Category: Features

Study Questions Supreme Court’s Protection of the First Amendment

by Betsy Gomez • January 11, 2012 • Comments Off

With the much ballyhooed wins for free speech in cases like Brown v. EMA and more, many commentators commended a John Roberts-led Supreme Court that upheld our right to free speech. A recent study questions whether the current Supreme Court is as supportive of free speech as we think it is.

Keep reading for excerpts from the New York Times and other sources analyzing the study.

Please help support CBLDF’s important First Amendment work and reporting on issues such as this by making a donation or becoming a member of the CBLDF!

STUCK IN THE MIDDLE Remains In School Library

by Betsy Gomez • January 10, 2012 • Comments Off

In December, CBLDF and the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom wrote a letter to the superintendent of the Dixfield, Maine, school system in order to prevent the removal of the anthology Stuck in the Middle: Seventeen Comics from an Unpleasant Age from library shelves. On Monday, the school board voted to leave the book on library shelves with the caveat the students must have parental permission to check out the book.

Stuck in the Middle was edited by Ariel Schrag and includes contributions from acclaimed graphic novelists Daniel Clowes, Dash Shaw, Gabrielle Bell, Lauren Weinstein, and more. The book received praise from Booklist, New York Times, and Publishers Weekly, and it was selected for New York Public Library’s “Books for the Teen Age” list in 2008.

“While we’re pleased to see the book retained in the library’s collection, we’re very disappointed that it is retained with restrictions,” CBLDF’s Executive Director Charles Brownstein said.
Keep reading…

Please help support CBLDF’s important First Amendment work by making a donation or becoming a member of the CBLDF!

Library Censorship Awarded Jefferson Muzzle

by Betsy Gomez • January 9, 2012 • Comments Off

As each year begins, the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression “awards” individuals and organizations around the country with Jefferson Muzzles “as a means to draw national attention to abridgments of free speech and press and, at the same time, foster an appreciation for those tenets of the First Amendment.”

The 2011 Muzzles have been awarded, and recipients include the Obama Administration, BP, the TSA, and more, but one recipient in particular ties in with CBLDF’s work to protect books and comics in libraries. Keep reading…

Please help support CBLDF’s important First Amendment work by making a donation or becoming a member of the CBLDF!

The Good Fighters: Mike Richardson

by Betsy Gomez • January 6, 2012 • Comments Off

In 1986 — the same year CBLDF was established — Mike Richardson founded Dark Horse Comics, which has since grown into one of the largest and most influential comics publishers in the world. From Aliens to Hellboy to Sin City and more, Dark Horse has released some of the most beloved — and occasionally controversial — books in comics.

Inexorably energetic, Richardson isn’t content to only preside over a comics publishing company. He writes, produces films, and owns popular comics retailer Things From Another World. Towering close to seven feet tall, Richardson exudes the same aura held by some of the superheroes found in the books he publishes. But his heroism is all too real: He is one of CBLDF’s most devout supporters.

In celebrating more than 25 years of both the CBLDF and Dark Horse Comics, CBLDF Executive Director Charles Brownstein sat down with Richardson to talk about censorship and his experience as a publisher for this edition of The Good Fighters.

CBLDF Kicks Off The Convention Year At Amazing Arizona Comic Con!

by Betsy Gomez • January 4, 2012 • Comments Off

The Amazing Arizona Comic Convention debuted to huge crowds last year, and it looks to be even bigger in 2012, with superstar guests Robert Kirkman, Rob Leifeld, Greg Capullo, Scott Lobdell, and more! This year, CBLDF will be part of the first comic convention of 2012, exhibiting at booth #123!

The Amazing Arizona Comic Con takes place January 6 – 8, at the Mesa Convention Center (263 N. Center Street, Mesa, AZ 85211). Come on out and use get the gifts you really want and support Free Speech from the CBLDF! We’ve got a great array of grab bags, signed comics, signed graphic novels, and more! Get the best collectibles for a great cause from CBLDF at booth #123 during Amazing Arizona Comic Con, this weekend in Mesa, Arizona!

