Comic Book Legal Defense Fund

Free Speech Advocates Score Victory in Utah

by Betsy Gomez • May 18, 2012

A victory for Free Speech was claimed yesterday when US District Judge Dee Benson issued an order ruling that people posting constitutionally-protected content on websites cannot be prosecuted for doing so and are not required to label the content they post. The ruling supports the plaintiffs in a lawsuit that opposed a Utah “harmful to minors” law that restricted free expression online. CBLDF was one of the organizations that opposed the law, joining fellow Media Coalition members the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, the Association of American Publishers, and the Freedom to Read Foundation. Additional plaintiffs included the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah; painter Nathan Florence, the Publishers Marketing Association, and the Sexual Health Network.

Read the official response from the Media Coalition after the jump.

Please help support CBLDF’s work to strike down unconstitutional censorship laws such as this by making a donation or becoming a member of the CBLDF!

Fundraising, Homepage, News Blog

UPDATED: CBLDF Hits the West Coast with Big Wow ComicFest!

by Betsy Gomez • May 18, 2012

With Executive Director Charles Brownstein in Japan for a symposium on manga and censorship; Deputy Director Alex Cox in Portland, Maine, for the Maine Comics Arts Festival; and a charity auction and booth headed up by volunteer Diana Green at St. Paul, Minnesota’s Spring Con, CBLDF is all over the world this weekend. Lest the West Coast feel left out, CBLDF Web Editor Betsy Gomez will be on hand at the Big Wow! ComicFest in San Jose, California! Big Wow takes place May 19 – 20 in downtown San Jose at the San Jose Convention Center, Hall 2, and you’ll find CBLDF at booth #603.

More details after the jump!

Fundraising, Homepage, News Blog

Join CBLDF This Weekend at the Maine Comics Arts Festival!

by Betsy Gomez • May 18, 2012

CBLDF Deputy Director Alex Cox will be at the Maine Comics Arts Festival in Portland, Maine, all weekend. On Saturday, May 19, he will be presenting the CBLDF’s “History of Censorship in Comics” — a slideshow walk through oppression and small-mindedness from the 1930s to today! The presentation happens at the Portland Public Library Main Branch in the Rines Auditorium (5 Monument Square). On Sunday, May 20, from 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., you’ll find him at the Ocean Gateway with a booth full of info about the Fund and awesome donation premiums!

Click through for more details about the show!

Fundraising, Homepage, News Blog

This Weekend’s SpringCon Charity Auction Benefits CBLDF

by Betsy Gomez • May 17, 2012

SpringCon, the annual comic book celebration produced by the Midwest Comic Book Association, takes place this weekend at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds in St. Paul, Minnesota. This amazing event takes place May 19 – 20 and gathers hundreds of creators and many more fans for a comic marketplace, programs, and a huge charity auction. This year’s charity auction takes place at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 20, and all of the proceeds will be split between the Minnesota Lupus Foundation and CBLDF! In addition, the CBLDF will be there with a booth headed up by a local volunteer team lead by Minneapolis College of Art and Design’s Diana Green!

All of the details follow after the jump…

Homepage, News Blog

THE GUARDIAN Analyzes Tintin in the Congo Case

by Betsy Gomez • May 16, 2012

In February, Belgian courts ruled that Tintin in the Congo should not be removed from bookstore shelves over charges that it violated Belgian laws regarding racism and inciting racial hatred. The court ruled that the book, which was serialized from 1930 to 1931 and collected in 1946 with significant revisions, was a product of its time and did not intend to incite racial hatred. This week, The Guardian reposted an analysis that Jogchum Vrielink wrote about the case and its impact on the sale of the book.

Click through for excerpts from the analysis.

Headline, Homepage, News Blog

CBLDF Executive Director Charles Brownstein to Participate in Conference on Creative Expression in Japan

by Betsy Gomez • May 15, 2012

This weekend sees CBLDF events around the country and around the world: CBLDF Executive Director Charles Brownstein is headed to Japan to talk about the challenges creative expression faces in Japan and abroad.

Japanese manga and anime have strong appeal worldwide, and as their popularity has increased, they have faced challenges in Japan and overseas, including in the United States. Japanese censors have actively called for and passed laws that regulate the sale of manga and the depiction of sexuality in manga. In the United States, a Korean manwha — the equivalent of manga — is near the top of the list of the most-challenged books in 2011, and the ownership of manga led to the prosecution of Christopher Handley and Ryan Matheson.

The conference addresses the challenges faced by manga and anime and the detrimental effect of regulation on creative expression in Japan. During the symposium, Brownstein will join local and international experts to talk about the censorship of content in manga and anime in both Japan and overseas.

More details after the jump…