Author: Betsy Gomez

Only One Day Left to Enter the Threadless Comics-On Tees Design Challenge!

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Artists! If you’ve ever dreamed of illustrating a Neil Gaiman story, you still have one more day to submit your design to the Threadless Comics-On Tees Design Challenge! If you win, your t-shirt design will be released alongside shirts by Ben Templesmith (Fell, 30 Days of Night), Brandon Graham (Prophet, King City), and John Cassaday (Captain America, Planetary)!

For fans, several designs are already up, which you can view here. Threadless’s community of 1.8 million members will pick the final design, and the chosen shirt will be revealed at Comic-Con International in San Diego! When the four-part series is released, 25% of the proceeds will benefit CBLDF’s important First Amendment work.

Artists, you have only one more day! For more details on the contest, visit the Threadless Atrium here.

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Protect Yourself at International Borders

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The Toronto Comic Arts Festival takes place this weekend, and CBLDF wants to make comics fans and creators crossing the border into Canada aware of their rights. Last year, several creators were subject to intrusive search on their way to TCAF, and creators Tom Neely and Dylan Williams had books seized by Canada Customs. In 2010, comics fan Ryan Matheson was arrested when he crossed the Canadian border with what Canada Customs thought were objectionable comic books on his laptop. You need to know your rights when crossing international borders with comic books.

Click through for a list of resources you should review before heading to TCAF or crossing any international border.

In the event of a First Amendment emergency, call CBLDF at 1-800-99-CBLDF or send us an email at info@cbldf.org. We’re here to help!

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Join CBLDF Executive Director Charles Brownstein at 37th Annual Long Island Library Conference

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The 37th Annual Long Island Library Conference takes place tomorrow, May 3, and CBLDF Executive Director Charles Brownstein will be on hand to present “With Great Stories Comes Great Responsibility, a program that addresses the unique challenges that comics and graphic novels face in libraries. Brownstein will be speaking from 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. at the Melville Marriot (1350 Old Walt Whitman Road, Melville, New York 11747). You can register for this popular conference here.

Please join Brownstein and fellow library lovers for the 37th Annual Long Island Library Conference, an educational forum that provides instructive programming and networking opportunities to help improve the quality of libraries in the Long Island community!

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Ban of Dirty Bastard Beer Sets Uncomfortable Precedent

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In April, the Alabama Alcohol Beverage Control Board banned the sale of Dirty Bastard beer statewide because of the language used on the beer’s label. Beer and wine are common commodities on Alabama store shelves, and the beer was banned because of concerns over children seeing the language used on the label. The ban, while not applied to all consumer products, sets an uncomfortable and dangerous precedent with regard to the display of merchandise in Alabama.

More after the jump…

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Join the CBLDF Team as a Website Contributor!

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Are you a journalism student looking for blogging experience? Or a fan of comics and manga with great writing skills and something to say about Free Speech? Are you an educator or librarian who’s a dedicated supporter of the First Amendment? CBLDF would like to include your voice on our website!

CBLDF is looking for contributors to add to our roster of bloggers. Each member of our website team will be asked to identify and/or generate content about relevant Free Speech issues for www.cbldf.org on a weekly or semiweekly basis under editorial guidance from the Web Editor. The Web Editor may assign specific articles for coverage, but contributors will otherwise have flexibility in choosing what they write about.

The blogging positions are voluntary. Articles will be seen by visitors to www.cbldf.org and cross-posted on CBLDF’s Facebook page, Twitter feed, and weekly newsletter, ensuring that several thousand people will see the articles. Contributors will be able to work from anywhere, set their own schedules, build writing and blogging experience, and boost their resumes. In doing so, contributors will support the important First Amendment work of CBLDF.

If you are enthusiastic about the First Amendment, a good writer, and able to take editorial direction, you’re a perfect candidate — apply today!

To apply, please send your resume and a writing sample to betsy.gomez@cbldf.org.

