Another week, another challenge to Raina Telgemeier’s Drama, as a public library in Florida, following an official state book removal list, is reclassifying the book as “Adult,” not for minors.
Reclassifying might sound better than an outright ban, but it’s part of a broader legislative effort in Florida – and other states nationwide – to classify any books as legally harmful to minors if they include any sexually themed material, including depictions of diverse identities and gender-nonconforming dress, regardless of whether the book as literary, artistic, political, or scientific value. This has ramifications not just for where or whether a graphic novel is shelved; some proposals would even impose criminal penalties, including jail time, for making such comics available to minors.
And this is far from the only development over the past week. I’ve been posting some of this on our socials. The Radnor, PA graphic novel removals with a school board meeting displaying so-called “pornographic” images; more movement on the tariff, visa, and border enforcement fronts with direct free speech implications; ongoing efforts to have all copyright comics and animation treated as public domain for training by AI; and, in a more positive direction, some opportunities for helping the comics community in ways we hope to be discussing more publicly soon.
I’ll get back to long-form writing here and elsewhere next week, but in the meantime, the above image from Drama pretty much captures the day-to-day, as a steady stream of news affecting comics and free expression kept us anticipating what would ping us next!