Over the past weekend, while half of the CBLDF staff was on the West Coast on the floor at Image Expo, the other half made the arduous trek through the Lincoln Tunnel, all the way out to Northern New Jersey, to spend some time at MangaNext, one of the only completely fan-run manga shows in the country.
Find out more about this fantastic show after the jump!
We announced Ultimate Comics’ The Muppet Show #1 sketch variant cover auctions just last week, and an all-new new round of nine covers just went up!
Click through for a sneak peek or head over to Ultimate Comics’ eBay page to view all of the covers and bid on your favorite sketch! Proceeds from the auction benefit CBLDF’s important work in defense of the First Amendment!
This weekend, the CBLDF will be exhibiting at Image Expo, a celebration of creator owned comics honoring the 20th Anniversary of Image Comics, in downtown Oakland, California.
The CBLDF will have all kinds of thank yous for our supporters including a free CBLDF exclusive edition of Glory #23, and a welcome party on Friday that’s free for members.
After the jump, CBLDF’s Executive Director Charles Brownstein walks you through all the great things the Fund has planned at the show!
Experience Creativity with comics’ greatest creators at the Image Expo Welcome Party sponsored by Image Comics and iFanboy to benefit the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund! The party is free for CBLDF members and kicks off at 8 PM on February 24, 2012 at The Uptown in Oakland, California. This party jump starts a weekend of celebrating independent comics and free speech at the Image Expo, taking place at the Oakland Convention Center. Proceeds from the Image Expo Welcome Party will benefit the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, who will have a gift bag for members and donors!
Last weekend the CBLDF’s Deputy Director Alex Cox visited the ComicsPRO Meeting in Dallas where he met with the industry’s best retailers and publishing professionals. He takes you into this ultimate insiders weekend, including full highlights from the exciting ComicPRO CBLDF Benefit Auction that raised more than $8,000 for the Fund!
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Did you ever want to see what Frank Cho, Eric Powell, or David Mack would do with an assignment to draw the Muppets? North Carolina retailer Ultimate Comics made it happen! They are proud to announce that it will be auctioning two dozen of its store exclusiveThe Muppet Show #1 variant covers, hand sketched by some of the greatest talent in the comics industry, with all proceeds going to support the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund!
The auctions start today! Keep reading for more details and an auction preview!
The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and Image Comics are proud to announce that a CBLDF Exclusive variant cover of Glory #23 by Joe Keatinge & Ross Campbell will be made available free to card carrying CBLDF members as a Member Appreciation incentive at Image Expo, coming up on February 24 – 26!
GLORY #23 marks writer Joe Keatinge’s and artist Ross Campbell’s bold revival of the Rob Liefeld-created superheroine. Glory has returned to Earth — this time, not to save it but to live as a human among humans. And there are two young women there who have been waiting for her. Keatinge and Campbell bring a euro-comic-meets-indie sensibility to the superhero comic. This sensibility is most visible in the art by Campbell, who is known for his realistic and varied depictions of women in his books Wet Moon and Shadoweyes, but also present in the inclusion of new characters Riley and Gloria, through whom the reader gets to know the god-like warrior princess. CBLDF members will receive this exclusive printing of the sold-out first issue!
All you need to do to get your copy is come by the CBLDF Booth (#75) at Image Expo with your current year CBLDF Membership card and we’ll give you this CBLDF Image Expo exclusive copy of Glory #23 to thank you for your support! The current year card features CBLDF’s Lady Liberty mascot by Cliff Chiang, or if you joined after February 24, 2011 your membership is still valid, and we’ll accept the 2011 member card featuring Green Lantern. Not a member? Not a problem! Just sign up online before Image Expo and bring a print out of your receipt or renew at the convention!
At the ComicsPro Retailer Meeting today, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund announced a new program to encourage comic book retailers to support the organization with the introduction of the CBLDF Member Appreciation Party Box! Developed as a tool to empower retailers to raise awareness of the CBLDF’s important work and bring new customers into their stores, the CBLDF Member Appreciation Party Box will include promotional literature, thank you gifts for card carrying CBLDF members, and premiums to be offered as raffle prizes!
CBLDF Deputy Director Alex Cox says, “As a former retailer, I appreciate the dedication of our Friendly Neighborhood Comic Stores. They really are the front line in the battle for free speech in this medium, and they really have the most to lose. The CBLDF began as an effort to protect the rights of a comic shop, so deepening our partnership with the retail world is an important goal. We designed this program to help our retail partners spread the word about the CBLDF, and to create better ties between our retailer members and our general membership, with the hope that these events will help stores reach new customers in loyal cbldf supporters. There is no better community than the comics community, and that begins with retailers. The CBLDF wants to help foster that.”
Last week CBR’s Comics Should Be Good blog asked readers who they wanted to see Libby, the CBLDF’s Lady Liberty mascot, team up with to fight censorship. In today’s The Line is Drawn feature we’re treated to a wide range of artistic visions that speak to the heart of the fight for free speech! Go check these incredible pieces out at CSBG! The CBLDF thanks the CSBG team and everyone who tweeted suggestions and created art for this terrific feature!
Please help support CBLDF’s important First Amendment work by making a donation or becoming a member of the CBLDF! When you do, we’ll send you a Lady Liberty member card of your own so you can show you’re a proud member!
The 2012 Membership Program has a number of great premiums, including t-shirts, exclusive buttons, and the Fund’s first round of items featuring the now defunct Comics Code Authority Stamp. But one of the items we are most excited about is an awesome, high-quality print based on the current membership card art, designed and illustrated by Artist Supporter Cliff Chiang. This last piece just came in, and it is a special incentive for members joining at the Protector and Champion levels. CBLDF’s Deputy Director Alex Cox paid a visit to Cliff Chiang’s studio to get them signed and talks about it – with pictures – after the jump!