ABOUT THE COMIC BOOK LEGAL DEFENSE FUND
Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is a non-profit organization dedicated to the protection of the First Amendment rights of the comics artform and its community of retailers, creators, publishers, librarians, and readers. The CBLDF provides legal referrals, representation, advice, assistance, and education in furtherance of these goals.

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Tucson School District Blocks Renowned Chicana Author’s Visit

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Since ending the acclaimed Mexican American Studies program, the Tucson Independent School District has done little to ameliorate the outcry about censorship that has arisen in response. TUSD’s latest move is unlikely to help them win any friends: the school district recently rejected an offer to read from award-winning author Ana Castillo. Castillo offered to read at schools throughout Tucson free of charge and to pay for her own travel in an effort to help the community heal from the rift that resulted from the school board’s decision to end the MAS program and remove books from classrooms.

More details after the jump…

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Arizona Legislature Narrows Focus of Worrisome Electronic Speech Bill

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Earlier this month, we announced that Arizona’s HB 2549 — a bill that could have limited constitutionally-protected electronic speech — had been pulled back by the state legislature for revision. This week, Eugene Volokh with The Volokh Conspiracy laid out those revisions, discussing how the revisions conform to constitutional standards. In sharing a letter written by the Media Coalition in opposition to the bill, CBLDF was one of the first organizations to cover a story that had otherwise flown under the radar. In its original form — which the Arizona legislature had passed and was on Arizona governor Jan Brewer’s desk for signature — the bill could have created vulnerabilities for cartoonists and publishers.

Click through for more on the revisions to HB 2549.

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CBLDF Attends 10th Anniversary MoCCA Fest This Weekend!

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This weekend, CBLDF Executive Director Alex Cox will be joining comics creators, publishers, and fans in New York City for MoCCA Fest 2012, the 10th anniversary of the festival that benefits the work of the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art. Photographer Seth Kushner, writer Christopher Irving, and artists Dean Haspiel and Peter Kuper will also be on hand to sign exclusive prints inspired by Kushner and Irving’s book, Leaping Tall Buildings. The sale of these prints benefits CBLDF’s important First Amendment work.

Get all the details after the jump!

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Dr. Seuss Quote Banned in Canadian Classrooms

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According to one school district in British Columbia, Canadian teachers shouldn’t be allowed to display a quote by Dr. Seuss. The Prince Rupert School District banned a quote from Seuss’s classic Yertle the Turtle from classrooms after declaring that the quote violated a district policy against political speech in classrooms. Basically, the district declared the quote “too political.”

More details on the ban after the jump…

CBLDF is an official sponsor of Banned Books Week, which takes place September 30 – October 6, 2012. Banned Books Week is dedicated to “celebrating the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment.” CBLDF is creating tools that retailers and librarians can use during this year’s 30th Anniversary Banned Books Week Celebration to raise awareness of challenged and banned comics and graphic novels. To get a headstart on the festivities, please check out the CBLDF Rewards Zone, where we have items such as our “I Read Banned Comics” t-shirt available to help raise money for this important program. If you have a First Amendment emergency, call 1-800-99-CBLDF!

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ACLU Connects the Comics Code and Video Game Bill

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In a recent post, Gabe Rottman with the ACLU discussed the connection between the self-censorship of comics and HR 4204, a bill introduced in Congress that requires that all games with a rating above E (for Everyone) carry a label warning parents that exposure to violent video games has been linked to violent behavior. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has already voiced their opposition to the bill, starting a a letter-writing campaign to legislators.

Rottman begins the article with a rundown of the events that led to the censorship of comics, including the publication of Fredric Wertham’s specious Seduction of the Innocent and Congressional showboating on the issue. Click through for excerpts from Rottman’s article linking the Comics Code with today’s furor over violence in video games.

The CBLDF has been active in opposing such laws and bills such as HR 4204. In the Brown v. EMA case, we wrote an amicus curiae brief citing the history of attempts to curb constitutionally protected content, including the Comics Code. The brief was cited by the Supreme Court in their majority decision to strike down a California law that would have made violent speech a category of unprotected speech, alongside obscenity.

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