You're Offending Somebody!

Reprinted from Comics Retailer #74, May 1998

As I write this, it has been less than a month since I became Executive Director of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. There is still a lot I have to learn about the Fund and my job. Conventions have been a big help. I am meeting a lot of retailers out on the road, nearly all of whom have some opinion about the CBLDF and what we are doing.

Your thoughts are important for me, not only because the Fund counts on your support, but because comic retailers are our #1 constituency. After all, most of the Fund's cases involve a store that has come under attack. It only makes sense that some of the best input I am likely to receive will come from store owners and managers, who are on the "front lines" every day.

I have spent some time retailing comics, and I have met many of you through the Small Press Expo, so I know that retailers have a unique view of the industry. I also know that no two retailers see things precisely the same way. This is particularly true in terms of First Amendment issues.

In the short time since my appointment was announced, I must have spoken with 50 or more retailers about comics and the First Amendment. For the most part, these conversations have been supportive, upbeat, and constructive. There is a small percentage of you, however, who seem to think that the Fund has no relevance to your store. You don't see yourself as a pornographer, because you only stock "mainstream" comics. Police harassment and obscenity raids are some other guy's problem.

A few individuals have even suggested to me that the CBLDF is primarily engaged in bailing out "irresponsible" retailers too stupid or greedy to stay away from "improper" material. "I'm all for free speech," they tell me, "but some of this stuff is just ridiculous. We don't carry that stuff in my store."

For those who doubt the CBLDF's relevance to their store, I have a message for you: There is something somewhere on your racks that is bound to offend somebody. And I don't just mean "underground" comics, "adult" comics, or so-called "bad girl" comics. I am also talking about the died-in-the-wool superhero books that make up the majority of Diamond's Top 100, the kind of comic we all grew up reading.

About two months ago, I took part in a National Public Radio talk show along with Jeff Smith and Steve Geppi. The topic was, of course, comics. Our host was a subscriber at Big Planet Comics, where I was working at the time, so I knew we were going to have a sensible discussion (as opposed to the "Gee, comics aren't for kids anymore" tripe that seems to dominate media coverage of our industry). I was right. It was a pretty interesting hour, touching on everything from the Clone Saga to the speculative bubble and burst of the early 1990s. The show's producers later told me that we received an unusually high number of listener calls, but one in particular stays with me.

Halfway through the hour, a parent called in to voice her concern about the "violent soft porn" her son had brought home. She had sent the boy for a weekend with his aunt, who had bought him some comics to pass a rainy day. "The men are practically naked, and the women all look like strippers," she told us. "It's more violent than what we let him watch on TV." Our caller was even concerned that some of the word balloons had been placed so that the dialogue appeared to come from a female character's buttocks.

I think it was our host who asked what title she was calling about. It was the most recent issue of Superman. The only caller questioning comics' content was appalled by the Man of Steel, the most wholesome character in the superhero pantheon. Go figure.

One thing I have learned since working at the Fund is how many incidents of store harassment involve "bread and butter" titles you would never think of racking in the adult section. Sci-fi, fantasy, and superhero comics account for the bulk of complaints that we deal with at the CBLDF. Most of these are dispelled with a letter or phone call from our attorney, so they don't end up in court. But the fact remains that the complaints we encounter involving mainstream comics far outnumber those involving explicitly adult or "underground" themes.

Like I say, something somewhere on your racks is bound to offend somebody. I would wager that just about everyone reading this article has run into someone like our radio caller in their store or at a convention. Fortunately, very few of you have encountered real harassment from an ambitious zealot or a politician looking to score points at the ballot box. If you ever do, bear in mind that the CBLDF is here to help protect the First Amendment rights of you and your customers -- whether you support us or not.

Historically, this industry has always encountered its worst harassment around the election season. We have one coming up over the next 18 months, and I have to prepare for a busy time around here. I want to use this lull to build up the Fund's "war chest" and look at ways the CBLDF can better protect the rights of retailers and readers. I hope to engage as many of you as possible in both tasks. If you have a comment about what you see in your local community, have a good idea to help the Fund work better, or have a criticism that you would care to share, please don't hesitate to contact me. Whether it is over the phone, via e-mail, or at a convention, I look forward to hearing from you.