Comic-Con is here! CBLDF is celebrating the country’s largest gathering of comics and pop culture fans with massive slate of events! Three parties, Six Live Art Events, an unforgettable auction, the best selection of signed graphic novels at the convention, and amazing exclusives await! Read on to see what the CBLDF has in store for you at Comic-Con!
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 Joins Challenge to Massachusetts Internet Censorship Law
Comic Book Legal Defense Fund joined a coalition of organizations and local booksellers today in filing suit to block a broad Massachusetts censorship law that bans constitutionally protected speech on the Internet for topics including contraception and pregnancy, sexual health, literature, and art.
Signed in April by Governor Patrick and effective yesterday, the law, Chapter 74 of the Acts of 2010, imposes severe restrictions on the distribution of constitutionally protected speech on the Internet. The law could make anyone who operates a website or communicates through a listserv criminally liable for nudity or sexually related material, if the material can be considered “harmful to minors” under the law’s definition. In effect, it bans from the Internet anything that may be “harmful to minors,” including material adults have a First Amendment right to view. Violators can be fined $10,000 or sentenced to up to five years in prison, or both.
New CBLDF Auctions on eBay!
The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund has the best supporters in comics. Artists from all over the world donate to the CBLDF’s efforts at conventions all over the country, which means we pass their generosity on to you! Check the auctions blog on the right column of our home page each and every week for new auctions to benefit our First Amendment legal work! This week’s highlights include donations from Arthur Adams, Camilla D’Errico, Chris Marrinan, Dan Parent, and Erik Arreaga. Check the auctions out by visiting: http://myworld.ebay.com/cbldf/
Ford & Brian K. Vaughan Donate to CBLDF at Wizard World Philly
The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund thanks Ford and Brian K. Vaughan for a $5,000 donation to the Fund in support of the new Ford Fiesta at last week’s Wizard World Philadelphia!
CBLDF Relocates New York Headquarters!
The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is pleased to announce that it is relocating its headquarters to a larger space in New York City. Effective June 1, the new CBLDF address is
255 W. 36th Street,
Suite 501,
New York, NY 10018.
All other contact information remains the same. The CBLDF will be closed until Monday, June 7 while setting up the new office, but can still be reached by emailing info@cbldf.org, or leaving a voice message at 212.679.7151 or 800-99-CBLDF.
Because of the office relocation, fulfillment of memberships and premiums is delayed. If you have already placed an order and it is behind, please feel free to email info@cbldf.org with concerns or questions. If you are interested in placing an order today, please note that our fulfillment operations will resume on Wednesday, June 9th. Thank you for your patience and support during this transition.
“Relocating to the heart of the Midtown West neighborhood into this new space is an essential part of the CBLDF’s growth campaign,” says CBLDF Executive Director Charles Brownstein. “Our new space will allow us to open up to wider options of volunteer programs, fundraising and education work, and to improve our efficiency to better serve our contributors.”
Celebrate Graphic Novels At The CBLDF BEA Welcome Party!
The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is proud to invite you to a Book Expo Welcome Party sponsored by DC Entertainment and Image Comics! Come mingle with some of the brightest lights in the creative, editorial, retail and media communities in this outstanding celebration of the graphic novel! First 150 attendees get a DC/Image Gift bag. $10-$20 Sliding-scale suggested donation, CBLDF Members get in for free.
Please join us at 7pm on Tuesday, May 25th at the lovely Hudson Terrace, located at 621 West 46th st. (Between 11th and 12th) New York, NY 10036
We look forward to seeing you there!
Danish Cartoonist Attacked During Free Speech Lecture for Exercising Free Speech
By Alex Goldman
Lars Vilks, a Swedish artist whose depictions of Muhammad have made him the target of threats and an alleged assassination plot, was attacked on Tuesday during a speaking 
engagement at Stockholm’s Uppsala University. Police used pepper spray and batons on protesters as they escorted Vilks from the lecture hall. Vilks, who was giving a lecture about free speech has said that he would like to reschedule the lecture if Uppsala University would allow him.
Supreme Court Nominee Elena Kagan and The First Amendment
By Alex Goldman
On Monday, Barack Obama selected Elena Kagan, current Solicitor General of the United States, as his Supreme Court nominee to fill the seat on the court left vacant by departing justice John Paul Stevens. While the media has released a torrent of analysis about everything from her educational background to her personal life, The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is, of course, most concerned with her scholarship and advocacy on First Amendment issues. Scholarly opinion on Kagan’s treatment of the First Amendment seem to be split.
