San Diego Comic-Con starts today, and the CBLDF is there with incredible events, including signings at our booth – 1920! Read on for a full schedule of signing & sketching events, with greats including Chip Kidd, Gilbert Shelton, Charlie Adlard,…
Author: cbldf
CBLDF’s Biggest Comic-Con Art Auction Ever! This Saturday!
At 128 pieces of amazing original art and signed memorabilia, and growing, Comic-Con’s 2012 Benefit Auction stands to be the Fund’s biggest auction ever, with amazing one-of-a-kind pieces up for grabs to benefit the organization’s important First Amendment legal work!…
SDCC: CBLDF Live Art Auction – FIRST LOOK!
This is the big one! The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund hosts its biggest auction of the year at Comic-Con on Saturday, July 14 the CBLDF’s Comic-Con Live Art Auction! This year’s auction will feature items for bidding, curated by…
SDCC: What’s New At The CBLDF Booth!
Comic Con International is the biggest week of the comics year, and it’s almost upon us! The CBLDF will be there, and aside from our annual party, our annual live art auction, multiple great programs and panels, we will also…
SDCC: CBLDF Programming!
Thursday, July 12 12:00-1:00 Censorship and the Female Artist — Attacks on women’s speech are on the rise in the current cultural climate in realms including politics and pop culture. This panel examines how censorship affects women artists, in realms…
SDCC: CBLDF Convention Kit FREE For All Members!
Are you a CBLDF member? Do you attend conventions, and are tired of the standard badge and lanyard combo? Do you wish you had more “flair” to show everyone that you support free speech? Do you find yourself pen free…
SDCC: CBLDF’s Comic-Con Welcome Party!
Kick off Comic-Con with the greatest stars in comics to celebrate 20 Years of Image Comics and the power of free expression at the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund’s Comic-Con Welcome Party! Starting at 8:00 PM on Thursday, July 12…
CBLDF Contributes Additional $10,000 to Ryan Matheson’s $75,000 Legal Defense Costs Thanks To Donors!
The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is pleased to announce that thanks to the support of its contributors, the organization has disbursed an additional $10,000 to Ryan Matheson to help pay off the $75,000 legal defense costs that he incurred defending himself against false charges brought by Canada Customs in a case involving manga comics on his laptop computer.
Earlier this year, charges against Matheson were dropped in a case where Canada Customs illegally detained and wrongly charged the American with importation of child pornography for humor and fantasy manga on his laptop. The CBLDF came to Ryan’s aid in 2011, providing substantive and financial support for his case, including arranging expert testimony that contributed to the charges being dropped. With this most recent disbursal, the CBLDF has provided $30,000 to Ryan’s $75,000 legal defense costs. Last year, Canada’s Comic Legends Legal Defense Fund contributed $11,000 towards Ryan’s defense. CBLDF seeks contributions to help pay off Ryan’s remaining $34,000 in legal expenses.
In a message to CBLDF supporters, Matheson says, “Thank you so much to everyone who contributed to the CBLDF! The donations raised so far have given me enough financial stability to finally get back on my feet and live my life normally instead of worrying about money so much. It’s really encouraging to know that there are so many people out there that want to help stand up for comics and manga. I used to feel so isolated and alone but now I’ve realized that the comics and manga community is definitely one that cares about the things we love and is willing to stand up for our rights. Your donations really do help a lot and I am so grateful for all the support I’ve received so far. Thank you!”
This summer, Matheson will be appearing on panels at San Diego Comic-Con and Otakon to discuss his case, where CBLDF will also be distributing literature advising convention goers of their rights.
Please make a donation to CBLDF to help the organization continue to pay off Matheson’s legal defense costs and to support their important work raising awareness of the rights facing comics and manga readers. To learn more about Ryan’s case, please visit the CBLDF Case File R. v. Matheson, which includes the original defense documents, and special advisories for travelers crossing borders with comics books.
CBLDF Applauds Supreme Court’s Defense of Free Speech In Rejecting “Stolen Valor” Act
The Supreme Court today held that the Stolen Valor Act, a federal law that makes it a crime to lie about having received military honors, violates the free speech protections of the First Amendment.
“Fundamental constitutional principles require that laws enacted to honor the brave must be consistent with the precepts of the Constitution for which they fought,” Justice Kennedy wrote in a plurality decision.
Earlier this year, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund signed onto a friend-of-the-court brief filed in the case by Media Coalition, a trade association that defends the First Amendment rights of mainstream media. The brief argued that while defamation and fraud are recognized historic exceptions to the First Amendment, there has never been an exception for false speech. In his opinion, Justice Kennedy wrote, “The Court has never endorsed the categorical rule the Government advances: that false statements receive no First Amendment protection. Our prior decisions have not confronted a measure, like the Stolen Valor Act, that targets falsity and nothing more.”
CBLDF Meets The Library World At The ALA Annual!
This weekend, CBLDF President Larry Marder and Executive Director Charles Brownstein will be in Anaheim, California for the American Library Association’s Annual Conference. The Fund will be set up on the Exhibit Hall floor handing out information about our work all weekend in Booth 786 in the Graphic Novel Pavilion! Come visit our table to learn about how you can can get involved with this year’s Banned Books Week, and take a look at our vast array of thank you items for supporting our work.
In addition to giving away great gifts to our contributors, we’re hosting a raffle where we’re going to give away Neil Gaiman’s signed badge from the 2009 Annual Conference, where he received the prestigious Newbery Medal for The Graveyard Book!
On top of our space in the Graphic Novel Pavilion, the CBLDF will also be hosting a special presentation on the Graphic Novel stage on Monday morning at 10:00 AM about how graphic novel censorship happens in libraries and what the CBLDF does to help.
The CBLDF’s recent letter in defense of Alan Moore’s Neonomicon emphasizes that challenges to take graphic novels off of library shelves are still happening, and the Fund is committed to assisting whenever the medium is under attack. Come support our work to protect them, and join the dialogue about what we all can do to protect comics and the First Amendment at the CBLDF booth at the ALA Annual!