CBLDF is committed to supporting the comics community. Fill out our form to request assistance or report censorship today!
CBLDF is committed to supporting the comics community. Fill out our form to request assistance or report censorship today!
CBLDF Deputy Director Alex Cox and co-founder of the Comics Should Be Good blog at Comic Book Resources took a moment to explain why people should join the CBLDF on today’s CSBG blog. Head over to CBR to get the low down on CBLDF, comic book censorship, and how CBLDF protects your right to make, sell, buy, and read comics!
Please help support CBLDF’s important First Amendment work by making a donation or becoming a member of the CBLDF!
In response to an Arizona state law banning the teaching of ethnic studies courses, the Tucson Unified School District released a list of books that have been banned from the classroom. Popular textbooks, novels, and collections by revered Mexican American and Native American authors were among the titles removed from classrooms. CBLDF has joined a coalition of organizations — including the ACLU of Arizona, ABFFE, ALA’s Freedom to Read Coalition, and many more — in a joint statement decrying this censorship.
by Betsy Gomez
Over the weekend, more than 400 people were taken in during a mass arrest in response to the latest Occupy Oakland protests. Cartoonist Susie Cagle, who was arrested during protests in November, was one of several credential journalists taken in during the mass arrest despite Oakland Police Department policy that members of the media never be targeted because of their status as journalists. This time, Cagle was released on site, when an officer recognized Cagle from her last arrest. Cagle was told that they were doing her a “favor” upon her release.
The Daily Cartoonist has a rundown of Cagle’s tweets during the arrest and release here. Cagle wrote an article for AlterNet a few days before the latest protests, outlining OPD’s new policies regarding protests. Gavin Aronsen with Mother Jones, another journalist arrested during the protests, details his experience — which seems to contravene the policy OPD laid out for Cagle — here.
Please help support CBLDF’s important First Amendment work and reporting on issues like this by making a donation or becoming a member of the CBLDF!
Betsy Gomez is the Web Editor for CBLDF.
Comics Alliance sat down with superstar artist Cliff Chiang to talk about the gorgeous original artwork he created for the 2012 member card. Keep reading to find out what Chiang told Comics Alliance about his motivation behind the artwork.
Fight Censorship! Celebrate Liberty! Join the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund today, and get your own membership card, featuring a stunning and exclusive portrait of Lady Liberty by Cliff Chiang! Join today!
Lawyers too often get a bum rap. Even Shakespeare couldn’t help himself from dumping on lawyers with his imminently quotable quip, “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.” But that’s really not fair. A good many lawyers work selflessly and passionately to advance the greater good. Louise Nemschoff is most certainly among them.
A long-serving member of CBLDF’s Board of Directors, Louise retired from the board last summer. Throughout her tenure on the board, Nemschoff worked tirelessly to help creators whose rights came under threat. If you ever approached the CBLDF with a trademark, copyright, or entertainment law concern, Nemschoff was probably the person who helped you with the answers you needed.
After a few well deserved months off from CBLDF duty, we caught up with Louise to get her perspectives on the Fund, the First Amendment, and the challenges cartoonists will be facing in the new world of digital media for this installment of The Good Fighters.
Please help support CBLDF’s important First Amendment work by making a donation or becoming a member of the CBLDF!
Member Appreciation Party, Free Gifts For Members & Librarians, and Much More!
This weekend the CBLDF thanks the members supporting our First Amendment legal work at Wizard World New Orleans Comic Con! The festivities kick off at Crescent City Comics tonight, where we’ll have a Member Appreciation Welcome Party with free gifts for CBLDF members, a raffle, and more!
Fight Censorship! Celebrate Liberty! Join the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund today!
Today, the CBLDF unveiled its 2012 Membership Drive, featuring the best incentives and benefits in the free speech community, starting off with a stunning membership card by superstar creator Cliff Chiang! Channeling the classic depiction of Liberty through the influence of WPA art and comic book iconography, Chiang has created a powerful membership card that you’ll be proud to keep in your wallet. CBLDF offers membership plans for donors in every budget, each with its own premiums and benefits, and all of them are tax-deductible!
Joining the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund puts you on the front line of the fight against censorship! Your membership dollars provide the tools to fight back when comic book readers, retailers and artists are muzzled, censored, or attacked! When you become a CBLDF member, you are proclaiming that comics are important and that you are a protector of their First Amendment rights! Join now!
