Category: Features

The Good Fighters: Pam Noles

If you’ve been lucky enough to go to Comic-Con International in San Diego, you’ve seen Pam Noles. As a prominent volunteer in their Guest Relations Team, Pam is often zooming across the exhibit floor with a walkie-talkie in one hand, her guest’s schedule in the other, and a bag overburdened with Things Her Guest Requires slung over her shoulder.

As a volunteer, Pam is indefatigable and single minded in her drive to fulfill her mission. It’s made her an incredible asset to us at CBLDF, who she volunteers for when she isn’t whisking the likes of Neil Gaiman or Bruce Campbell to safety at Comic-Con. Actually, if you’ve been unlucky enough to get to a Neil Gaiman signing at the CBLDF booth after we’ve capped the line, but you were able to get a signature, she’s probably the one who made that happen.

Pam aids the CBLDF when we do fundraising in California, and has always been a valuable resource for the organization behind the scenes. We’re grateful to have found her standing still long enough for a quick chat about her drive to volunteer, and her work for rights organizations like ACLU and the Fund in this first installment of The Good Fighters, CBLDF’s volunteer profile series.

Green Lantern Member Card Leads 2011 CBLDF Member Incentives!

The CBLDF is proud to unveil our 2011 Member incentives! Leading off with a Green Lantern member card by Ivan Reis and Oclair Albert, produced by Graphitti Designs, this year’s member program is the best ever. Read on to learn about our exclusive button set, tote bag, personalized member cards, original art, and other fine art items that we’re offering to thank you for supporting the CBLDF’s First Amendment legal work!

RIP Jeff Alexander

The CBLDF is sad to report the passing of Jeff Alexander, past organizer of SPX, the Small Press Expo in Bethesda, MD. Jeff was an energetic advocate for comics, a cartoonist, and an avid supporter of the CBLDF. He will be missed. The SPX website offers a tribute to Jeff, and fellow SPX organizer Greg McElhatton offers his heartfelt remembrances on his blog.

Paul Pope Launches New CBLDF Benefit Print

Paul Pope has created an all new fine art print with master art printers Axelle Fine Arts to benefit the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund! See Pope at work on the print, and learn about his passion for CBLDF in this exclusive video by Shahriar Shadab. Then go behind the scenes courtesy of our friends at io9!

This print, The Liberty Tree, was personally overseen by Pope, is archivally printed, and strictly limited to 50 copies, all signed and numbered by artist. Get a print of your very own by joining the CBLDF at the $500 level or $1,000 level, which will also include a separate sketch by the artist! All proceeds benefit the CBLDF’s 2011 program work.

CHEW’s John Layman Kicks Off CBLDF Lecture Series

On Saturday, December 18th, the writer, and former Wildstorm Editor, John Layman (CHEW, GAMBIT) became the first Guest Lecturer to visit the CBLDF offices in Manhattan. Twenty lucky fans were able to spend Saturday afternoon learning from someone who is simultaneously a respected veteran and an overnight success…

CBLDF Accepts Downs Intellectual Freedom Award at ALA Midwinter

Last weekend, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund was presented the Robert B. Downs Intellectual Freedom Award, an honor presented by the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to acknowledge individuals or groups who have furthered the cause of intellectual freedom, particularly as it impacts libraries and information centers and the dissemination of ideas. The award was presented last Saturday at a presentation during the American Library Association midwinter conference, and accepted by CBLDF Executive Director Charles Brownstein. His acceptance remarks highlight the rise of comics from being hobbled by junk science in the 1950s to their near universal embrace by contemporary culture, and are presented in full after the jump.

CBLDF Board Member Neil Gaiman & Executive Director Charles Brownstein with the Downs Intellectual Freedom Award. Photo by Cat Mihos.

CBLDF Auctions Superheroes by Margaret Atwood and Periscope Studios!

Last October, celebrated writer and novelist Margaret Atwood was inspired to create superheroes based on the handles of her Twitter followers. The illustrations that followed became a fast internet sensation, and inspired the talented folks at Periscope Studios of Portland, Oregon, to illustrate their own takes on the characters Ms. Atwood designed …

Happy Birthday Neil Gaiman!

Neil Gaiman is celebrated for his creative works which invoke human values, belief systems, and decisions in a way that has resonated with many generations. His energies on the page are enough to merit him all the recognition he has received, but his efforts go beyond storytelling. Outside of his creative contributions, Neil has stridently directed his energies towards working as a force for good. Today, on the occasion of his fiftieth birthday, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund salutes Neil and the good works he’s accomplished.