ACLU Asks Missouri Library to Stop Censoring Websites

by Betsy Gomez • January 4, 2012 • Comments Off

In addition to protecting our right to free speech, the First Amendment also guarantees freedom of religion, including the ability to find information on various faiths. Today, the ACLU of Eastern Missouri filed a lawsuit charging the Salem Public Library with unconstitutional censorship for blocking access to information about minority religions. In particular, information about Native American practices and Wicca were blocked because they were classified as “occult” or “criminal.”

In their press release, the ACLU justifies their action:

“The library has no business blocking these websites as “occult’ or ‘criminal” in the first place and certainly shouldn’t be making arbitrary follow-up decisions based on the personal predilections of library staff,” said Daniel Mach, director of the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief. “Public libraries should be facilitating access to educational information, not blocking it.”

Such censorship by libraries has chilling implications, as the blocking of material could be extended to impact other legitimate educational material, including comics. You can find ACLU’s official press release here.

Comics Reporter Talks To CBLDF’s Larry Marder & Charles Brownstein!

by cbldf • December 30, 2011 • Comments Off

The Comics Reporter’s Tom Spurgeon spoke to CBLDF President Larry Marder & Executive Director Charles Brownstein in an extensive interview on the organization’s current work. Check it out here!

Today In Comics Showcases First Wave of Comics Code Censorship Articles

by cbldf • December 30, 2011 • Comments Off

57 years ago today the first news of how the recently formed Comics Code Authority censored comics hit the wires, and Tim Stroup’s excellent “Today In Comics” blog has the clippings. Stroup gathers stories from five news services that covered Comics Code administrator Charles Murphy’s press conference touting the organization’s work to diminish the impact of images containing sexuality and violence within comic books.

Earlier this year the Comics Code Authority closed its doors and the CBLDF acquired the intellectual property rights to the Code’s Seal of Approval. Thus ended an era of censorship that sanitized the medium’s output, and established a stigma against comics that would endure until recent years. Dr. Amy Nyberg created a short history of the Seal of Approval for the CBLDF.

CBLDF’s The Spirit of Giving Donation and Gift Drive Ends Today!

by Betsy Gomez • December 16, 2011 • Comments Off

Thanks to the generous help of The Will & Ann Eisner Family Foundation, CBLDF has had a wonderful holiday season with The Spirit of Giving drive!

Throughout the drive, The Will & Ann Eisner Family Foundation has made a contribution of $1 for every donation and gift order placed on CBLDF’s website. Today marks the end of the $1 contributions, so be sure to order gifts for your friends and family (or yourself)! If you’re not sure what to get for the comic fan in your life, check out CBLDF’s gift guide here.

Through December 31, The Will & Ann Eisner Family Foundation is also donating $5 for every new or renewed membership. You can join the fight by becoming a member, or conscript your friends by getting a gift membership today!

CBLDF Releases Year-End Appeal Comic!

by cbldf • December 16, 2011 • Comments Off

The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is proud to release The Comic Book Fan’s Worst NIGHTMARE!, our 2011 year-end comic showcasing our current casework. Boasting new work by Jeffrey Brown, Ming Doyle, J. Gonzo, Michael Kupperman, Tony Shasteen, and more, the comic is available for free on Comixology and at CBLDF.org!

The CBLDF’s new comic recounts our work defending Brandon X, an American citizen facing a minimum sentence of one year in prison for possessing horror and fantasy manga on his laptop computer. His case is expected to go to trial in 2012, and legal expenses are estimated to run $150,000. Please make a tax-deductible contribution to CBLDF today to help us defend this case, and to create tools for retailers, librarians, and readers to help protect against cases like this happening in the future!

The CBLDF exists because of the grass-roots support of individuals like you! Please support our work by making a tax-deductible donation, signing up or renewing your membership, or signing up a friend for a gift membership. Contributions and membership donations are tax-deductible in the year they’re given. In addition, the Will & Ann Eisner Family Foundation will make a $5 donation to the CBLDF for every new or renewing membership contribution made by 12/31.

Please help the CBLDF continue our important work — donate today!

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