Author: Betsy Gomez

Latest Round of Ultimate Comics’ Muppet Auctions Include Sketches from Christian Slade, Roger Langridge, and More!

We announced Ultimate Comics’ The Muppet Show #1 sketch variant cover auctions just last week, and an all-new new round of nine covers just went up!

Click through for a sneak peek or head over to Ultimate Comics’ eBay page to view all of the covers and bid on your favorite sketch! Proceeds from the auction benefit CBLDF’s important work in defense of the First Amendment!

Free Speech Hero Barney Rosset Passes Away

Barney Rosset’s Grove Press published some of the best known names in modern literature: Samuel Beckett, Allen Ginsberg, Henry Miller, William Burroughs, and more. Throughout his tenure as a publisher and filmmaker, Rosset was a crusader against obscenity laws. Rosset recently passed away at the age of 90. More after the jump…

The Good Fighters: Eric Stephenson

In many ways, Eric Stephenson has changed the face of comics publishing. Under his guidance as Publisher, Image Comics has become a juggernaut of innovative and creative comics projects, many of them critically acclaimed and instant sell-outs. Under Stephenson’s guidance, Image has become the go-to place for new ideas and new creators.

In addition to being an advocate for new creative work, Stephenson is also an advocate for free speech. His support for CBLDF is as fierce as his support of creators. Under Stephenson’s watch, Image Comics has become a corporate member, sponsored numerous parties, and published the CBLDF Liberty Annual, raising nearly $100,000 for CBLDF’s important First Amendment work.

For this edition of The Good Fighters, we took a moment to talk to Stephenson the eve of the first ever Image Expo, which takes place this weekend in Oakland, California.

Image Comics, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and iFanboy present the Image Expo Welcome Party

Experience Creativity with comics’ greatest creators at the Image Expo Welcome Party sponsored by Image Comics and iFanboy to benefit the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund! The party is free for CBLDF members and kicks off at 8 PM on February 24, 2012 at The Uptown in Oakland, California. This party jump starts a weekend of celebrating independent comics and free speech at the Image Expo, taking place at the Oakland Convention Center. Proceeds from the Image Expo Welcome Party will benefit the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, who will have a gift bag for members and donors!

Keep reading for all the details!

The Good Fighters: Cliff Chiang

Cliff Chiang does more than draw the best Wonder Woman around. In addition to his prodigious talent as an artist, he’s a witty and generous fellow, always ready to donate his dwindling spare time to a worthy cause. When CBLDF asked Chiang to create a new vision of Lady Liberty for our 2012 member cards, he fashioned an image as iconic as the Statue of Liberty herself.

In this installment of The Good Fighters, we sat down with Chiang for a quick chat about the impetus behind his Lady Liberty design and why he supports CBLDF.

Ultimate Comics Gives Back to CBLDF with Muppet Show Auction!

Did you ever want to see what Frank Cho, Eric Powell, or David Mack would do with an assignment to draw the Muppets? North Carolina retailer Ultimate Comics made it happen! They are proud to announce that it will be auctioning two dozen of its store exclusiveThe Muppet Show #1 variant covers, hand sketched by some of the greatest talent in the comics industry, with all proceeds going to support the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund!

The auctions start today! Keep reading for more details and an auction preview!

CBLDF Founder Denis Kitchen Talks Underground Comix and Free Speech at St. Mary’s College

CBLDF founder Denis Kitchen recently shared his love for underground comics and his experience as an editor and defender of Free Speech during a presentation at St. Mary’s College in Maryland. The Point News, St. Mary’s student newspaper, covered the presentation, getting takes from students who saw the lecture. More…

Belgian Court Keeps TINTIN IN THE CONGO on Shelves

After a recent ruling by a Belgian court, Hergé’s controversial second book in the Tintin series, Tintin in the Congo, remains on shelves. The book faced charges that it broke several of Belgium’s laws against racism and incited racial hatred, but the court ruled that the book, which was serialized from 1930 to 1931 and collected in 1946 with significant revisions, was a product of its time and did not intend to incite racial hatred.

Keep reading…

Political Cartoonist Charged with Treason in India

Aseem Trivedi, a freelance political cartoonist in India, faces imprisonment and fines over charges of treason and insulting Indian national emblems. His cartoons criticized India’s government, and he may face additional charges because another complaint alleges that his work is “defamatory and derogatory.” The latter complaint has led to the suspension of Trivedi’s website, www.cartoonistsagainstcorruption.com.

The censorship comes as no surprise, even from the world’s largest democracy. Keep reading…

George Sprott, signed by Seth

The celebrated cartoonist and New Yorker illustrator Seth weaves the fictional tale of George Sprott, the host of a long-running television program. Invoking a sense of both memory and its loss, George Sprott is heavy with the charming, melancholic nostalgia that distinguishes Seth’s work. Characters lamenting societal progression in general share the pages with images of antiquated objects—proof of events and individuals rarely documented and barely remembered. Likewise, George’s own opinions are embedded with regret and a sense of the injustice of aging in this bleak reminder of the inevitable slipping away of lives, along with the fading culture of their days. This gorgeous hardcover edition is signed by master cartoonist SETH.

Get your copy!