Wednesday 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.
Know Your Rights. You control the media’s access to your store, not them. While media people can shoot common spaces not maintained by your store, such as public parking lots and walkways, they cannot enter your store and shoot without permission, and they cannot block access to your store.
Stuck in the Middle, the Ariel Schrag edited look at middle school comedy and shame, isn’t a G-rated romp through age 13, but given its subject matter, how could it be. Instead it’s an awful painful look at the most painful ages of all, told by 17 cartoonists including Schrag, Daniel Clowes, Joe Matt and more.
It is potentially a little too rough for the Buckfield Junior-Senior High School Library in Dixfield, ME where one parent objected to the book being available, prompting a review by the school board:
Meanwhile, school board members were directed to read the pages in question, as well as the school district’s policy on challenging books.to read the pages in question, as well as the school district’s policy on challenging books.
The pages in question will remain confidential until the hearing, Ward said.
He said a committee that includes the school principal, the librarian, a classroom teacher and a community member have met to make a recommendation on whether the book should remain in the school’s library.
The board will decide whether to retain or remove the book at a January meeting.
The Comic Book Legal Defense Fundis pleased to announce that Alex Cox has been named to the position of Deputy Director. In this new capacity, his responsibilities will expand to include full oversight of the CBLDF home office and fundraising program. Cox joined the CBLDF in the fall of 2010 as Development Manager.Since joining the CBLDF last year Cox has improved the organization’s membership program and convention presences. Under Cox’s watch, membership in both the retailer and individual capacities has shown dramatic increases. Cox has also overseen the creation of a more robust volunteer program in the New York home office. Prior to CBLDF, Cox was a 15-year veteran of comics retail, including owning and managing the nationally recognized comic book store Rocketship.Speaking about the promotion, Cox said, “I’m extremely grateful to be in a position to help the comics community fight back against anyone that would threaten free expression in this art form that we all love. As a comic fan and student of the art form for close to 30 years, I never thought that I would see anything like the panic caused by Seduction of the Innocent in my lifetime. But with the current case in Canada, the creeping specter of censorship and persecution is rearing its head again, making the CBLDF even more important. I’m proud to be a part of it and I look forward to working with our members, retailers, and the creative community in the years to come.”
“Alex has been a great addition to the CBLDF, and we’re excited to be able to develop a space for him to grow even further within the organization,” says Charles Brownstein, CBLDF’s Executive Director. “Alex has made great strides in developing our fundraising program in a very difficult time, and his leadership in the office has helped us bring in even more talented volunteers to help us fulfill our work. He’s an extremely valuable member of our team, and we’re glad to see him take on this new role.”
But there’s one item that leaves us scratching our heads:
The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is auctioning off a “Get Out Of Bleeding Cool Free” card which will allow the winner the chance to remove a story that Bleeding Cool has published, or prevent one specifically from being published.
Also, in a twist, we will allow the winner to use it as a Get Into Bleeding Cool Free card, guaranteeing positive and promotional coverage for the project of your choice.
Either way, it’s a one time use, but will come with a CBLDF membership. The bidding starts at $500.
The CBLDF, until now a staunch anti-censorship organization, is auctioning off the ability to selectively censor a website?
This can’t be right. I find it very hard to believe the CBLDF would doing something so contrary to their stated goals. Nor can I believe that a journalist of Rich’s caliber is promoting that, under the right circumstances, he can be bought.
Yeah, yeah, it ‘s a bit of shameless self-promotion but it’s for a good cause.
Hunt Valley, Maryland — They may not be wearing super-hero capes, but members of the new web-based writers’ group Crazy 8 Press will swoop in to help the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF) at the 33rd annual Shore Leave science fiction media convention the weekend of July 8-10, 2011.
Crazy 8 founders Peter David, Michael Jan Friedman, Robert Greenberger, Glenn Hauman, Aaron Rosenberg and Howard Weinstein will raise funds for the CBLDF by tag-team writing an original story on the floor of the convention at Baltimore’s Marriott Hunt Valley Inn.
Fans will have a chance to participate by contributing possible opening sentences, one of which will be randomly chosen as the story’s starting point. First-sentence candidates can be submitted in advance through the Crazy 8 Press Facebook (www.facebook.com/pages/Crazy-8-Press) page, as well as at the convention on Friday evening. The finished work will be sold as a low-cost e-book, on sale through Amazon, Barnesandnoble.com and other internet booksellers.
Profits from this story will benefit the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, a non-profit organization fighting censorship and defending the First Amendment rights of comic book professionals. All of Crazy 8’s founding writers have worked in the comic book industry and David currently serves on the CBLDF board of directors.
Crazy 8 Press, which announced its formation in February, is a home for its established authors to sell original novels directly to readers through online book retailers. Together, Crazy 8’s founders have written hundreds of books and comics over the past 35 years, with combined sales of more than 15 million copies. The group has set a first-year goal of presenting at least one new novel-length title every other month.
The first new novel will be Peter David’s The Camelot Papers. Aaron Rosenberg’s novel No Small Bills will follow in September. Information on these and all future Crazy 8 Press projects can be found at www.crazy8press.com. All new stories (and some older, out of print works) by the Crazy 8 writers will be available for purchase through online booksellers including Amazon and Barnesandnoble.com.
Friedman described Crazy 8 Press as a natural response to upheavals in book publishing. “With publishers and retailers under pressure,” he said, “distribution channels are shrinking. We’re offering our readers a way to receive our work that’s not dependent on any third party.”
