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!
Gone to Amerikay, the new Vertigo original graphic novel by Derek McCulloch and Colleen Doran, will have a book launch party, benefiting the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. McCulloch and Doran will both be at Harbor Lights Restaurant in New York City on March 30 from 6 to 8 pm, celebrating the release of their new book and demonstrating their support of the CBLDF’s mission. All are welcome to join the celebration; admission will be free, though donations to the CBLDF are suggested. There will be complimentary hors d’oeurves, and special guests from the comics community will be on hand to inaugurate Gone to Amerikay. Copies of the book will be on sale, courtesy of Midtown Comics.
Click through for more details and a preview gallery of the book…
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!
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!
With more than 25 years of defending free speech for the comics community, CBLDF has firmly established itself as the premiere non-profit organization in the field. Now you can join the fight against censorship by becoming part of the CBLDF team! CBLDF is currently looking for an Office Manager:
OFFICE MANAGER
(Full-Time, Salaried)
Works with the Deputy Director in the further development of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, with an emphasis on managing the day-to-day financial and practical operations of the organization.
The Operations Manager’s responsibilities include:
• Bookkeeping and day-to-day financial management of the organization, including but not limited to: entry of all income; bank deposits; bill entry and payment; supervision of document retention; and preparation of materials for treasurer and accountants.
• Responsible for processing all invoices, payables, receivables, expenses, and general reporting.
• Management of all workplace compliance, and preparation and responsibility for insurance, utilities, and supply vendors, with the oversight of the Deputy Director.
• Management of shipping and processing premiums and donor acknowledgments. This includes oversight of physical inventories of fundraising premiums.
• Management of bulk mailings, mailing lists, and membership data.
• Recruitment, training, and supervision of volunteers and interns for office and off-site tasks.
• Managing logistics, staff preparation, material handling, vendor services, and shipping for off-site events and conventions.
Qualifications
• Extensive practical Quickbooks training and experience.
• Experience in human resources and insurance compliance useful.
• Education, training, and experience with bookkeeping sufficient to fulfill job description.
Additional qualifications:
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, including Word and Excel.
• Strong financial, analytical and organizational skills.
• Experience with inventory management.
• Ability to work under pressure and balance numerous priorities simultaneously.
• Experience with project/organizational management and strategic planning.
• Experience with recruitment, supervision and training of interns and volunteers.
Please send cover letters, resumes, and inquiries to alex.cox@cbldf.org or submit a cover letter and resume by mail:
Comic Book Legal Defense Fund
ATTN: Alex Cox
255 West 36th Street, Suite 501
New York, NY 10018
About CBLDF
Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is a non-profit organization dedicated to the protection of the First Amendment rights of the comics art form and its community of retailers, creators, publishers, librarians, and readers. The CBLDF provides legal referrals, representation, advice, assistance, and education in furtherance of these goals.
The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is pleased to announce that Alex Cox has been named to the position of Deputy Director. In this new capacity, his responsibilities will expand to include full oversight of the CBLDF home office and fundraising program. Cox joined the CBLDF in the fall of 2010 as Development Manager.
Since joining the CBLDF last year Cox has improved the organization’s membership program and convention presences. Under Cox’s watch, membership in both the retailer and individual capacities has shown dramatic increases. Cox has also overseen the creation of a more robust volunteer program in the New York home office. Prior to CBLDF, Cox was a 15-year veteran of comics retail, including owning and managing the nationally recognized comic book store ROCKETSHIP.
Speaking about the promotion, Cox said, “I’m extremely grateful to be in a position to help the comics community fight back against anyone that would threaten free expression in this art form that we all love. As a comic fan and student of the art form for close to 30 years, I never thought that I would see anything like the panic caused by SEDUCTION OF THE INNOCENT in my lifetime. But with the current case in Canada, the creeping specter of censorship and persecution is rearing its head again, making the CBLDF even more important. I’m proud to be a part of it and I look forward to working with our members, retailers, and the creative community in the years to come.”
