The National Coalition Against Censorship’s blog has a new interview with Matt Loux, whose graphic novel SideScrollers was recently removed from an Enfield, Connecticut, high school’s summer reading list after one resident complained of profanity and sexual references. CBLDF and…
Category: Education
Otaku: Japan’s Favorite Scapegoat — and Tourist Draw
Japan has long had a checkered relationship with its subculture of otaku, a word whose nuances cannot easily be translated to English but which more or less means “geeks whose hobbies border on the fanatic” (Ito). More often than not,…
Nudity a Frequent Target for Book Challenges
A frequent cause for the contention when it comes to comic books and graphic novels has been the age-old, yet incorrect, idea that all comics are for children. In this light, it is not hard to discern why books featuring…
Robie Harris Speaks Up On A Career’s Worth Of Challenges
Robie Harris knows more than most people about book banning. Her children’s books on sexual health and family life are perennial standards on challenged and banned lists across the country, accused of being everything from age-inappropriate to “obvious child pornography.”…
What Gets a Book Banned in Texas? How Bone & More Were Taken Off The Shelf
Each year, the ACLU of Texas contacts the 1,000+ school districts in the Lone Star State to find out why books are banished from classrooms, library shelves, and reading lists. For 2011-2012, they were excited to find that book challenges…
Honest Teen Life Stories Among Frequently Banned & Challenged
Nothing gets a parent quite so anxious as their child’s teen years. Burgeoning adulthood comes with sexual awakening and an introduction to smoking, drinking, and any number of other vices. For many parents it can seem easier to limit a…
Tereska Torrès, Writer of America’s First Lesbian Pulp Novel, Dies at 92
French writer Tereska Torrès, 92, died at her home in Paris last Thursday. Author of many novels and memoirs, she is best known for her book Women’s Barracks, which was challenged by the House Select Committee on Current Pornographic Materials…
Alan Moore, America’s Most Challenged
Alan Moore is a legend of the comic book industry, recognized as one of its best writers. He has won numerous awards for his works, including for his run on Swamp Thing, Watchmen, Batman: The Killing Joke, and The League…
The Incredible True Story of Joe Shuster’s NIGHTS OF HORROR
In 1938, Superman took flight from the drawing board of a teenage boy named Joe Shuster into the pages of Action Comics. However, by 1954 Joe had fallen on hard times: He was no longer drawing Superman; he had lost…
Virtual Read-Out: KING & KING
Here’s another selection from the Banned Books Week Virtual Read-Out, an officially sponsored YouTube channel that compiles videos of people reading their favorite banned and challenged literature. In this one, college student Rachel reads an excerpt from King & King…