Author: Betsy Gomez

Alan Moore’s NEONOMICON Challenged in South Carolina Library

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Neonomicon, the Bram-Stoker Award winning series from Alan Moore and artist Jacen Burrows, has been challenged at a library in Greenville, South Carolina. The book was shelved in the adult section of the library, which is generally restricted to minors unless they have parental permission. A 14-year-old girl who had permission from her mother checked out the book. After asking her mother about a profane word used in the book, her mother looked at the book and filed a complaint. The book was challenged for sexual content and is currently under review.

More after the jump…

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Media Coalition Counsel Michael Bamberger Wins Freedom to Read Foundation Roll of Honor Award

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Michael Bamberger, First Amendment attorney and counsel for the plaintiffs protesting Utah’s H.B. 260, which would have curtailed constitutionally-protected speech online, is the recipient of 2012 Freedom to Read Foundation Roll of Honor Award. Bamberger is general counsel for the Media Coalition, which includes CBLDF. Click through for a look at his work in defense of Free Speech and more about the award.

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Baltimore’s Alliance Comics Sponsors CBLDF Awareness Day with Robert Venditti

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This Saturday, Alliance Comics is sponsoring a CBLDF Awareness Day with special guest X-O Manowar writer Robert Venditti! Venditti will be signing from noon to 3:00 p.m. at the Baltimore store (904 Light Street, Baltimore, MD 21230; 410-685-0021). CBLDF has teamed up with Alliance for an amazing raffle, including the following items:

Several different limited editions of X-O Manowar #1
Limited edition X-O Manowar art prints
Chew volume 1, signed by writer John Layman
Astonishing X-Men volume 1, signed by penciler John Cassaday
Green Lantern Secret Origin, signed by writer Geoff Johns
American Vampire volume 1 hardcover, signed by writer Scott Snyder
Watchmen hardcover, signed by penciler Dave Gibbons
Elektra: Assassin hardcover, signed by Bill Sienkiewicz

More items will likely be added to the raffle, and all proceeds will go to CBLDF to support our important First Amendment work!

If you live in the Baltimore area, head over to Alliance Comics on Saturday, June 9, 12:00 – 3:00 p.m., to support the CBLDF and a great store! Get more details about Alliance Comics’ CBLDF Awareness Day here.

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TFAW Announces Fourth Annual SDCC Autograph Card and CBLDF Auction Event

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For the past three years, Things From Another World has played a pivotal role in collecting original artwork for CBLDF’s annual Comic-Con International charity auction, helping the Fund raise more than $75,000 in the process. They’re at it again this year, and they’ve already lined up some comics superstars to help raise money for our important First Amendment work!

Click through for the official press release and more details about TFAW’s auction art drive!

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Big Wow Raises $1,500 for CBLDF!

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by Betsy Gomez

I rolled an hour down the road this weekend for Big Wow! Comicfest, a regional show that’s seen quite a bit of growth since the last time I attended. In the years that have passed since my last outing to the show, it’s grown from a smallish collectors show (where I could fill in the gaps in my Jonah Hex and The Phantom collections) into a bustling event with an impressive guest list and a burgeoning artists alley. It was a genuine joy to see how the show has upped the ante. By the end of the convention, I had introduced many people to CBLDF and talked to many of our regular contributors, raising $1,500 for the cause!

Click through for more…

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Join Charles Brownstein for a Discussion of Free Expression and the PROTECT Act This Wednesday

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This Wednesday, you can join CBLDF Executive Director Charles Brownstein for “Is Manga a Crime? Non-photographic images, Child Pornography and Freedom of Expression,” a program that discusses the impact of the PROTECT Act and the transportation of drawn images across international borders. The program is the Digital Media & Fine Arts Committees of the New York State Bar Association Entertainment, Arts, & Sports Law Section, and attorneys who attend can gain 1.5 MCLE credits in professional practice (pending approval).

More details after the jump.

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Free Speech Advocates Score Victory in Utah

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A victory for Free Speech was claimed yesterday when US District Judge Dee Benson issued an order ruling that people posting constitutionally-protected content on websites cannot be prosecuted for doing so and are not required to label the content they post. The ruling supports the plaintiffs in a lawsuit that opposed a Utah “harmful to minors” law that restricted free expression online. CBLDF was one of the organizations that opposed the law, joining fellow Media Coalition members the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, the Association of American Publishers, and the Freedom to Read Foundation. Additional plaintiffs included the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah; painter Nathan Florence, the Publishers Marketing Association, and the Sexual Health Network.

Read the official response from the Media Coalition after the jump.

Please help support CBLDF’s work to strike down unconstitutional censorship laws such as this by making a donation or becoming a member of the CBLDF!

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UPDATED: CBLDF Hits the West Coast with Big Wow ComicFest!

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With Executive Director Charles Brownstein in Japan for a symposium on manga and censorship; Deputy Director Alex Cox in Portland, Maine, for the Maine Comics Arts Festival; and a charity auction and booth headed up by volunteer Diana Green at St. Paul, Minnesota’s Spring Con, CBLDF is all over the world this weekend. Lest the West Coast feel left out, CBLDF Web Editor Betsy Gomez will be on hand at the Big Wow! ComicFest in San Jose, California! Big Wow takes place May 19 – 20 in downtown San Jose at the San Jose Convention Center, Hall 2, and you’ll find CBLDF at booth #603.

More details after the jump!

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Join CBLDF This Weekend at the Maine Comics Arts Festival!

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CBLDF Deputy Director Alex Cox will be at the Maine Comics Arts Festival in Portland, Maine, all weekend. On Saturday, May 19, he will be presenting the CBLDF’s “History of Censorship in Comics” — a slideshow walk through oppression and small-mindedness from the 1930s to today! The presentation happens at the Portland Public Library Main Branch in the Rines Auditorium (5 Monument Square). On Sunday, May 20, from 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., you’ll find him at the Ocean Gateway with a booth full of info about the Fund and awesome donation premiums!

Click through for more details about the show!

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This Weekend’s SpringCon Charity Auction Benefits CBLDF

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SpringCon, the annual comic book celebration produced by the Midwest Comic Book Association, takes place this weekend at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds in St. Paul, Minnesota. This amazing event takes place May 19 – 20 and gathers hundreds of creators and many more fans for a comic marketplace, programs, and a huge charity auction. This year’s charity auction takes place at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 20, and all of the proceeds will be split between the Minnesota Lupus Foundation and CBLDF! In addition, the CBLDF will be there with a booth headed up by a local volunteer team lead by Minneapolis College of Art and Design’s Diana Green!

All of the details follow after the jump…

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