Comic Book Legal Defense Fund

Washington DC Fox Affiliate Attacks Comics

by Betsy Gomez • January 19, 2012

Yesterday, Bleeding Cool broke the story about a news report from a Washington DC Fox TV affiliate attacking comics. In the teaser for the report, a commentator called comics “fictionalized Playboy.” CBLDF took immediate action, releasing guidelines for how retailers can defend themselves from media attacks.

ICv2 followed up today with video of the full report and commentary. As expected, the reporter who made the news report, Sherri Ly, used the same faulty reasoning that has formed the basis of so many attacks against comics: The mistaken belief that comics are created primarily for children, and the specious argument that violent or sexual content in comic books promotes violent behavior in children.

Keep reading…

Features, Homepage, Legal, News Blog

Retailer Advisory: How To Manage A Media Attack

by cbldf • January 18, 2012

Today Bleeding Cool ran a piece linking to a local news promo promising a titillating exposé on modern comics that will offer tips on “HOW TO K.O. THESE COMICS BEFORE THEY CORRUPT YOUR KIDS!” These media scare stories are nothing new. They’ve been plaguing comics since the very beginning, whether it was massive public comic book burnings in the 1940s, Frederic Wertham’s attacks in the 1950s, or the retailer stings of the 1980s that led to the CBLDF being formed. While we’ve seen this type of story arise time and again, it should never be taken lightly. Below we offer some tips on how to deal with hostile cameras if they come to your store.

Features, Homepage, News Blog

Attempt to Ban Mohammad Cartoon Sparks Global Debate

by Betsy Gomez • January 17, 2012

When the Atheist, Secularist and Humanist Society of University College London used an image of Jesus and Mohammad sharing a pint on a Facebook event page, the organization probably didn’t expect to start a global debate over free speech. However, when the student union at University College London protested the use of the image, the atheist society refused, gaining support from secularists such as Richard Dawkins.

Keep reading…

Please help support CBLDF’s important First Amendment work and reporting on issues such as this by making a donation or becoming a member of the CBLDF!

Features, Homepage, News Blog

CBLDF and BOOM! Town Join Forces for Free Comic Book Day

by Betsy Gomez • January 16, 2012

Free Comic Book Day has become every comic fan’s favorite holiday, and the lineup of books for FCBD 2012, which takes place May 5, is definitely impressive.

Among the offerings for this year’s FCBD: BOOM! Town’s The Censored Howard Cruse, a sneak peek of The Other Sides of Howard Cruse. The Other Sides of Howard Cruse celebrates the groundbreaking work of Stuck Rubber Baby creator Howard Cruse.

The official description of The Censored Howard Cruse from the FCBD website:

In conjunction with the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, BOOM! Town presents The Censored Howard Cruse! Get a special sneak-peek at this summer’s upcoming The Other Sides of Howard Cruse graphic novel. He’s known for his gay comix, but that’s not all that’s been on his mind! From his Underground days up through present day, Howard wrote on a slew of topics, including freedom of speech, civil rights, drugs, and interesting uses for toothpaste. Get a taste of his impressive catalog of works, just with a few tastefully-placed black boxes. You’ll have to get the OGN for the uncensored version!

Don’t miss picking up your copy of The Censored Howard Cruse on Free Comic Book Day, May 5, 2012!

Please help support CBLDF’s important First Amendment work by making a donation or becoming a member of the CBLDF!

Premiums

MetaMaus, signed by Art Spiegelman

by Betsy Gomez • January 16, 2012

In the pages of MetaMaus, Art Spiegelman re-enters the Pulitzer prize–winning Maus, the modern classic that has altered how we see literature, comics, and the Holocaust ever since it was first published twenty-five years ago. He probes the questions that Maus most often evokes—Why the Holocaust? Why mice? Why comics?—and gives us a new and essential work about the creative process. MetaMaus includes a bonus DVD-R that provides a digitized reference copy of The Complete Maus linked to a deep archive of audio interviews with his survivor father, historical documents, and a wealth of Spiegelman’s private notebooks and sketches. Compelling and intimate, MetaMaus is poised to become a classic in its own right. These hardcovers come signed on a specialized plate by author Art Spiegelman!

Get your copy!

Premiums

MASTERPIECE COMICS, signed by R. Sikoryak!

by Betsy Gomez • January 16, 2012

Masterpiece Comics adapts a variety of classic literary works with the most iconic visual idioms of twentieth-century comics. Dense with exclamation marks and lurid colors, R. Sikoryak’s parodies remind us of the sensational excesses of the canon, or, if you prefer, of the economical expressiveness of classic comics from Batman to Garfield. In “Blond Eve,” Dagwood and Blondie are ejected from the Garden of Eden into their archetypal suburban home; Oscar Wilde’s Dorian Gray is reimagined as a foppish Little Nemo; and Camus’s Stranger becomes a brooding, chain-smoking Golden Age Superman. Other source material includes Dante, Shakespeare, Dostoyevsky, bubblegum wrappers, superhero comics, kid cartoons, and more. This hardcover is signed AND sketched by the author!

Laugh at the absurd today!