Last Friday comics creators and fans converged on a rain streaked Portland night to kick off the 2011 Stumptown Comics Festival. A growing showcase for handcrafted comics and art, Stumptown behaves less like a traditional comic book convention, and more like a pageant honoring the distinctive creative culture of Portland, Oregon. For three days, the city’s various institutions, including comic shops and galleries host comics focused parties while artists show their wares on the festival’s curated exhibit hall. The CBLDF was there to participate in the festivities.
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!
Beasts of Burden: Animal Rites HC, signed by Jill Thompson!
From award-winning creators Jill Thompson (Scary Godmother, The Invisibles, Death: At Death’s Door) and Evan Dorkin (Milk & Cheese), this beautiful hardcover edition collects the Eisner Award-winning short stories, as well as all four issues of the acclaimed series. It is signed by illustrator and painter Jill Thompson.
About Beasts of Burden: Welcome to Burden Hill — a picturesque little town adorned with white picket fences and green, green grass, home to a unique team of paranormal investigators. Beneath this shiny exterior, Burden Hill harbors dark and sinister secrets, and it’s up to a heroic gang of dogs — and one cat — to protect the town from the evil forces at work. These are the Beasts of Burden Hill — Pugs, Ace, Jack, Whitey, Red and the Orphan — whose early experiences with the paranormal (including a haunted doghouse, a witches’ coven, and a pack of canine zombies) have led them to become members of the Wise Dog Society, official animal agents sworn to protect their town from evil. This turns out to be no easy task, as they soon encounter demonic cannibal frogs, tortured spirits, a secret rat society, and a bizarre and deadly resurrection in the Burden Hill cemetery — events which lead to fear and heartbreak as our four-legged heroes discover that the evil within Burden Hill is growing and on the move. Can our heroes overcome these supernatural menaces? Can evil be bested by a paranormal team that doesn’t have hands? And even more importantly, will Pugs ever shut the hell up?
Muzzled!
Each year, on or around Thomas Jefferson’s April 13 birthday, The Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression “awards” the individuals and organizations who put in a concerted effort to abridge free speech in the previous year. The 2011 “winners” of these awards — called the Jefferson Muzzles — were recently announced.
Who can we thank for impeding free speech during 2010? The dubious honorees included no less than the Obama Administration and BP “for restricting media access to the Gulf oil spill,” the TSA “for having a young man arrested for stripping off much of his clothing to display the text of the Fourth Amendment,” and more. You can check out the full list of recipients here.
The Jefferson Muzzles serve as a reminder that free expression isn’t always as safe as we think it is.
Jeffrey Brown’s Inspiring Membership Cards
As any past and present member knows, CBLDF membership has its benefits, including a number of incentives and premiums.
We have a membership level for everyone, and each membership level has its own incentives. Everyone gets a membership card — this year’s features Green Lantern — but if you sign up for the CBLDF Defender Membership at a $250 donation, you will also get a 
hand-drawn membership card! You can choose a card by celebrated comics artists Jeffrey Brown, Matt Wagner, Eric Powell, Cliff Chiang, or Dean Haspiel.
Brown just sent us a slew of eye-catching, full-color cards! We’re inspired both by these gorgeous cards and by the time Brown donated to make the cards for us, and we hope this inspires you to become a defender of Free Speech for the comics community. Become a member now!
ALL-STAR SUPERMAN vol 1, signed by Morrison and Quitely
The first volume of the groundbreaking series by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely, this Eisner-winning and best-selling comic took elements from 70 years-worth of Superman adventures and reinvented them for a new millennium.
After a rescue trip into the Sun, Superman returns more powerful than ever but stricken with a terminal condition. With little time left, he has to complete Twelve Legendary Labors. Along the way, we see new visions of the characters and locales in Superman’s world that fans have come to love, including Bizzaro, Lex Luthor, Jimmy Olsen, the Phantom Zone, Kandor, and Lois Lane.
Already considered a classic, All-Star Superman is a perfect series for old and new fans alike.
This softcover edition is signed by both Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely. Get your copy now!
CBLDF Stumps for Free Speech at Stumptown Comics Fest
CBLDF jets back to the West Coast this weekend for Stumptown Comics Fest 2011, April 16-17 at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Oregon!
Like CBLDF, Stumptown is no stranger to volunteerism — it was started in 2004 by a group of dedicated volunteers who wanted to produce a comics show that focused on creators. Since, Stumptown has grown enormously in size and accolades, and this year looks to be the biggest show yet, chock full of spectacular comics guests! You’ll be able to find CBLDF at booth 308 throughout the show.
To get Stumptown off to a roaring start, the convention and sponsor Dark Horse Comics have assembled an all-star cast of creators to take part in an exclusive dinner auction, the proceeds of which benefit CBLDF! Where else could you join Matt Wagner (Grendel, Mage, Green Hornet, Sandman Mystery Theater), Eric Powell (The Goon), Brandon Graham (King City), Steve Lieber (Underground, Whiteout), Carla Speed McNeil (Finder), and more for a bite to eat?! The auction is on now, and you have until 10:00 a.m. PDT on Thursday to bid on one of ten seats at dinner, which takes place Friday, April 15, at BridgePort BrewPub in Portland’s historic Pearl District. Winners also get sketches from each of the creators and a free weekend pass to Stumptown. Bid now!
On Saturday, April 16, you can get to know CBLDF President and Beanworld creator Larry Marder during The Leguminous Life of Larry Marder panel in Room A105 from 12:00 – 12:45 p.m. The lowdown from Stumptown’s schedule:
Beans have been part of Marder’s life since the day he was born. This rich visual presentation covers the entire history of his peculiar fantasy dimension, including discussion about Marder’s many influences. This is your opportunity to discover why Beanworld has captivated readers from grade school to grad school since its first publication as a series of comic books in the 1980s. Now Beanworld is at Dark Horse Comics entertaining an entire new generation of fans. Get a glimpse into Marder’s next original Beanworld graphic novel “Something More!” And what exactly is “Beanworld 3.5” anyway?
We’ll see you at Stumptown Comics Fest in Portand, Oregon, this weekend, April 16-17. Look for us at booth #308! Don’t forget to bid generously on the chance to dine with Stumptown’s finest guests — the auction ends soon!