Category: Fundraising

Comics-On Tees Submissions Online, Challenge Ends Soon!

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Threadless and CBLDF announced the Comics-On Tees vol. 6 Design Challenge at C2E2, and submissions have started rolling in! Artists are creating their vision of Neil Gaiman’s original script, The Day the Saucers Came, and the winner of the contest will have their work printed on the first of four Comics-On Tees shirts, alongside Ben Templesmith (Fell, 30 Days of Night), Brandon Graham (Prophet, King City), and John Cassaday (Captain America, Planetary).

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. Submissions are open until May 4, 2012, and fans can follow the submissions here. When the four-part series is released, 25% of the proceeds will benefit CBLDF’s important First Amendment work.

Artists: the challenge ends soon, so get to work on your submissions! For more details on the contest, visit the Threadless Atrium here. For more from CBLDF about the contest, check out this article.

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CBLDF Heads to LA for the Festival of Books!

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CBLDF Deputy Director Alex Cox is headed to the West Coast this weekend for the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, joining a cadre of authors and book lovers for the annual celebration of the printed word! If you live in the area, head over the University of Southern California campus this weekend for sunshine and literature!

Come by booth #856 to show your support for CBLDF and mingle with fellow supporters of Free Speech. CBLDF will have a vast array of signed premiums on hand for readers of all ages. We’ll have some of the world’s greatest comics, including Maus, Watchmen, Sandman, The Walking Dead, and Understanding Comics, all signed by their creators to support the fight for Free Speech! And that’s just the beginning! You’ll also be able to pick up your own “I Read Banned Comics” t-shirt and other apparel, tote bags, button sets, and more.

CBLDF is also delighted to have some amazing creators signing at booth #856. On Saturday, at 2:00 p.m, you’ll be able to get autographs from Sam Humphries, the writer behind the cult hit Our Love Is Real and Fraggle Rock and The Ultimates. On noon on Sunday, we’ll be joined by Lev Grossman, the author of the New York Times bestsellers The Magicians and The Magician King!

The weather forecasts are sunny for this weekend’s Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, so please join CBLDF at booth #856 this weekend to support Free Speech and celebrate books!

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Chicago Shows Huge Support At C2E2!

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Last weekend the CBLDF team was at C2E2 in Chicago where we launched a huge t-shirt project with Threadless, delivered a presentation on the history of comics censorship, signed up over 30 new members, and raised more than $7,300 for our important work. CBLDF Executive Director Charles Brownstein recaps the festivities after the jump!

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Threadless Design Challenge Opens Submissions to Comics-On Tees Vol. 6 by Neil Gaiman!

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Threadless kicked off the Chicago Comics and Entertainment Expo (C2E2) last night with a benefit party for Comic Book Legal Defense Fund at Threadless Headquarters where a new fundraising effort for the non-profit organization was announced. In July, Threadless will launch Comics-On Tees Vol. 6, a series of four tees based on the poem The Day the Saucers Came, written by bestselling author and CBLDF board member Neil Gaiman. Artists have a chance to design the first tee in the four-part series, and 25% of the proceeds from the chosen design will benefit CBLDF.

Submissions for the first The Day the Saucers Came t-shirt will be scored by the Threadless community, and its 1.8 million community members will help pick the final chosen design. Designs can be submitted through Threadless, and the chosen shirt will be revealed at Comic-Con International in San Diego. The other three tees in the series will feature art from John Cassaday (Planetary, Astonishing X-Men), Ben Templesmith (Fell, 30 Days of Night), and Brandon Graham (King City, Prophet). To submit designs & learn more about this project please visit: http://atrium.threadless.com/cbldf/

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CBLDF Blows Into The Windy City For C2E2!