This weekend come support the CBLDF’s First Amendment legal work at Wizard World New Orleans Comic Con! The festivities kick off at Crescent City Comics on Friday night, where we’ll have a Member Appreciation Welcome Party with free gifts for CBLDF members, a raffle, and more! Then, you can visit us all weekend at Wizard World New Orleans Comic Con booth #806, where we’ll be offering free gifts to members and librarians and a vast range of signed items for CBLDF supporters! Check out all the activities after the jump!
by Betsy Gomez
The CBLDF is kicking the year off right, with some amazing items from our archives! From classic books that every library needs to books signed by some of the greatest authors and artists to work in comics, this round of auctions has something for every fan!
Keep reading for a rundown of the items up for bid!
by Betsy Gomez
The trial of Nabil Karoui, the director of Tunisia’s Nessma television channel, has been delayed until April. Karoui is on trial because he approved the airing of Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi’s film adaptation of her critically acclaimed graphic novel. The movie has a scene that depicts God, a portrayal that is not permitted in many Islamic areas. Karoui is accused of “insulting sacred values, offending decent morals and causing public unrest.” The airing of Persepolis has divided people in Tunisia, with defenders arguing for the right to free expression and some extremists resorting to violence to try to shut down Nessma. For more on the trial, visit Al Arabiya News.
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!
by Betsy Gomez
Last year, the Supreme Court agreed to hear Golan v. Holder, a case that pitted copyright law against the First Amendment. This week, the Supreme Court passed down their decision on the case, a 6-2 vote that upheld the Uruguay Round Agreements Act that extended copyright protection to creative foreign works that had previously been in the public domain in the United States.
The decision is considered a blow to free speech because Golan and fellow petitioners argued that the removal of works from the public domain — works by Igor Stravinsky, Virginia Woolf, Alfred Hitchcock, and more — violates their First Amendment right to use the works to express themselves. Golan further argued that Congress overreached when they passed a law that removed the works from the public domain. Because the Supreme Court upheld the law, works that were once free to use now require payment to do so. As an example, an orchestra that plays a Stravinsky symphony may now have to pay for that right.
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!
Yesterday, Bleeding Cool broke the story about a news report from a Washington DC Fox TV affiliate attacking comics. In the teaser for the report, a commentator called comics “fictionalized Playboy.” CBLDF took immediate action, releasing guidelines for how retailers can defend themselves from media attacks.
ICv2 followed up today with video of the full report and commentary. As expected, the reporter who made the news report, Sherri Ly, used the same faulty reasoning that has formed the basis of so many attacks against comics: The mistaken belief that comics are created primarily for children, and the specious argument that violent or sexual content in comic books promotes violent behavior in children.
Today Bleeding Cool ran a piece linking to a local news promo promising a titillating exposé on modern comics that will offer tips on “HOW TO K.O. THESE COMICS BEFORE THEY CORRUPT YOUR KIDS!” These media scare stories are nothing new. They’ve been plaguing comics since the very beginning, whether it was massive public comic book burnings in the 1940s, Frederic Wertham’s attacks in the 1950s, or the retailer stings of the 1980s that led to the CBLDF being formed. While we’ve seen this type of story arise time and again, it should never be taken lightly. Below we offer some tips on how to deal with hostile cameras if they come to your store.
When the Atheist, Secularist and Humanist Society of University College London used an image of Jesus and Mohammad sharing a pint on a Facebook event page, the organization probably didn’t expect to start a global debate over free speech. However, when the student union at University College London protested the use of the image, the atheist society refused, gaining support from secularists such as Richard Dawkins.
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!
Free Comic Book Day has become every comic fan’s favorite holiday, and the lineup of books for FCBD 2012, which takes place May 5, is definitely impressive.
Among the offerings for this year’s FCBD: BOOM! Town’s The Censored Howard Cruse, a sneak peek of The Other Sides of Howard Cruse. The Other Sides of Howard Cruse celebrates the groundbreaking work of Stuck Rubber Baby creator Howard Cruse.
The official description of The Censored Howard Cruse from the FCBD website:
In conjunction with the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, BOOM! Town presents The Censored Howard Cruse! Get a special sneak-peek at this summer’s upcoming The Other Sides of Howard Cruse graphic novel. He’s known for his gay comix, but that’s not all that’s been on his mind! From his Underground days up through present day, Howard wrote on a slew of topics, including freedom of speech, civil rights, drugs, and interesting uses for toothpaste. Get a taste of his impressive catalog of works, just with a few tastefully-placed black boxes. You’ll have to get the OGN for the uncensored version!
Don’t miss picking up your copy of The Censored Howard Cruse on Free Comic Book Day, May 5, 2012!
Please help support CBLDF’s important First Amendment work by making a donation or becoming a member of the CBLDF!