Comic Book Legal Defense Fund
Encyclopedia
The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is a United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 non-profit organization
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...

 created in 1986 to protect the First Amendment
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...

 rights of comics creators, publishers, and retailers covering legal expenses.

It is supported by many big names of the industry; the board of directors includes Chris Staros
Chris Staros
Chris Staros is the publisher of the graphic novel publisher Top Shelf Productions, as well as the president of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund . He is also the author of Yearbook Stories, 1976–1978, published by Top Shelf....

, Peter David
Peter David
Peter Allen David , often abbreviated PAD, is an American writer of comic books, novels, television, movies and video games...

, and Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...

. Fund Comics, More Fund Comics, and Even More Fund Comics are compilations of short work by famous artists sold to support the CBLDF. Additionally, Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab
Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab
Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, also known as BPAL, is an online company selling perfume oils. BPAL is owned by Elizabeth Moriarty Barrial and Brian Constantine, and is based in Los Angeles, California, United States.-Ethics:...

 offers a line of perfumes whose profits go directly to the CBLDF. Popular artists such as comedian Bill Hader
Bill Hader
William "Bill" Hader is an American actor, comedian, producer and writer. He is best known for his work as a creative consultant on the hit show South Park and as a cast member on Saturday Night Live and for his supporting roles in comedy films such as Superbad, Hot Rod, Tropic Thunder,...

, cartoonist Jeff Smith
Jeff Smith (cartoonist)
Jeff Smith is an American cartoonist, best known as the creator of the self-published comic book series Bone. His current series, RASL, focuses on an art thief who hops through dimensional barriers, hiding out on various parallel worlds.-Early life and education:Jeff Smith was born in McKees...

, and comic book artist Frank Miller
Frank Miller (comics)
Frank Miller is an American comic book artist, writer and film director best known for his dark, film noir-style comic book stories and graphic novels Ronin, Daredevil: Born Again, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City and 300...

 have expressed support for it.

History

The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund began as a means to pay for the legal defense of Friendly Frank's comic shop manager Michael Correa, who was arrested in 1986 on charges of distributing obscenity. The comic books deemed obscene were Omaha the Cat Dancer
Omaha the Cat Dancer
"Omaha" the Cat Dancer is an erotic comic strip created by artist Reed Waller and writer Kate Worley. Set in the fictional Mipple City, Minnesota in a universe populated by anthropomorphic funny animal characters, the strip is a soap opera which focuses on Omaha, a feline exotic dancer, and her...

, The Bodyssey, Weirdo
Weirdo
Weirdo was a magazine-sized comics anthology created by Robert Crumb and published by Last Gasp from 1981 to 1993.Weirdo served as a "low art" counterpoint to its contemporary highbrow RAW...

, and Bizarre Sex. Kitchen Sink Press
Kitchen Sink Press
Kitchen Sink Press was a comic book publishing company founded by Denis Kitchen in 1970. Kitchen owned and operated Kitchen Sink Press until 1999. Kitchen Sink Press was a pioneering publisher of underground comics, and was also responsible for numerous republications of classic comic strips in...

 released an art portfolio of pieces donated by comics artists; proceeds were donated to Correa's defense. First amendment attorney Burton Joseph
Burton Joseph
Burton Allen Joseph was an American civil rights attorney. He represented clients in free speech cases, and represented the American Library Association in its suit that ultimately found the Communications Decency Act unconstitutional...

 defended Friendly Frank's and ultimately had the conviction overturned. Denis Kitchen
Denis Kitchen
Denis Kitchen is an American underground cartoonist, publisher, author, and agent from Wisconsin, and the founder of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.-Early life:...

 officially incorporated the CBLDF in 1990 as a non-profit charitable organization with capital left over from Correa's defense fund, and Burton Joseph became their legal counsel in 1996. Since then the Fund and Burton Joseph have provided advice and legal assistance in many cases and incidents.

The Fund publishes a quarterly newsletter called Busted! : the official newsletter of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.