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This weekend the CBLDF takes to the road once more for C2E2 and the Diamond Retailer Summit in Chicago! The Fund has great rewards planned for card-carrying CBLDF Members, including a big open bar welcome bash hosted by CBLDF Corporate Member THREADLESS on Friday night and copies of the CBLDF Exclusive edition of Glory #23 signed by Joe Keatinge or Liberty Annual 2011 signed by Frank Quitely both COMPLETELY FREE for card-carrying CBLDF members. Beyond these membership thank you’s, we’re also delivering a presentation on the history of comics censorship on Sunday morning, and have a booth loaded with amazing signed books, prints and more to support our important First Amendment legal work! Read on for full details about what CBLDF has in store for you in Chicago!

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LEAPING TALL BUILDINGS Launch Event to Benefit CBLDF

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This Saturday, CBLDF’s favorite photographer Seth Kushner is celebrating the release of his new book with co-author Christopher Irving, Leaping Tall Buildings: The Origins of American Comics, with an unforgettable event in Brooklyn and the release of series of limited edition prints that benefit CBLDF!

Kushner explains: “To celebrate the release of Leaping Tall Buildings: The Origins Of American Comics, which I co-authored with Christopher Irving, I had the idea to commission artists who are featured in the book to create exclusive, limited edition art prints which would commemorate the book and give back to the comics community by having all proceeds go to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.”

The artists involved include: Becky Cloonan (DEMO, Conan), Dean Haspiel (HBO’s Bored to Death, Billy Dogma), Peter Kuper (Spy vs. Spy, Stop Forgetting To Remember), and Paul Pope (100%, Battling Boy).

Click through for more details about the launch event for Leaping Tall Buildings…

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THREADLESS Hosts C2E2 Fashion Show Welcome Party to Benefit CBLDF!

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This Friday, April 13th, CBLDF Corporate Member THREADLESS is hosting a Fashion Show Welcome Party to ring in C2E2 and benefit the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund! Free to CBLDF members with a suggested $20 donation for non-members at the door, this open bar event will boast a first look at several exciting new THREADLESS items, a raffle, comics stars, and much more! Don’t miss out on this must attend event!

Click through for more details!

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Anime Detour Hosts A Warm Welcome for Ryan Matheson & CBLDF!

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Last weekend Anime Detour welcomed 5,000 fans of anime and manga to one of the Midwest’s longest running and most well organized conventions, and for the first time, CBLDF was there! We were graciously welcomed by the convention organizers, who provided a spot for an information table, and a programming spot on Saturday morning where Ryan Matheson spoke in person about his ordeal for the first time alongside con guests of honor Greg Ayres, Richard and Shannon Townsend and Kim Pridemore from Studio O-n-Y, and Frenchy Lunning, editor of Mechademia and an important expert contributor to CBLDF casework. CBLDF Executive Director Charles Brownstein recounts the weekend after the jump!

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Thank You Seattle! The CBLDF at Emerald City Comic-Con

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Emerald City Comic Con took place last weekend, and it was three days of infectious enthusiasm, excited mobs, and great comics of all varieties. The CBLDF was on hand, excited to talk to all the fans and creators that populate the Pacific Northwest. ECCC was a terrific show; well-organized, well-attended, and well-programmed.

Click through for Deputy Director Alex Cox’s re-cap of a great convention, one that earned a much-needed $6,536, to help fund our continued education work and will assist in paying down the legal fees for Ryan “Brandon X” Matheson.

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Comics Stars Mingle at GONE TO AMERIKAY Launch Party

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Last weekend, comics fans and creators gathered at the Harbor Lights Restaurant in New York City for the launch of Derek McCulloch and Colleen Doran’s new graphic novel Gone to Amerikay.

The star-studded party raised donations for CBLDF and several comics creators were in attendance, including McCullock, Doran, Paul Levitz, John Cassaday, Stuart Moore, and Jose Villarrubia, just to name a few. The Beat‘s Heidi McDonald and Torsten Adair also joined the party. Attendees had the chance to view original artwork, enjoyed drinks and hors d’oeurves, and picked up signed copies of the book.

Click through for a gallery of photos from the party…

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