Thanksgiving is nigh, as is the end of the MTV Geek Original Art Auction! With pieces by Todd McFarlane (Spawn), Pendleton Ward (Adventure Time), Brad Neely (China, IL), Richard Starkings (Elephantmen), Jon Schnepp (Metalocalypse), Steve Ellis (High Moon), and more, you can’t afford this chance to own artwork by some of the best established and up-and-coming artists in comics! All proceeds benefit CBLDF’s important First Amendment work. View the artwork and place your bids here!
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!
Image Comics Expo Celebrates Creator-Owned Comics While Supporting CBLDF
Next February, you’ll have a chance to mingle with the partners and creators of Image Comics and lend your support to CBLDF at the same time! In celebration of 20 years of Image Comics, Image Expo will take place February 24-26, 2012. In addition to an all-star line up of guests — Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri, Jim Valentino, Rob Liefeld, and Whilce Portacio to name a few — Image Expo will feature a number special events to benefit CBLDF, including a mammoth benefit auction!
Keep reading for more details in the official press release.
The Spirit of Giving – Get The Best Holiday Gifts When You Support CBLDF!
Celebrate The Spirit of Giving this holiday season by getting once-in-a-lifetime presents for the fans in your life in support of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund! When you do, The Will & Ann Eisner Family Foundation will make a contribution to the CBLDF for every donation and membership placed during this campaign!
CBLDF is offering the best presents in comics, including graphic novels personalized to the fan in your life by icons including Neil Gaiman, Art Spiegelman, Frank Miller, Dan Clowes, Robert Kirkman, Dave Gibbons, and many more. Plus you’ll get an exclusive Will Eisner gift card that tells them your gift helped do good for comics!
When you support the CBLDF’s Spirit of Giving drive between now and December 16, the Will and Ann Eisner Family Foundation will make a contribution of $1 for every donation and gift order placed on the CBLDF’s website. In addition, they will contribute $5 for each new, renewing or gift membership made from now until December 31!
Be a hero this holiday by giving the most unique gifts that make a real difference when you support the CBLDF with the Spirit of Giving!
The Good Fighters: Gib Bickel
Gib Bickel represents a special class of CBLDF volunteer: the volunteer that takes the initiative to represent the Fund at one of the many conventions that CBLDF staffers cannot attend. Bickel and volunteers Patrick Watson and Brett Montgomery recently ran a table at Mid-Ohio Comic Con to raise money for CBLDF and boost awareness of CBLDF’s important First Amendment work.
As one of the founders of Laughing Ogre Comics in Columbus, Ohio, Bickel’s enthusiasm for comic books is boundless. He carries this enthusiasm into the community, lending support to Sequential SmArt, a conference that will bring together comics creators, academic scholars, and educators who use comic books in their classrooms. This espousal of comics is also reflected in Bickel’s support of CBLDF, which he has always made a priority, as you will see in this edition of The Good Fighters. Keep reading…
Susie Cagle One of the Contributors to Cartoon Movement’s Occupy Sketchbook
From assembly to free speech, the Occupy Movement has become one of the most all-embracing and polarizing exercises of First Amendment rights that our country has seen. Cartoonists have been among the many voices chiming in and being arrested for participating in Occupy protests across the nation. Cartoon Movement has compiled a sketchbook of images, including images from journalist and cartoonist Susie Cagle, who was arrested at Occupy Oakland. Sharon Rosenzweig and Shannon Wheeler also contributed to the sketchbook, which Cartoon Movement plans to update weekly. You can view the Occupy Sketchbook here.
Please help support CBLDF’s important First Amendment work by bidding on original artwork, making a donation, or becoming a member of the CBLDF!
Listen to CBLDF Executive Director Charles Brownstein Talk to the Annual Conference on Libraries and the Future
Recently, CBLDF Executive Director Charles Brownstein addressed the Long Island Resources Council’s Annual Conference on Libraries and the Future. The theme of this year’s meeting was “Extinction is not an Option: Ensuring OUR Future,” focusing on the future of libraries in an increasingly digital environment. Brownstein spoke about the history of comics censorship and the challenges comics will face in the future. You can listen to the discussion and download a PDF of the presentation here.
Please help support CBLDF’s important First Amendment work by bidding on original artwork, making a donation, or becoming a member of the CBLDF!
The Washington Post Tells the Tale of Two Occupy Cartoonists
Two weeks ago, cartoonist Susie Cagle was arrested during a night of violence that marred the Occupy Oakland protests. Despite wearing a press badge and participating peacefully, Cagle and several other nonviolent protesters were taken in for failure to leave the scene of a riot.
Michael Cavna with The Washington Post recently examined Cagle’s work in his blog, Comic Riffs, and compared it to the work of cartoonist Nate Beeler. Both cartoonists are situated in the middle of the action — Cagle in Oakland and Beeler at Occupy D.C. And both have divergent takes on the events taking place:
From his drawing board, Nate Beeler can survey it all. The block-lettered signs and dirt-caked tents, the makeshift meals and ever-present drums. The political cartoonist sits perched in the K Street NW newsroom of the Washington Examiner, on the block neatly overlooking the Occupy D.C. encampment. As the protestors go through their rhythms established from six weeks of autumn squatting, Beeler — amused — can’t help but smirk.