LepreCon36 Benefits CBLDF!
LepreCon36 is an Arizona fan science fiction/fantasy convention dedicated to promoting the genre with an emphasis on art. It is scheduled for May 14-16, 2010 in Mesa, Arizona and will feature the very talented Charles Vess and the enormously popular George R.R. Martin as Guests. They will also have the notable illustrator and author, James A. Owen.
Proceeds from the Charity Auction will benefit the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund! Click here for details on auction items!
Thanks to the LepreCon organizers for choosing the CBLDF as their charity of choice! Is your convention hosting events to benefit the CBLDF? Please email us at info@cbldf.org to let us know, and we’ll help spread the word!
Premium – Strangers in Paradise Omnibus, Lettered Edition!
Terry Moore and Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab have teamed up to create an extraordinary donation reward for the CBLDF – The Strangers in Paradise Omnibus Lettered Edition!
Limited to just 26 copies, with fewer than 10 left in the CBLDF’s stock, the SiP Omnibus Lettered Edition includes: One set of the strictly limited, and completely sold-out, three-volume hardcover SiP Omnibus edition, an original drawing by Terry Moore, and a bottle of “Parker Lily,” a fragrance based on the beloved series, created by Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, and also limited to just 26 bottles! This extremely limited edition is available for a $500 donation to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. Get Yours Now!
Bone Survives School Library Challenge!
UPDATE: Jeff Smith responds to school board
Twincities.com reports that the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan school district has voted 10 to 1 that the graphic novel series Bone should not be banned in its schools.
The graphic novel series came under fire earlier this month when parent Ramona DeLay objected to the series’ placement in the school libraries because it contains depictions of adults smoking, drinking, and gambling.
Melinda Martin, the school district’s media specialist told twincities.com:
“It’s important to understand selection from censorship,” she said. “I respect her right to object to the series, but not for her to censor it for the rest. I feel you would be doing a disservice to our district if you remove this book from our elementary schools.”
The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund applauds the school district for the fair hearing Bone received, and its decision to keep the series in its collection.
CBLDF Supporter Auction Highlights!
Did you know that you can support the CBLDF on eBay, with just one easy step? When listing your next auction, you can give 10% to 100% of the final auction value to the Fund by using eBay Giving Works! The CBLDF has been a recognized charity on eBay since 2007, our nonprofit ID is 19329. Check out what our supporters are auctioning to benefit the CBLDF by entering that ID into your eBay search, or by clicking here: http://bit.ly/givingworks.
The CBLDF is grateful to those supporters listing us on eBay, so we’re listing selected eBay Giving Works auctions on the lower right column of this page. We’ll also create update posts like this from time to time to highlight what’s available on eBay for the CBLDF. As long as you keep supporting the CBLDF on eBay, we’ll keep promoting those auctions here on CBLDF.org
After the jump, check out some highlights from what CBLDF supporters are offering this week!
News Media Responds to EMA v. Schwarzenegger
by Amy Long
for The Media Coalition
Over 100 newspapers, websites, and blogs reported on the Supreme Court’s decision to grant California’s petition for certiorari in EMA v. Schwarzenegger. Papers across the United States, Canada and Britain carried the news, which reached as far as New Zealand’s Top News, the Ethiopian Review and Thailand’s The Thaindian paper, which takes a view that is generally supportive of the state’s position (though it notes that Schwarzenegger “seemed a tad too pleased with the court’s decision”). The case will be taken up by the Court in its fall term. Full coverage after the jump.
BPAL Debuts Neverwhere Fragrances!
Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab continues their extraordinary series of fragrances based on the literary works of Neil Gaiman with Neverwhere, a set of fragrances based on the characters, locations, and ideas found within the popular Neil Gaiman novel!
Neverwhere boasts eleven fragrances, and proceeds from each bottle benefit the First Amendment legal work of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. Since beginning the Neil Gaiman fragrance program, BPAL has donated proceeds in excess of $50,000 to the CBLDF’s efforts! Please visit them at: http://www.blackphoenixalchemylab.com
Supreme Court to Decide Whether States Can Regulate Violent Video Games
On Monday, the Supreme Court agreed to review a ruling that the First Amendment bars restrictions on video games with violent themes. The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund has actively opposed such restrictions, including participating in a 2008 friend-of-the-court (aka amicus) brief filed by the Media Coalition, addressing this same case. In hearing this case, the Supreme Court will decide whether or not it will adopt a new constitutional standard that allows states to ban violent content.