On September 29, 2011, it was announced that the CBLDF acquired intellectual property rights of the Comics Code Authority
Comics Code Authority
The Comics Code Authority was a body created as part of the Comics Magazine Association of America, as a tool for the comics-publishing industry to self-regulate the content of comic books in the United States. Member publishers submitted comic books to the CCA, which screened them for adherence to...

 seal from the now-defunct Comics Magazine Association of America; the sale coincided with Banned Books Week
Banned Books Week
Banned Books Week is an annual awareness campaign that celebrates the freedom to read, draws attention to banned and challenged books, and highlights persecuted individuals...

. The CBLDF intends to use the seal in merchandise through licensing agreements, with proceeds from the licenses benefitting the CBLDF.

Notable cases

  • 1986: Michael Correa, store manager at Friendly Frank's, a comic store in Lansing, Illinois
    Lansing, Illinois
    Lansing is a village in Cook County, Illinois, USA. Lansing is a southern suburb of Chicago. The population was 28,332 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...

    , was charged with possession and sale of obscene material. He was convicted, but the conviction was overturned on appeal.
  • 1991: Comic artist Paul Mavrides
    Paul Mavrides
    Paul Mavrides is an American artist, best known for his critique-laden comics, cartoons, paintings, graphics, performances and writings that encompass a disturbing yet humorous catalog of the social ills and shortcomings of human civilization...

     protested against a resolution by the State of California to levy a sales tax on comic strips and comic books. He challenged the law in court, with assistance from the CBLDF, arguing that the comic strip is a communications medium that should be classed with books, magazines, and newspapers (which are not subject to sales taxes due to First Amendment
    First Amendment to the United States Constitution
    The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...

     provisions). In 1997, a ruling in Mavrides' favor was handed down by the California State Board of Equalization.
  • 1994: Florida
    Florida
    Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

    -based underground comic book artist Mike Diana
    Mike Diana
    Michael Christopher "Mike" Diana is an underground cartoonist who became the first artist ever to receive a criminal conviction for obscenity for artwork in the United States.-Early life:...

     was convicted in March for obscenity stemming from his self-published Boiled Angel
    Boiled Angel
    Boiled Angel was an independent comic book by Florida-based underground comic book artist Mike Diana in the early 1990s. The comic contained graphic depictions of a variety of taboo and gory subject matters....

    . He was sentenced to three years probation, 1248 hours of community service, a $3000 fine, was banned from having contact with minors, and was forced to undergo a journalistic ethics course and a psychiatric evaluation at his own expense. After relocating to New York
    New York
    New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

     to serve out his sentence, he performs his community service hours—working for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.
  • 2000: Comic book artist Kieron Dwyer
    Kieron Dwyer
    Kieron Dwyer is an American comic book artist and penciller.-Biography:Dwyer is best known for his work on Captain America vol. 1 , Danger Unlimited , Action Comics , Avengers Kieron Dwyer (born March 6, 1967) is an American comic book artist and penciller.-Biography:Dwyer is best known for his...

     was sued by Starbucks
    Starbucks
    Starbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...

     Coffee for parodying their famous mermaid logo within his comic book Lowest Common Denominator. Although the judge ruled that Starbucks could not sue a parody and the case settled out of court, Dwyer was forced to comply with the ruling that he could no longer use his logo for its confusing similarity to that of Starbucks.
  • 2005: Rome, Georgia
    Rome, Georgia
    Located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, Rome is the largest city and the county seat of Floyd County, Georgia, United States. It is the principal city of the Rome, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Floyd County...

     comics retailer Gordon Lee
    Gordon Lee (comic store owner)
    Gordon Lee is an American comic book store owner from Rome, Georgia, who is most famous for having been charged with distributing obscene material to a minor in connection with the Free Comic Book Day on Halloween, 2004. The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund was heavily involved in Lee's defense...

     was charged with distributing obscene material to a minor, after a child obtained an anthology comic containing brief nudity in an excerpt of The Salon
    The Salon (comics)
    The Salon is a graphic novel written and illustrated by Nick Bertozzi. Originally published in installments on the website serializer.net in 2002, it was eventually published in its entirety by St. Martin's Press in April 2007.-Plot:...

    on Halloween
    Halloween
    Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...

    . A mistrial was called in 2007, and the case was finally dismissed in April 2008.
  • 2008: An Iowa
    Iowa
    Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...

     comics collector was being prosecuted under obscenity charges and was assisted by the CBLDF as a consultant. It was led by Eric Chase. For more information see here.

External links

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