“Until now,” said David, “we’ve been at the mercy of book store buyers, who would tell publishers if what we wrote was suitable for their stores. Now that barrier is down. We’re coming to readers pure and unleashed, with stories they would never have seen in a traditional publishing environment.”
“Science fiction has always been a community where writers and readers enjoy a close relationship and exchange ideas,” Greenberger added. “The Crazy 8 platform allows us to make that relationship even closer and more interactive.”
BookExpo America is in town, and there are a few obvious themes, but a lot of it seems to be “more of the same”. Sales efforts seem to be going to the same old licensed properties and celebrity products– I was surprised that IDW didn’t even have any of Darwyn Cooke’s Parker adaptations on display, for example. (And don’t tell me it’s not because the next one is a while off, there’s a nice omnibus edition coming, it’s still one of the more prestigious properties they publish, and there’s a decent amount of backlist titles on display, although not complete by any means.)
E-pub and blogging seems to be a much bigger deal here, with healthy showings from Google, Overdrive, and Amazon (both Kindle and their new print line) and the concurrent BlogWorld convention going on downstairs. Somehow, I think a lot more people are going to being migrating there over the course of the show.
We expect to be at the CBLDF party later tonight, and we hope to see you there.
Normally we wouldn’t dream of sending you over to someone else’s web site, because we need every bit of traffic we can get, but we would be remiss in not pointing you to The Beat, who have done their usual great job of listing most of the events taking place around NYCC/NYAF, but are also throwing a great party of their own tonight to benefit the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund:
Come support Free Expression, the 2010 LIBERTY ANNUAL, and mingle with the greatest talents in comics, at the
CBLDF’s NYCC Welcome Party, presented by Image Comics & The Beat
this Thursday at The Village Pourhouse Restaurant Row! We’ll have
special gifts, copies of the Liberty Annual and special open bar
bracelets! Come out and support the CBLDF!
Starting at 8 p.m., this event is free and open to everyone! With
a suggested donation of $10 or more, you will receive a special gift
bag, full of goodies from Image Comics & CBLDF! In addition to great
gifts, an open bar will be available for donations of $30 and $50.
Preordering bracelets is strongly encouraged, as we’ll have a very small
quantity of them at the door. For information on Open Bar bracelets,
please visit: http://tinyurl.com/38rgblr. The Village Pourhouse
(http://ph46.villagepourhouse.com/ ) is conveniently located near the
Jacob Javits Convention Center and always provides an excellent time
with a fun atmosphere.
Start your New York Comic Con off right by celebrating with the
CBLDF, Image Comics, and The Beat. The CBLDF’s NYCC Welcome Party will
feature surprise guest artists from the pages of CBLDF’s LIBERTY ANNUAL
2010, as well as a chance to meet comics’ best creators, insiders, and
fellow fans, in a star-spangled festival of good comics and free speech!
What: CBLDF’s NYCC Welcome Party, presented by Image Comics
(http://www.imagecomics.com ), The Beat https://www.comicsbeat.com/ ),
and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund http://cbldf.org/ ) !
When: Thursday, October 7, from 8 to 10 p.m.
Where: Village Pourhouse Restaurant Row – 366 W. 46th St.
Who: Anyone who is 21 and over – IDs will be checked!
Why: Support Free Speech, Mingle With Top Creators, and Enjoy Free Food and Great Gifts!
The CBLDF’s NYCC Welcome Party is also a terrific opportunity to become a
member of the Fund or to renew existing memberships. You can also visit
our website to become a member, or support the Fund by shopping at our
Web Store. (If you cannot attend the party, please visit your Local
Comic Shop to pick up a copy of the 2010 LIBERTY ANNUAL, available 10/6
and featuring some of the most talented creators working today!)
Note: this is the MIDTOWN Village Pourhouse, not the one down on 3rd and 11th from years past.
The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is looking for interns to help with summer operations.
Duties include assisting office and inventory organization, updating
the inventory, and assisting membership and premium fulfillment.
Requirements:
At least 17 years of age
Good organizational skills
Office experience preferred
Proficiency in QuickBooks, Excel, and MSWord
A familiarity with the comic book industry and current trends
Book retail experience helpful
Able to lift 50lbs
If you meet these requirements, please send your resume to fundmgr@cbldf.org. And tell them ComicMix sent you.
The
party starts at 7 PM at M1-5 in Tribeca. Rock Star Karaoke NYC provides
the live backing as you belt out your favorite Karaoke tunes. For a
full song list visit: http://rockstarkaraokenyc.com/songlist.html
A donation of $5 – $10 is asked for admission. Show your current year CBLDF member card and get a free poster!
Heidi sez, “With a proud tradition of unorthodox karaoke choices, we
look forward to the first annual ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ Mocca Sing
Off!'”
What: Live Rock n Roll Karaoke When: Saturday, June 6, 7 PM to 10 PM Where: M1-5, 52 Walker Street, between Church & Broadway Why: Support Free Speech & Sing Your Heart Out After MoCCA! How Much: $5 to $10 suggested donation How To Get There: Take the 6; J, M, Z; N, Q, R, W, A, C, or E to Canal St
And if you’re really lucky, you’ll hear me sing too. (Cue the screaming Japanese again.)
Wednesday 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!”
Normally we wouldn’t dream of sending you over to someone else’s web site, because we need every bit of traffic we can get, but we would be remiss in not pointing you to 
The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is looking for interns to help with summer operations. 
(Cue the citizens of Tokyo running in the streets and screaming AIEEEEEE!)
