To paraphrase what the late Hunter S. Thompson used to write about Rolling Stone magazine deadlines and his portable telex machine: the CBLDF home office mojo wire is starting to hum. I’m late with my diary!
We’re rushing towards all sorts of deadlines.
No.
Let me rephrase that.
The deadlines are hurtling towards us!
Laura Hudson at Comics Alliance dug into the recent seizures of comics at the Canadian Border, speaking to CBLDF Executive Director Charles Brownstein and Tom Neely about the incidents, and sorting through “Canadian customs documentation to get the details on how this happened, the measures you can take to protect yourself and your comics when you’re crossing the border, the concerns this raises for comics fans, and a list of things that may get your comics flagged as obscene and confiscated (or worse).” It’s a terrific summary that presents a concise overview of the complex issue, and provides some excellent, plainspoken pointers about how to protect yourself and your comics. Read the full story here.
Please support the CBLDF’s coverage and defense of free speech issues like this by making a donation today!
CBLDF President Larry Marder takes you behind the scenes of the CBLDF Liberty Trading Cards with this first hand diary of his experiences putting the set together! Today he shows off how the set’s sketch cards came to be, and takes you with him as he visits Rob Liefeld & Scott McCloud to get them embellishing the cards!
Last weekend artist Tom Neely and publisher Dylan Williams were stopped and searched by Canada Customs on their way to the Toronto Comics Art Festival. Customs officers seized copies of two items they were bringing to the festival, Black Eye, an anthology of comics Neely contributed to, and Young Lions, a graphic novel by Blaise Larmee. The CBLDF caught up with Neely & Williams over email when they returned to the United States to learn more details about their ordeal. Full Story
Please support the CBLDF’s coverage and defense of free speech issues like this by making a donation today!
Available For Preorder Now! This summer CBLDF and Cryptozoic Entertainment are teaming up to bring you the CBLDF Liberty Trading Cards, a 72 card set telling the story of comics censorship, with a ton of great sketch and autograph chase cards by the greatest talent in the comics industry! This month the CBLDF will be showcasing spoilers and highlights from this exciting card set every Tuesday and Thursday, but today we hit the basics.
What Are The CBLDF Liberty Trading Cards?
This trading card set showcases the legal struggles comics have fought, from the historic 1950s Senate Subcommittee hearings and the 1970s conviction of Zap Comix to the modern day! This base set brings home the stories of the CBLDF’s battles. Comics retailers fighting for their lives against local authorities; artists being harassed by mammoth corporations; readers being attacked by the federal government — the Liberty Cards show the price of Free Speech!
In addition to the base set, special hand drawn sketch cards and autograph cards by some of the top talent in the comic book world will be featured! Erik Larsen, Charlie Adlard, Rob Liefeld, Frank Quitely and Terry Moore are just a few artists who will be doing sketch cards. Plus, autographs can be found from such names as Geoff Johns, Neil Gaiman, Jeff Smith, Gail Simone and Robert Kirkman.
ALL proceeds from this set benefit the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. Ask Your Retailer To Preorder Yours Now!
Check back Thursday for a first look inside the set!
Release Date: Summer 2011
Packs: 5 cards per pack; 24 packs per box
MSRP: $3.50 pack
Base set: 72 Cards
Chase Sets: Two 9-card chase sets
Inserts: Autographs and Sketch Cards
Last weekend cartoonists crossed the border for TCAF, the Toronto Comics Art Festival, where several were greeted with intrusive customs searches that led to the seizure of at least two comics titles — Black Eye, an anthology, and Young Lions, a graphic novel by Blaise Larmee.
Tom Neely, a contributor to Black Eye was the first to release word of his ordeal through Facebook status messages. Neely explained that copies of the Black Eye anthology were seized, and would either be returned to him or destroyed, pending “further action,” prompting the cartoonist to write:
“I just hope “further action” doesn’t involve being arrested the next time I try to cross the border. They went through everything in our car. Opened every suitcase and looked through every book.”
In the The Comics Journal comments thread where the story broke, Black Eye editor Ryan Standfast noted that copies of Blaise Larmee’s Young Lions were seized from Sparkplug Comic Books publisher Dylan Williams.
Current coverage of this story includes: The Comics Journal, Ryan Standfast, Robot 6, and The Beat.
The CBLDF is investigating these incidents, and will continue to report on developments as they occur.
This incident is part of a recent, growing trend of customs searches and seizures of comics that the CBLDF has been following. The CBLDF has issued an advisory for travelers on crossing borders with comic book materials that is available here as a Word document, and here as a PDF file.
The Comics Journal reports that copies of the anthology Black Eye were confiscated from artist Tom Neely when he was entering Canada for this weekend’s TCAF festival.
According to Neely:
“… They took ‘em. I tried to get them to just ship them back to me at home, but they said they were required to send it to Ottawa for review… if they found the material to be ‘obscene’ they would take ‘further action.’ I asked what ‘further action’ meant and he said they would just destroy them. Or there is a chance they might ship them back to me.
This incident is part of a recent, growing trend of customs searches and seizures of comics that the CBLDF has been following. The CBLDF has issued an advisory for travelers on crossing borders with comic book materials that is available here as a Word document, and here as a PDF file.
Last Friday comics creators and fans converged on a rain streaked Portland night to kick off the 2011 Stumptown Comics Festival. A growing showcase for handcrafted comics and art, Stumptown behaves less like a traditional comic book convention, and more like a pageant honoring the distinctive creative culture of Portland, Oregon. For three days, the city’s various institutions, including comic shops and galleries host comics focused parties while artists show their wares on the festival’s curated exhibit hall. The CBLDF was there to participate in the festivities.
Following a successful legal challenge from the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, local booksellers, and others, including the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, Governor Deval Patrick yesterday signed into law an amendment to controversial 2010 legislation that imposed severe restrictions on Internet content, including discussion of topics such as literature, art, and sexual and reproductive health.
The amendment, which goes into effect immediately, is a direct response to the granting of a preliminary injunction by U.S. District Judge Rya Zobel last fall that found the law likely violated the First Amendment. Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley filed the bill in order to address the constitutional flaws in the existing law. CBLDF joined the Harvard Book Store, Porter Square Books, the Photographic Resource Center, a licensed marriage and family therapist, trade associations, and the ACLU of Massachusetts in filing suit last July to block the law because it made providers of constitutionally protected speech on the Internet criminally liable if such material might be deemed “harmful to minors.”
“Comic book creators and retailers are pleased to see this amendment go into effect, because it protects their constitutionally protected works as they are circulated and sold online,” said Charles Brownstein, Executive Director of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.
Saturday, April 9th (the weekend of the MoCCA festival), you are invited to a release party for Marvel’s STRANGE TALES party, co-hosted by THE BEAT, and a fundraiser for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. It will take place at THE MAD HATTER (easy walking distance from the Armory) from 7 til 9, and there will be drink specials for those attending.