CBLDF is coming to SDCC with panels at both the convention center and the San Diego Central Library! We’re also hosting signings with Eric Heisserer (Secret Weapons, screenwriter of Arrival), Erica Henderson (Secret Weapons #1 SDCC Liberty Variant cover artist, Unbeatable Squirrel Girl), and Gabriel Bá and Fábio Moon (Casanova, How to Talk to Girls at Parties, Two Brothers)!
Whether you’re looking for the latest censorship news, tips for using comics in education, information about censorship and the law, or the always exciting CBLDF Live Art Jam, we’ve got it and more! Come by booth #1918 for the signings, exclusives, and signed goodies!
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)
Special Events
CBLDF Comic-Con Welcome Party
THURSDAY • 8:00 p.m. • Westgate Hotel (1055 Second Avenue, San Diego, CA 92101)
Kick-off Comic-Con with comics’ greatest creators at CBLDF’s Comic-Con Welcome Party, sponsored by Image Comics and comiXology, with a special gallery display from Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab! The first 100 attendees will get an amazing gift bag that includes a t-shirt courtesy of Image, two surprise items courtesy of
comiXology, and more!
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!
Come support free speech and experience the best party at Comic-Con! The party is FREE for CBLDF Members. Non-members: Suggested $10 – $20 donation at the door. RSVP: https://cbldf-sdcc2017.eventbrite.com
CBLDF Comic-Con Art Auction
SATURDAY • 8:00 p.m. • Hilton Bayfront (1 Park Blvd, San Diego, CA 92101), Sapphire AB
Join IDW Publishing and the San Diego Comic Art Gallery and Splash Page Comic Art to support CBLDF’s Comic-Con Auction! 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 stars, including Charlie Adlard, Jock, Duncan Fegredo, Sebastian Fiumara, Sean Phillips, and Paolo Rivera; plus contributions from CBLDF artist supporters, including Sergio Aragones, Chris Burnham, John Cassaday, Terry and Rachel Dodson, Gene Ha, Sam Kieth, Carla Speed McNeil, Gabriel Rodriguez, Alex Ross, Brian Stelfreeze, Jill Thompson, and many, many more.
No badge is needed to attend this incredible event! RSVP: https://cbldfauction.eventbrite.com