gavel! CBLDF board member Dale Cendali, an intellectual property icon known for litigating high profile cases (including in the Supreme Court), walks through the history of comics IP in the courts, examining some of the most important cases creators need to know about to protect themselves and their work in 2017!

CBLDF: The Trials of Underground Comix! • 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. • Room 11
Underground comix revolutionized the format by shedding the restrictions of the Comics Code and exploring new ground in what comics could say and do. Authorities were less than impressed, and a generation of prosecutions arose from Berkeley, California, to New York, New York, and everywhere in between. Join Ron Turner, publisher of Last Gasp; Joyce Farmer, iconic underground cartoonist and editor; and Mary Fleener, alternative cartoonist and minicomics pioneer, for a freewheeling discussion with CBLDF Executive Director Charles Brownstein on the trials of underground comix!

SATURDAY

At the San Diego Central Library
CBLDF: Equipping Teachers to Defend Comics • 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. • Shiley Special Events
While comics have long been the domain of superheroes, a new generation of comics and comic book readers are arising. From creating nonfiction graphic novels about history, science, memoirs, and more, graphic novels are being read by all types of readers in and out of classrooms. But teachers still navigate resistance to the format. Join Nathan Hale (Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Adventures), Thi Bui (The Best We Could Do), Matthew Holm (Babymouse, Squish), Dr. Meryl Jaffe, Talia Hurwich, and moderator Betsy Gomez (Editorial Director, CBLDF) as we discuss obstacles and challenges teachers continue face in selecting, using, and defending the use of comics in their classrooms.

CBLDF: Comics Change the World — The History of Activism in Comics • 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. • Room 11
From the medium’s earliest days, activists have taken to the comics form to communicate their messages to the world. CBLDF Deputy Director Alex Cox brings you on an image-filled march through more than a century of comics activism, revealing the history of how comics can change the world!

CBLDF: Retailer Rights Presentation • 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. • Room 11
Comic book stores are at the frontlines when it comes to censorship, and CBLDF is here to help! Learn what you need to know to protect yourself, your co-workers, and your community when dealing with common censorship scenarios, from police visits to community complaints. This presentation is designed for comic store staff and owners alike! Join CBLDF Executive Director Charles Brownstein to learn more about how you can protect your rights!

SUNDAY

CBLDF Live Art Jam • 12:15 – 1:45 p.m. • Room 5AB
Celebrate creative freedom by seeing art made right before your eyes! The CBLDF Live Art Jam brings together a panel of comics artists, including acclaimed creator of The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye, Sonny Liew; award-winning March artist Nate Powell; New York Times bestselling artist Chris Burnham; zine and webcomics revolutionary Liz Suburbia, and other special guests who will make art on the spot and share their perspectives on censorship and the creative process. Watch live art being created, learn about censorship, and bid to win the pieces made during the panel! All proceeds benefit the important free speech work of CBLDF.

Autograph Schedule

CBLDF already has amazing signed premiums, but you can also come by booth #1918 to meet some of the spectacular creators who make your favorite comics and help us fight for the freedom to read! 

SATURDAY

10:30 – 11:30 a.m. — Eric Heisserer (Secret Weapons, screenwriter of Arrival)

10:30 – 11:30 a.m. — Erica Henderson (Secret Weapons #1 SDCC Liberty Variant cover artist, Unbeatable Squirrel Girl)

3:00 – 4:00 p.m. — Gabriel Bá and Fábio Moon (Casanova, How to Talk to Girls at Parties, Two Brothers) 

CBLDF Exclusives!

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Valiant is proud to announce its support for CBLDF with the Secret Weapons #1 SDCC Liberty Variant – a special, limited edition release of the first issue of the acclaimed new series starring Livewire and Valiant’s extraordinary new team of heroes in the making! Featuring a brand-new cover by multiple Eisner Award-nominee Erica Henderson (Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Jughead), the Secret Weapons #1 SDCC Liberty Variant will debut during Preview Night on Wednesday, July 19, available exclusively at CBLDF booth #1918 and via the CBLDF website (cbldf.org). All proceeds will directly benefit the First Amendment legal and education work of CBLDF.

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CBLDF has created a number of limited availability exclusives for our donors attending Comic Con International in San Diego! Available in booth #1918 throughout the weekend, these items are brand new and several have been created especially for SDCC 2017!

First up, we have the “I READ BANNED COMICS” embroidered patch, available in two styles: a square one commemorating SDCC 2017 and an undated circular version.

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A new CBLDF Sticker Set will also be available, featuring four stickers: three brand new designs and one classic, the Comics Code Authority Seal. All stickers are made from durable vinyl, and perfect for cell phones, computers, notebooks, or the back-ends of motor vehicles!

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For the classic comic fans, we have a brand-new CBLDF Enamel Pin, featuring the smiling visage of one of comics greatest publishers, William Gaines. With art by Tony Shasteen (Star Trek), this image has been repurposed from the enormously popular “BILL GAINES WAS RIGHT” t-shirt. The pin is being made available for the first time at SDCC 2017!

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Finally, we have our annual CBLDF Tote Bag, this year in striking Caution Yellow — perfect for storing all the comics you will take home from sunny southern California!

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Don’t miss these SDCC exclusives, signed goodies, and much more during Comic-Con! Get yours and support free speech at CBLDF booth #1918, July 20–23 (preview night July 19)!