“Alex has been a great addition to the CBLDF, and we’re excited to be able to develop a space for him to grow even further within the organization” says Charles Brownstein, CBLDF’s Executive Director. “Alex has made great strides in developing our fundraising program in a very difficult time, and his leadership in the office has helped us bring in even more talented volunteers to help us fulfill our work. He’s an extremely valuable member of our team, and we’re glad to see him take on this new role.”
In our ongoing mission to protect the creators, retailers, publishers, and collectors of comic books and to promote the awareness of First Amendment issues, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is looking for additional contributors to its website.
Whether you’re a journalist or a supporter of CBLDF who has excellent writing skills, we need your help to expand the coverage of First Amendment issues in the comics community. Your work will be shared on www.cbldf.org, Facebook, Twitter, and in print publications. Keep reading…
During New York-Comic-Con, MTV Geek held a private party for staff and contributors. In attendance were some of the biggest names in comics, many of whom created live art to benefit CBLDF. Now you have the chance to own some of that art!
Creators who joined MTV Geek at the party included Jim Lee (Justice League), Todd McFarlane (Spawn), Frank Quitely (All-Star Superman), Pendleton Ward (Adventure Time), Brad Neely (China, IL), Richard Starkings (Elephantmen), Paul Pope (Batman: Year 100), Jon Schnepp (Metalocalypse), Steve Ellis (High Moon), and more. While enjoying music from DJ Aub Driver (Dark Horse Comics), several joined the massive live art session. The art created during the party is now being auctioned to benefit CBLDF. You can bid on the art here.
“Many thanks go to Bradley Hatfield, Chris Moeser, and Tom Akel with MTV Geek for organizing the event and lending their support to CBLDF,” said CBLDF Development Manager Alex Cox. “MTV Geek has been a terrific supporter of the Fund since they launched, and with this event they brought in some amazing talent. The art produced will help us raise much-needed funds to defend Brandon X in Canada.” (Learn more about the Brandon X case here.)
Don’t miss your chance to win gorgeous original art by some of the biggest names in comics! Follow MTV Geek (@MTVGeek) and the CBLDF (@cbldf) on Twitter for spotlight auctions over the next several days!
Click through for a gallery of pieces in the auction. You can also view them here.
Throughout November, the American Library Association presents “Intellectual Freedom Across the Globe,” a series of online learning opportunities focused on intellectual freedom issues. CBLDF Executive Director Charles Brownstein will be participating on November 9, during a webinar on comics and manga censorship around the globe, and you can join in! Registration for the November 9 session closes today, don’t miss out!
Keep reading for more details in the official press release…
CBLDF stands ready to defend retailers against censorship. Are you ready to do the same? Test your mettle with IDW Publishing’s “Be a Redshirt” contest, benefitting CBLDF!
More details in the official press release from IDW:
Are you a comics fan who loves your local comics store? Are you willing to “die” to protect your retailer? Prove it, with the Star Trek “Be A Redshirt” contest! Starting today, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF), IDW Publishing and CBS Consumer Products are giving Star Trek fans a chance to “Be a Redshirt” on the cover of an upcoming Star Trek comic.
Originating in the classic Star Trek episodes and expanding to pop culture at large, a “redshirt” is a character that dies soon after being introduced. With the “Be a Redshirt” contest, the winning fan will have the honor of “dying” while heroically saving their retailer. The grand prizewinner will be featured as a “redshirt” on an upcoming cover of IDW’s new STAR TREK ongoing series, placing themselves between their local retailer and a phaser blast. The “Be a Redshirt” contest is open to any comics reader who thinks their local retailer is the best in the business.
“As redshirts are famous for always catching the phaser in Star Trek episodes, and as comic fans can be so loyal in defending their local retailer, it’s the perfect contest,” said Dirk Wood, IDW’s Director of Retailer Marketing, “And partnering with the CBLDF is perfect, because no one knows more about defending retailers than they do.” Keep reading…