Banned Books Week starts this month, running from September 26–October 2. Each week leading up to the event, we will profile one of the many spaces in the United States where books are banned. We’ll look at who is banning…
Banned Books: Prisons
Author: Jordan Smith
Flying Dog Brewery Sues NC Alcohol Board Over Censorship
Flying Dog Brewery is proving itself once again as the brewery of free speech. Flying Dog is suing the North Carolina alcohol board for rejecting this year’s seasonal winter beer. The board decided the Maryland brewery’s “Freezin’ Season” Winter Ale…
New Apple Security May Lead to Problems
Last month, Apple announced new security precautions they are implementing with help from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). These new security precautions will scan images on iPhones and other iOS products and compare them to NCMEC’s…
Comics@SDSU Awarded Grant to Further Comics Scholarship and Education
Comics@SDSU was awarded a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The independent federal agency awarded the grant of nearly $150,000 to “advance, support, and empower America’s museums, libraries, and related organizations.” The grant will be a boost…
Last Chance to Participate in the 2021 Comics in Education Survey
Educators! Have you filled out the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund’s second annual Comics in Education Survey? The survey will close August 31, 2021. The extended deadline is fast approaching. You can respond to the survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CBLDF2021. Everyone who completes the survey will…
Almodóvar and Claytoons Battle the Algorithms
This month saw two art takedowns at the behest of algorithms. Facebook removed an anti-Taliban editorial cartoon by Clay Jones, and earlier this month, Pedro Almodóvar’s latest film Madres Paralelas (Parallel Mothers) had its poster removed from Instagram. Both images were taken…
Fungirl in Trouble Again! But it’s not Her Fault
No, really, it’s not! Fungirl: Tales of a Grown-Up Nothing by Elizabeth Pich was one of the offerings for Free Comic Book Day last Saturday. A public library on Long Island in New York mistakenly included the mature title with their handouts…
Watch Decoding Censorship Now!
Thank you to everyone who attended our June membership meeting Decoding Censorship. We had a great lineup of panelists, Terry Anderson, Gordon Danning, Jackie Farmer, and Betsy Gomez. The Comics Code may be gone, but its specter remains. Recoding Censorship examined the changing state of censorship and what…
Free Comic Book Day Saturday! (And a Hiccup)
This weekend join comics fans around the world in celebrating Free Comic Book Day! This Saturday, comic shops across the globe will be celebrating comics with a plethora of free offerings for any fan. This year marks the 20th anniversary…
All the Graphic Novels Challenged in 2020
The American Library Association (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) has released its 2020 Banned & Challenged Books list and 2020 Field Report. Each year, since 1990, the ALA has documented the attempts across the United States to remove books…