The following is the CBLDF’s latest email update, sent to members earlier this month!
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The past few months have been an absolute whirlwind. The surge in challenges to free expression through the the comic arts had been intense prior to the new year, but the past 100+ days raised everything to a new level.
We are truly grateful for all of your support, from memberships, donations, and volunteering to words of encouragement, questions, and requests for help. We know that many of you are also speaking up for comics in your local communities, and we look forward to reaching out soon to those of you who have volunteered – you’re all needed, everywhere!
As you might have seen on the CBLDF’s social media accounts and homepage,the threats to graphic novels, manga, animation, and other forms of the comic arts have escalated throughout all aspects of the comics experience:
- Attempts to restrict access to graphic novels and manga, both individual books and as a category, are increasing across the coast. And it’s not just in red states or the south – for example, New York is a real hotbed of school and library challenges at the moment, with graphic novels and manga being singled out as especially dangerous due to their use of images.
- These challenges go beyond trying get books off the shelves or out of classrooms – we are once again getting requests to help deal with threats of arrest.
- Retailers are also a target. Exhibit A: Texas House Bill 1375, which, if it had passed would have exposed comics shops and other bookstores to frivolous lawsuits for selling books anyone found objectionable.
- Legislatures across the country have been considering – and sometimes passing – bills designed to have a chilling effect on the sale of graphic novels and manga, which the bills’ proponents condemn as harmful to today’s youth.
- The crackdown on visas has had an equally significant chilling effect on international creators, for whom entry to the U.S. can seem too risky to attempt.
- Similarly, new reciprocal tariffs and intensified international sanctions enforcement have placed new burdens on production and shipping – despite a clear exemption for graphic novels, manga, and other media that is expressly grounded in the First Amendment.
How we’re fighting – and winning
While news reports can seem overwhelming at time, the fact is that history remains on our side. Just as comics prevailed over generational attacks in the 1950s and the CBLDF’s early years, we will win again – and these victories have already begun.
- We’re working with local communities to counter book challenges around the country to defeat challenges aimed at removing specific books or keeping comics out of reach without ID.
- Thus far, all of our efforts to engage local enforcement concerning threats of arrest have been successful – none of these threats have become a reality.
- Our efforts to counter unconstitutional or harmful legislation behind the scenes – both on our own and working together with other free speech groups – have succeeded in stopping multiple bills, including HB1375, the Texas retailer lawsuit bill. (A special thanks to all of you who responded to our posts by contacting your local legislators!)
- Through our online legal explainers, discussions with comics media, and direct assistance, we’re helping creators, publishers, and others deal with recent trends in visa, tariff, and sanctions enforcement. We’ve even been explaining the law to government officials – not only were we the first to write about the graphic novel exemption from the new reciprocal tariffs, but we also ended up having to point it out to multiple Customs officials!
And there’s much more happening every day – check out our social media @cbldf and our website for ongoing updates.
Join us!
If the past few months are any indication, attacks on free expression through the comic arts are going keep intensifying for the foreseeable future.
To join us in the fight to protect the comics medium, you can donate or become a member on our website or through the special CBLDF membership tier on the Kickstarter for the new Oddly Compelling documentary on the legendary underground comix creator and publisher Denis Kitchen, without whom the CBLDF would not be here to help.
We’ll be back again soon with more updates – in the meantime, if any additional information on the latest developments would be helpful or if you have an incident to report, please let us know!