On the opposite coast, in the middle of Occupy Oakland, another talented young cartoonist, Susie Cagle, finds her city’s scene engrossing. So much so that she decides to draw closer, to commune with the plaza’s protestors and understand what makes them tick and picket.
You can read the rest of Cavna’s fascinating article about how these two cartoonist exercise their right to Free Speech here.
The diversity among the cartooning voices covering the Occupy movement is only possible because of the First Amendment. Please help support CBLDF’s important First Amendment work by bidding on original artwork, making a donation, or becoming a member of the CBLDF!
MTV GEEK Supports CBLDF With Original Art Auction
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.
The Good Fighters: Jason Gonzalez
One way to describe Jason Gonzalez, a.k.a J.Gonzo, is sharp. From the bold lines and colors of his designs and tattoos to the quick-witted ease with which he converses, Gonzalez is also an enthusiastic fan and creator of comic books, including his self-published opus to luchadores, La Mano Del Destino. His stories and artwork are steeped in tradition, from his Chicano background, to his embrace of the mythological hero’s quest, and finally to his love for the vintage imagery that once populated advertising.
Gonzalez is also a dedicated supporter of CBLDF, as you’ll see in this episode of The Good Fighters.
Canada’s Comics Legends Legal Defense Fund Formally Incorporates
The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund’s partners in fundraising for the
Brandon X Canada Customs Case have formally incorporated and taken on new directors. Read the full Comic Legends Legal Defense Fund press release after the jump.
Susie Cagle Talks to Comics Alliance About Her Arrest
Last week, cartoonist Susie Cagle was arrested during the latest round of violence that has marred the Occupy Oakland protests. Laura Hudson with Comics Alliance interviewed Cagle about the arrest.
Cagle describes the moment the police came to arrest her, along with several other demonstrators:
I found this doorway, and there were tons of people crammed in there — maybe 20 or 30. Many of them had the bright green National Lawyers Guild legal observer hats, and I thought, that is a good place to be. So I ran in there and we all put our hands up thinking this should be all right. We’re away from the action, clearly peaceful, and I have my press badge around my neck. The police come up to the doorway and are basically about to beat us, and we have to scream, “No, no, please please.” About 20 seconds later, they said, “Everyone get on the ground, you’re under arrest.”
Read the rest of Cagle’s interview here.
REMINDER: Registration For Webinar on Comics & Manga Censorship Closes Today!
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…
Cartoonist Arrested During Occupy Oakland Protests
Despite wearing a press pass and being recognized by one of her arresting officers, cartoonist and journalist Susie Cagle was arrested last week, during the latest round of violence that has marred the Occupy Oakland protests. Cagle wrote about her experience on her blog:
I was detained for 15 hours and ultimately charged with the same misdemeanor as other demonstrators and NLG legal observers: PC 409, failure to leave the scene of a riot. Our arraignment dates are a month from now, and we were explicitly warned against returning to the plaza in the meantime. As I told ABC7, I feel like the OPD does, I think: confused.
Celebrate Neil Gaiman’s Birthday with a CBLDF Fundraiser!
Perennial Fund supporter Neil Gaiman celebrates his birthday on November 10, and the ladies with the Fangirls: Comics Club and A Comic Shop are ready to party! You can join them at The Geek Easy inside A Comic Shop (114 S. Semoran Blvd, Winter Park, FL) on November 10 from 7:00 – 11:00 p.m. for comics, music, games and more. Neil will be calling in so everyone can sing Happy Birthday to him! To celebrate, the organizers are also holding a raffle to raise funds for CBLDF.
For more details, visit the Facebook event page here.
Come See The CBLDF At MIX!
This weekend, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is headed to MIX, the Minneapolis Indie Xpo! We’ll have a booth open both days, where we’re thanking donors with a terrific array of signed books from authors including Charles Burns, Dan Clowes, Michael Kupperman, Jeff Lemire, Craig Thompson, Jim Woodring, and more! The Fund’s Charles Brownstein will also present Censorship Then & Now, the Fund’s history of censorship in comics on Sunday at 2:30. A party benefiting CBLDF happens on Friday night.
Dedicated to promoting small press and art comics, MIX is free to the public and showcases an incredible roster of art comics royalty including Zander Cannon, Kris Dresen, Mike Dawson, Sara Glidden, Sam Hiti, Dustin Harbin, Kevin Huisenga, Robert Kirby, Jon Lewis, Corinne Mucha, MariNaomi, Tom Neely, Anders Nilson, John Porcellino, Jim Rugg, Zak Sally, and Julia Wertz. CBLDF joins exhibitors including Ad House, Koyama, La Mano, MCAD, Sparkplug, Secret Acres, Top Shelf, and Uncivilized Books.
Charles Brownstein says, “I’m very excited to be going to MIX. Sarah Morean and her team have done a lot of hard work to make a showcase for great cartoonists, and to ensure that the CBLDF is able to raise money for our important work. The community in Minneapolis has always been extremely generous to the Fund, especially the folks at MIX, MCAD and MCBA, so it’ll be great to go out and thank them personally for all they do to help the Fund!”