The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is proud to offer a special NYCC variant cover of the Liberty Annual 2010! Boasting work by some of the best creators in the industry, all proceeds from the Liberty Annual benefit the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund! This cover, limited to just 1,500 copies, features full color art by the WALKING DEAD’s Charlie Adlard, and will be available from the CBLDF at the con, but until Sunday you can preorder it here!
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!
ComicsAlliance: Why Video Game Censorship Matters to Comics
Over at ComicsAlliance, David Brothers writes a compelling analysis of the issues at stake in Schwarzenegger v. EMA, and how they are critically important to comics.
This case, Schwarzenegger v. EMA, has nothing to do with comic books, so what’s up with Stan the Man and the CBLDF speaking out? Shouldn’t they be out there fighting whatever new boogieman is trying to censor comics? But while it may not be immediately apparent, by speaking out against video game censorship, Lee and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (our partner in the Monsters Project) are safeguarding the future of comics as well.
Read the full analysis here.
CBLDF & Dark Horse Cheer Free Speech Victory in Ninth Circuit!
The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and Dark Horse Comics applaud a decision issued by United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit holding that two Oregon statutes that criminalize distributing sex education and other non-obscene materials to minors are unconstitutional in violation of the First Amendment. The State of Oregon argued that the statutes applied only to “hardcore pornography,” but the Ninth Circuit found that they applied to much more, including Kentaro Miura’s manga “Berserk,” Judy Blume’s “Forever,” and Margaret Atwood’s “A Handmaid’s Tale.” The plaintiffs did not challenge Oregon’s existing law making it a crime to contact a minor with the intent of having sexual contact. CBLDF and Dark Horse were among the plaintiff group challenging the statutes.
Mike Richardson, publisher of plaintiff Dark Horse comics says, “We were extremely happy to see these statutes overturned. Our Constitution’s First Amendment was intended to keep the hands of the government off the printing presses of America. Creators everywhere can breath a sigh of relief that these laws, open to interpretation and likely to be abused, have been put down.”
Full announcement and text of decision follow the jump!
ComicsAlliance & CBLDF Launch THE MONSTERS PROJECT!
ComicsAlliance is joining forces with the CBLDF for The Monsters Project, a month-long art exhibit and benefit auction showcasing the spooky, scary, and creepy best from comics brightest art stars!
Chris Haley of “Let’s Be Friends Again” got the ball rolling above with a monster-fied reinterpretation of a certain classic ’80s teen drama, and we’re issuing an open invitation to all comics artists for original art with a monster theme. Throughout October, the donated art will be featured on ComicsAlliance, auctioned online, and offered at San Francisco’s Alternative Press Expo (APE) to raise money for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.
The project is open to all creators, from big to small and mainstream to indie to webcomics, and a great way to have a little Halloween fun and support one of the most important causes in comics. Check out more details after the jump.
Techland Previews The Liberty Annual!
Our friends over at Techland offer up an exclusive preview of all the great stuff coming in this year’s Liberty Annual! Liberty Annual arrives on October 6 — be sure to ask your retailer to set aside your copy!
Comic Book Legal Defense Fund Urges Supreme Court to Reject New Restrictions on Speech in Video Game Censorship Case
Comic Book Legal Defense Fund today filed a friend-of-the-court brief in Schwarzenegger v. EMA, urging the Supreme Court to affirm the Ninth Circuit’s decision that a California law banning the sale or rental of any video game containing violent content to minors, and requiring manufacturers to label such games, is unconstitutional.
The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund submits that, if allowed to stand, California’s law would reverse fundamental First Amendment principles by creating a new category of unprotected speech, diminishing the First Amendment rights of minors, and reducing First Amendment protection for new media. The CBLDF argues that the law under review is the most recent example of government improperly attempting to regulate content by using junk science, and calls upon a history of moral panics against media that includes the 1950s crusades against comics that crippled the industry and harmed the art form. The CBLDF asks the Supreme Court to deny California this attempt to roll back protections guaranteed by the First Amendment, as it and other courts have correctly done in the past.
Read on for the full release, and brief.