Today is the last day to contribute to Comic Book Legal Defense Fund in 2013. If you’ve already contributed to CBLDF this year, we thank you – you’re making our work possible. If you haven’t yet made a contribution, we…
Censorship 2013: Missouri Man Goes to Prison for Comics
Comics are still in the cross hairs in battle against censorship. This is most evident in the case of Christjan Bee, a Missouri man who will spend three years in federal prison because of the comics he possessed. Bee was…
Last Chance to Join CBLDF in 2013 — Spread the Word!
We are coming down to the wire for 2013 CBLDF memberships, and it’s time to rally the troops, as they say. If you haven’t joined CBLDF yet, now is the time fight for the right to read!…
Censorship 2013: Comics Editors Convicted of Obscenity
Earlier this month, CBLDF received word that editors of the popular Japanese comics publication Core Magazine pleaded guilty to charges of obscenity. The conviction marks an escalation in the assault on free expression in the Japanese manga…
Art Spiegelman’s “Wordless!” is Coming to NYC
Art Spiegelman is having a triumphant, but busy, winter season. Last month a career retrospective opened at the Jewish Museum in Manhattan, showcasing the original art from his underground days…
Get What You Really Wanted for the Holidays from CBLDF!
You spent the holiday taking care of everyone else on your list, and maybe all you got in return was a hideous holiday sweater and pack of tube socks. Reward yourself with something that you really wanted by picking up…
CBLDF’s 10 Most Read Stories of 2013
CBLDF ran hundreds of stories about censorship and helped fight dozens of book challenges in 2013. Let’s take a look at the top 10 most read stories of the year: Help Defend The Perks of Being a…
Happy Holidays from CBLDF!
Courtesy of CBLDF blogger Joe Sergi, our resident comics censorship historian, we’re delighted to offer this special treat for the holidays: “A Comics Carol,” a minicomic in which Messr. Fredric…
Please Include CBLDF in Your Year-End Charitable Giving
CBLDF is able to perform our important work thanks to the direct contributions of supporters like you. December is the Fund’s most important fundraising month because we receive more than a quarter of our annual budget in year-end gifts from…
Petition Challenges School District’s Attempt to Ban Books
A petition on Change.org came to CBLDF’s attention this week. The petition challenges a proposed policy in the Muhlenberg School District in Reading, Pennsylvania, that would require all teachers in the district “to read and check each [book] for violence,…
Tales From the Code: The Christmas Panic
It was “The Night Before Christmas.” At least that was the name of the story in Panic #1, a 1953 release from MC Gaines’ EC Comics. This story not only stirred controversy and was banned in the state of Massachusetts, but it…
Core Magazine Pleads Guilty in Japanese Obscenity Case
In July, three people, including Akira Ōta, who heads the editorial department at Core Magazine, were arrested in Japan amid accusations of obscenity. According to CBLDF’s source in Japan, the Core Magazine case went to court, and despite…
CBLDF Joins Coalition Defending Alice Walker’s The Color Purple
For the last month, a parent in Brunswick County, North Carolina, has been waging a war against Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Color Purple. CBLDF has joined a coalition led by CBLDF-sponsored Kids’ Right to…
Book Challenges on the Rise in 2013
2013 saw a significant increase in book challenges, especially in the last quarter: CBLDF-sponsored Kids’ Right to Read Project just released a press release announcing a three-fold increase in challenges over the last three months, and a greater than 50%…
Student Newspaper Apologizes for Allegedly Racist Cartoon
Sports fans all over the country were baffled over Auburn University’s recent defeat of the University of Alabama in the Iron Bowl. As a result, the University of Alabama’s student newspaper, The Crimson White, published a satirical cartoon depicting an…