Comic Book Legal Defense Fund

PayPal Lifts Ban on Erotic Content

by Betsy Gomez • March 13, 2012

After widespread protest from free speech advocates around the nation, including CBLDF, PayPal has rescinded its overly broad threat to suspend the accounts of e-book publishers that release erotic material featuring incest, pseudo-incest, rape fantasies, bestiality (including non-human fantasy characters). Early word of PayPal’s revised policy was spread when e-book publisher Smashwords announced that they would be returning to their original terms of service, but PayPal has now made it official with an announcement on their blog.

Click through for the official statement for PayPal and the response from ABFFE and NCAC.

Features, Fundraising, Homepage, News Blog

Brandon Graham’s King City Supports CBLDF

by cbldf • March 13, 2012

Brandon Graham is no stranger to boundary pushing comics. He cut his artistic teeth making experimental sex comics before going on to create his idea heavy works Prophet and King City. His groundbreaking collection King City just came out from Image, and he’s supporting the Fund by providing signed & sketched bookplates to raise money for our work. Brandon spoke out on why the Fund matters to him on his blog last summer. He wrote:

The idea of just getting in trouble for having a comic book on you is nuts, with no victim and the crime being an offensive combination of words and lines. It’s like trying to prosecute thoughts you don’t like.

I have a hard time wrapping my brain around the idea that something you could draw could lead someone else to be locked up just by having it on their person. And just looking at the list of books CBLDF has on their site that have had problems at the border (how awkward would it be to have to explain why you are carrying a copy of The bone ranger)
–I’ve read a lot of these, I have friends and have myself probably drawn worse things than what’s in most of these books.

You can get your copy of King City with a signed & sketched Brandon Graham bookplate now for a $60 donation to CBLDF.

Homepage, News Blog

Smashwords Restores Content Policies

by Betsy Gomez • March 13, 2012

Smashwords, one of the independent e-book publishers at the center of the PayPal erotic content censorship scandal, announced that they are returning their terms of service to what they were before PayPal sent letters threatening to close their account if they continued to sell certain types of erotic content. CBLDF was one of many free speech organizations that signed a letter in protest of PayPal’s policy to ban erotic content that featured incest, pseudo-incest, rape fantasies, bestiality (including non-human fantasy characters).

Click through for Smashwords’ full statement.

Homepage, News Blog

This Week’s Doonesbury Strips Relocated or Scrapped by Several Newspapers

by Betsy Gomez • March 12, 2012

If you usually read Gary B. Trudeau’s “Doonesbury” comic strip on the comics page of your local newspaper, you may find the latest strips moved to the op-ed page or missing entirely this week. This week’s strips feature a young woman who visits an abortion clinic in Texas, a state that requires compulsory ultrasounds before an abortion, and the strips liken Texas’s practice to rape. Because of the contentious nature of the topic, several newspapers have elected to not run the series, or they moved it to their opinion pages or online.

Keep reading…

Homepage, News Blog

Forbes Contributor on Potential Reason for PayPal Erotica Ban: Credit Card Companies

by Betsy Gomez • March 12, 2012

CBLDF has joined a coalition of free speech advocates in protest of PayPal’s new policy regarding the sale of erotica, banning the sale of material that depicts incest, pseudo-incest, rape fantasies, and bestiality (including non-human fantasy characters). Over the weekend, Suw Charman-Anderson with Forbes.com wrote a pair of articles about what many consider the real culprit behind PayPal’s move to ban the sale of certain types of erotica: credit card companies. The connection to the credit card companies was rumored early on, and further analysis as the story has developed has reinforced the conclusion among many observers. However, at least one credit card company has already denied involvement.

Keep reading…

Fundraising, Homepage, News Blog

THIS WEEKEND: CBLDF & Neil Gaiman Thank Members With Exclusive Signed Poster!

by cbldf • March 9, 2012

This weekend only, the first ten members to sign up for CBLDF membership at the $100 Advocate level or higher will receive “A Study In Emerald,” a poster edition of Neil Gaiman’s Hugo Award winning short story, illustrated by Jouni Koponen and signed by Neil Gaiman! You’ll receive this special signed thank you gift in addition to all the other great incentives we offer for our members, and you’ll have the peace of mind knowing that you’re helping protect the First Amendment! Don’t delay, this thank you is only available while supplies last!

UPDATE: This item is no longer available!