Category: News Blog

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CBLDF Thanks Our Members At Wizard World Philadelphia!

by cbldf • June 1, 2012 • Comments Off

by Alex Cox

The CBLDF is excited to be returning to the great city of Philadelphia, for the first time in several years for Wizard World Philly! This historic city is one of the most important homes of American democracy, and we are proud to help continue the legacy of Free Speech and Free Expression in this exciting town!

Wizard World was gracious enough to host us, and we will be in booth 1049 all weekend long. We have a terrific array of donation premiums, including several new books, signed by awesome supporter artists such as Stuart Immonen, Jason Aaron, Matt Fraction, Frank Miller, and many, many more! We’ve put together a killer mix of books and t-shirts for the fine folks of Philly, and can’t wait to see the Pennsylvania area fan community!

For CBLDF members, we have the last few exclusive, variant cover copies of GLORY 23, available only to card-carrying member of the CBLDF! If you are not a member, but want to join, we can sign you up on the spot! Never fear! These GLORY variant covers are free to members, and extremely rare, as well as signed by writer Joe Keatinge!

So swing by booth 1049, if you are visiting Wizard World Philly! There’s no better to join the fight for Free Speech!

The Huffington Post Evaluates the Use of Ratings for YA Books

by Soyini Hamit • June 1, 2012 • Comments Off

by Soyini A. Hamit

The academic journal Mass Communication and Society published an article in their May 18, 2012 issue about the frequent use of profanities in Young Adult (YA) books. One of the authors, Dr. Sarah Coyne, assistant professor at Brigham Young University, believes that a rating system should be in place so that parents will know what books are appropriate for their child’s age. The Huffington Post takes a closer look at whether such a system is necessary.

Pakistani Twitter Ban After Cartoon Contest Raises Concerns Over Country’s Commitment to Free Speech

by Mark Bousquet • May 31, 2012 • Comments Off

by Mark Bousquet

A recent ban on Twitter by the Pakistani government highlights the growing conflict between conservative governments and dissatisfied citizens over the use of, and access to, social networking sites. On May 20, Pakistan blocked access to Twitter for part of the day, holding the social networking site responsible for an allegedly blasphemous cartoon contest being run on Facebook. Critics argue that Twitter has given a voice to those who oppose the government’s security practices, and that actions like the May 20 ban give credence to the idea that Pakistan is not interested in having a truly free media.

Florence v. Shurtleff – The What’s and Why’s in Plain Language

by Christopher Schiller • May 31, 2012 • Comments Off

Earlier this month, a ruling was handed down in Florence v. Shurtleff, a long-disputed internet censorship law that sought to require Utah’s Attorney General to create a blacklist of websites containing “harmful-to-minors” materials, required ISPs to rate content, and included criminal penalties for violations. CBLDF was among the plaintiff group that challenged the law, which resolved last week after seven years of legal action. Christopher Schiller provides a short overview of the case, including what was at stake for the State and for free expression.

Comics, Courts & Controversy: A Case Study of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund

by cbldf • May 30, 2012 • Comments Off

Marc H. Greenberg, a professor at Golden Gate University’s School of Law has published an extensive case study of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and its important work in the Loyola Entertainment Law Review. On the occasion of its publication, Professor Greenberg has prepared remarks about the article and the organization it supports exclusively for CBLDF.org. Read on for Greenberg’s remarks and the full case study.

Access Denied: Library Filter Fail

by Justin Brown • May 30, 2012 • Comments Off

While researching a story about role-playing-game censorship for CBLDF.org at his local library, CBLDF blog volunteer Justin Brown encountered the cold slap of censorship himself as the result of aggressive filtering software. Brown discusses his experience, and the heritage of filtering laws that requires libraries like his to deny access to content or risk losing public funding after the jump.

New Neil Gaiman & David Mack Print Debuts!

by cbldf • May 25, 2012 • Comments Off

The CBLDF is proud to offer our supporters an exciting new premium by Neil Gaiman & David Mack! This beautiful, exclusive print was contributed by our friends at Neverwear. Silk-screened in Austin, Texas these are the variant blue test run, created in very limited quantities prior to the standard edition grey run.

Printed on a gorgeous French paper called Madero Beach, a 70 weight 8.5 ” x 11″ recycled stock, the prints are full of flecks and bits. Creamy off-white, with 3 colors to show off David Mack’s luscious artwork and lettering.

They are hand-numbered, in an extremely limited artist/printer edition of 90. They are not available anywhere else!

Get yours today!

Censorship, Consequences and the Creative Process

by Christopher Schiller • May 25, 2012 • Comments Off

by Christopher Schiller

Throughout the history of comics there are many brave examples of artists tackling controversial subject matter, which has been fodder for many stellar, ground breaking works. Often the tension of controversy is required to have a conversation of great substance with the audience. But there are those who attempt and often succeed in restricting these conversations through censorship, often with dire consequences. The novelist Salman Rushdie, no neophyte in the arena of censorship battles, has recently commented on the impact of censorship on both the works and their creators, pointing out that there is more lasting resonance in the consequences of the prior restraint of creative endeavors than is immediately apparent.

Click through for a discussion of Rushdie’s commentary on censorship and the chilling effect of censorship on the creative process.

BLOWN COVERS Reveals Controversial and Rejected New Yorker Covers

by Mark Bousquet • May 25, 2012 • Comments Off

by Mark Bousquet

A recent Forbes article discusses some of The New Yorker‘s most controversial covers and reveals images that never made it to print. The subject of the piece is the recent release of Françoise Mouly’s book, Blown Covers: New Yorker Covers You Were Never Meant to See. Though typically drawing attention for their artistic and satirical merit, select New Yorker covers have also proven controversial, such as Barry Blitt’s July 2008 cover that depicted President Barack Obama and the First Lady exchanging a “terrorist fist-bump” in the Oval Office. Ms. Mouly’s book helps to illuminate the tension that exists between artistic expression and commercial interests.

Click through for more about covering The New Yorker and links to images of some of the most controversial covers.

Critical Fail: The Censorship of RPGs

by Justin Brown • May 24, 2012 • Comments Off

by Justin Brown

Let’s say you’ve been reading up on the CBLDF coverage of the top 10 banned books of 2011, which included a graphic novel in the #2 spot, and you want to vent your frustrations by gathering with a group of friends to play a trending role-playing-game. You amble amongst local comic shops, book stores and libraries to obtain the newest player manual only to discover that it has been banned or censored to the point of being unplayable. (I mean, who wants to try to bewilder a bug-bear with a rubber-mallet-of-kindness? Ok, that scenario is a little farfetched, but you get the picture.) According to a recent article on ICv2, censorship has branched out to include RPGs for many of the same reasons that comic books have been challenged and censored.