Comic Book Legal Defense Fund

The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF) is an American non-profit organization formed in 1986 to protect the First Amendment rights of comics creators, publishers, and retailers covering legal expenses. The Executive Director is Charles Brownstein, who has served in that capacity since 2002.

The CBLDF is supported by many big names of the industry; the board of directors includes Chris Staros, Peter David, and Neil Gaiman. 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 offers a line of perfumes whose profits go directly to the CBLDF. Popular artists such as comedian Bill Hader, cartoonist Jeff Smith, and comic book artist Frank Miller have expressed support for it.

The CBLDF is a sponsor of Banned Books Week; and also works with libraries, helping to keep graphic novels on their shelves. In the past they have partnered with such organizations as the Kids Right to Read Project, the American Library Association, and the Office of Intellectual Freedom as part of this mission.

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, The Bodyssey, Weirdo, and Bizarre Sex. Kitchen Sink Press released an art portfolio of pieces donated by comics artists; proceeds were donated to Correa's defense. First amendment attorney Burton Joseph defended Friendly Frank's and ultimately had the conviction overturned. Denis Kitchen 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 seal from the now-defunct Comics Magazine Association of America; the sale coincided with Banned Books Week. The CBLDF intends to use the seal in merchandise through licensing agreements, with proceeds from the licenses benefitting the CBLDF.

Since 2008 the CBLDF has published an annual comic book, The CBLDF Liberty Annual, to which many major artists and writers, including J. Michael Straczynski, Garth Ennis, and Richard Corben, have contributed.

Notable cases

 * 1986: Michael Correa, store manager at Friendly Frank's, a comic store in Lansing, Illinois, was charged with possession and sale of obscene material, after over 100 comic books were seized, including copies of Omaha the Cat Dancer, and Verotika. He was convicted, but the conviction was overturned on appeal. Funds donated to the appeal exceeded costs, and the remainder went towards founding the CBLDF.
 * 1991: Comic artist Paul Mavrides 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 provisions). In 1997, a ruling in Mavrides' favor was handed down by the California State Board of Equalization.
 * 1994: Florida-based underground comic book artist Mike Diana was convicted in March for obscenity stemming from his self-published Boiled Angel. 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 to serve out his sentence, he performs his community service hours&mdash;working for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.
 * 2000: Comic book artist Kieron Dwyer was sued by Starbucks 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.
 * 2002: The Castillo v. Texas case centered around Jesus Castillo, an employee of a comic book store in Dallas, Texas, who charged with two counts of "display of obscenity", and convicted for one, after selling adult comics to an adult undercover police officer.
 * 2005: Rome, Georgia comics retailer Gordon Lee 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 on Halloween. A mistrial was called in 2007, and the case was finally dismissed in April 2008.
 * 2008: United States v. Handley; A 38-year-old Iowa comic collector named Christopher Handley was prosecuted under obscenity charges and was assisted by the CBLDF as a consultant. It was led by Eric Chase.