>I'm planning on approaching the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (why do I want >to call it a "League"?) and seeing if they would like to be the recipient of >next years do. > >Does anyone know address/phone number info or, by gar, could anyone involved >with the fund actually be online? From a flyer that I found on the freebie table at the San Diego Comic-Con: The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund a non-profit organization Comic Book Legal Defense Fund P.O. Box 693 Northampton, MA 01061 Amendment One: "Congress shall make no law... abridging the freedom of speech." "Without their support... we wouldn't have been able to say that we think we're right." -- Comic shop owner Bill Hatfield In recent years, police and prosecutors around the country have decided to crack down on comics. For politicians, it's a chance to look tough without making waves. After all, who cares about comics? For cartoonists and their readers, it's a dire threat. The work accused of being allegedly "harmful to adults" includes comics by the best cartoonists of our time: Robert Crumb, Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez, Reed Waller, and others. In its six years of existence, the CBLDF has spent over $100,000 protection cartoonists' freedom of speech. The CBLDF's guiding principle is that comics should be accorded the same Constitutional rights as literature, film, or any other form of expression. Authorities around the country are increasingly taking the opposite view. The CBLDF's caseload doubled in 1993 requiring the work of five legal teams in California, Georgia, Florida, and other states. The CBLDF intends to fight these attacks. We ask everyone who cares about comics and free speech to support us. A Short History of Comics Censorship 1950s Dr. Fredric Wertham publishes _Seduction of the Innocent_, a book purporting that comic book reading causes juvenile delinquency. In true McCarth-era fashion, the U.S. Senate holds hearings to investigate Wertham's claims. A new Comics Code Authority is formed prohibiting any controversial comics. As a result, the most innovative company of the decade, EC Comics, is forced to cancel most of its line. This includes titles like _Vault of Horror_ and _Tales From the Crypt_, which years later are judged to be classics. 1960s & '70s Beginning in the late '60s, the underground comix movement shirks the constraints of mainstream publishing. Heavily influenced by the EC line, especially MAD magazine, underground cartoonists like Robert Crumb, Gilbert Shelton, and Robert Williams produce an acclaimed body of adult work. In New York, one of their titles, _Zap_ #4, is prosecuted for obscenity. The trial laasts several years and goes through numerous appeals. In 1973, the comic is finally ruled obscene and banned. (Since then _Zap_ #4 has been sold in New York without prosecution and the work of its creators has appeared in the Museum of Modern Art and other galleries.) 1980s As an outgrowth of the undergrounds, "alternative" comics flourish with publications like _Raw_, _Love & Rockets_, and _American Splendor_. Cartoonists Art Spiegelman, Dave Sim, Will Eisner, and others win widespread recognition for their ambitious work. At the same time, creators such as Frank Miller and Alan Moore push teh boundaries of super-hero comics into more mature territory. Various religious and conservative leaders decry these developments claiming that "comics are for kids." In 1986, Friendly Frank's, a comics store in Lansing, Illinois is busted for selling "obsecne" comics. The titles in question are _Omaha, the Cat Dancer_, _The Bodyssey_, _Weirdo_, and _Bizarre Sex_. The CBLDF is founded to support the defense. The case moves to the Appellate Court where the store manager is acquitted of all charges. 1990s Following the Friendly Frank's case, the CBLDF remains active as a watchdog organization. Prosecutions of comic shops escalate. Two shops in Florida are busted. One is accused of selling the adult collection _Cherry Anthology #1_ to an undercover officer. The charges are later dropped. The other store goes to court for selling a "mature" title, _The Score_, to a 14-year old accompanied by his mother. The judge rules n favor of store owner Bill Hatfield. In 1992 police raid Amazing Comics outside San Diego, seizing 45 titles. No charges are filed. Other actions around the country are detailed below. [I remember talking with the manager about this. They pretty gave in, because there wasn't much they could do: the police could bankrupt them by seizing titles without charging them with a crime; without charging them with a crime, they couldn't be acquitted and get their titles back. For folks interested in a more detailed explanation of "Civil Forfeiture,", look on the ftp site teetot.acusd.edu, in /pub/Beelzebub/Politics/Civil_Forfeiture. -- Jerry] 1993 Summer Update The CBLDF is monitoring the following situations where First Amendment rights for comics are threatened. Sarasota, Florida On May 13, 1993 police arrested Timothy Parks, the manager of the store Comic Book Heaven, on seven counts of _displaying_ material harmful to minors. The titles that have been seized by police include _The Survivors_, _The Heir_, and _Dark Tales_, published by the now defunct Catalan Communications; _Detective's Inc_, published by Eclipse; and an issue of the British fanzine _Speakeasy_. In most states, the statute under which Parks is being charged doesn't even exist. Chino Hills, California In December 1992, prosecutors forced the manager of City Comics (located near Los Angeles) to accept a plea bargain for selling two adult comics, _Debbie Does Dallas_ and _Faust_, to a minor. The sale was a fluke. Normally the store checks ID on adult purchases. But in this instance, the "minor" was a 17-year-old using a false ID. The police had targeted the store with a sting operation because a small group of parents had complained that comics were too violent for children. _Spider-Man_ was cited as an example. Now the Chino Hills City Council is requiring the shop to possess a special license to do business. The CBLDF contends that such a license is unlawful and is preparing a fight to overturn the city's legislation. Rome, Georgia On February 18, 1993, the Floyd County court found the owner of the Legends comic shop guilty of "distributing obscene materials." The verdict implicated two Aircel comics, _Debbie Does Dallas_ and _Final Tabu_, as being harmful to adults. The case is now headed to the Appellate Court. San Francisco, California The California State Board of Equalization (BOE) has decided that comic book original pages to not have the literary status of an author's manuscript, and are instead merely commercial illustrations. Consequently, the BOE is claiming that cartoonist Paul Mavrides (co-creator of _The Fabulous Freak Brothers_) owes back taxes for several years worth of publishing royalties. If the BOE has its way, all California cartoonists will eventually be dunned for this tax. This economic handicap would effectively muzzle an untold number of creators. The CBLDF is employing literary and tax attorneys to reverse the BOE's ruling. Largo, Florida Michael Diana has been charged with three counts of obscenity for publishing _Boiled Angel_, a self-distributed fanzine with a print-run of fewer than 300 copies. ----- Jerry Stratton [j--r--y] at [teetot.acusd.edu] (Finger/Reply for PGP Public Key) ------ "...the right to keep arms necessarily involves the right to purchase them, to keep them in a state of efficiency for use, and to purchase and provide ammunition suitable for such arms, and to keep them in repair." -- ANDREWS v. STATE; 50 Tenn. (3 Heisk) 165, 178; (1871)