This weekend only, anyone joining or renewing their CBLDF membership as an ADVOCATE MEMBER will receive and extremely limited, signed bookplate edition of the brand new BATMAN hardcover graphic novel, BATMAN: DEATH BY DESIGN. These are signed by the author, Chip Kidd, on a bookplate that he designed, numbered to 50. This incentive is available here and comes with the complete Advocate membership package. This incentive ends Monday at midnight, or as supplies last.
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!
1948: The Year Comics Met Their Match
by Joe Sergi
I was recently asked to join a Facebook Group called, “Comic Book Fans vs. a Bunch of Moms with Nothing Else Better To Do . . . ” This Group was created in response to the recent actions by the One Million Moms organization who are requesting that its supporters email Marvel and DC comic book companies, “…urging them to change and cancel all plans of homosexual superhero characters immediately. Ask them to do the right thing and reverse their decision to have sexual orientation displayed to readers.” Apparently, One Million Moms believes that if children read about gay characters, they will become gay. Marvel and Archie have responded, defending their positions, and several Social Media groups have begun to form on both sides of the issue. The last news I have heard is that the One Million Moms deleted their anti-gay Facebook page.
This kind of tension has always existed. On the one side, you have the welfare and protection of the community (especially children, who can’t protect themselves). On the other, you have fundamental liberties such as free speech. The problem is that the well intentioned actions of groups in the first category tend to infringe on the rights of the second because it is the simplest solution. This happened in the 1940s when civic minded parents decided that it was in the best interest of their children and the community to burn comic books, which leads me to my first “official” CBLDF column topic: book burning.
More after the jump…
Manga and Anime Series Undergo Content Review in Tokyo
In Tokyo, the Youth Healthy Development Ordinance prohibits the sale of publications containing material that is “sexually stimulating, encourages cruelty, and/or may compel suicide or criminal behavior” to people younger than 18. A 2011 amendment expanded the scope of the ordinance to include manga and anime with explicit depictions of children engaging in sexual acts. This week, the manga To Love-Ru Darkness survived a challenge under the ordinance. Click through for details from CBLDF blogger Soyini Hamit.
Justice Stevens’ Solitary 2002 Objection to COPA Analyzed
by Joe Izenman
Solitary dissents in the U.S. Supreme Court can offer a fascinating look into the strongest beliefs of the high court’s individual justices. In a recent blog post, the First Amendment Center provides an overview and analysis of several such opinions in the history of first amendment law, including the failed first challenge to the Child Online Protection Act.
Click through for more on the lone dissenter in Ashcroft v. ACLU I, Justice John Paul Stevens, and his comments when the act was challenged a second time by a coalition that included CBLDF, resulting in its defeat…
Baltimore’s Alliance Comics Sponsors CBLDF Awareness Day with Robert Venditti
This Saturday, Alliance Comics is sponsoring a CBLDF Awareness Day with special guest X-O Manowar writer Robert Venditti! Venditti will be signing from noon to 3:00 p.m. at the Baltimore store (904 Light Street, Baltimore, MD 21230; 410-685-0021). CBLDF has teamed up with Alliance for an amazing raffle, including the following items:
Several different limited editions of X-O Manowar #1
Limited edition X-O Manowar art prints
Chew volume 1, signed by writer John Layman
Astonishing X-Men volume 1, signed by penciler John Cassaday
Green Lantern Secret Origin, signed by writer Geoff Johns
American Vampire volume 1 hardcover, signed by writer Scott Snyder
Watchmen hardcover, signed by penciler Dave Gibbons
Elektra: Assassin hardcover, signed by Bill Sienkiewicz
More items will likely be added to the raffle, and all proceeds will go to CBLDF to support our important First Amendment work!
If you live in the Baltimore area, head over to Alliance Comics on Saturday, June 9, 12:00 – 3:00 p.m., to support the CBLDF and a great store! Get more details about Alliance Comics’ CBLDF Awareness Day here.
ACLU Ensures Access to LGBT Web Content in Schools
As a recent article from CBLDF blogger Justin Brown reveals, draconian library filtering practices can restrict access to legitimate educational information. CBLDF has reported about and signed on against laws that would restrict Internet speech, often partnering with the ACLU in such cases. Reference librarian and CBLDF blogger Maren Williams describes how the ACLU has helped keep web-based information about LGBT issues available in school libraries after the jump.