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November 2000
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The state contends that these comics are so utterly without merit that they are not even safe for adults to read. |
A trial date has been set in the case of a Texas comic shop manager charged with two counts of obscenity for selling adult manga comics to adults. The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund has been following this case since its inception, and is coordinating and funding the retailer's defense. Motions to have the case dismissed have been denied, and the case is now pending a full trial by jury.
As previously reported, the owners of the store first contacted the CBLDF in November 1999 when a warning about their shop was printed in the local PTA newsletter. The article mentioned that the store was "under investigation" by a city council woman in response to citizen complaints. At the time, the owners were unaware of any such investigation. The only complaint they had received in recent memory was from a mother outraged over the store's price for Pokémon cards. "You'll regret this," she had exclaimed, storming out of the store. "I know very important people, all I'd have to do is tell them what you're selling here."
In January, police entered the shop and arrested the 21-year-old store manager for selling a copy of Demon Beast Invasion: The Fallen #2 to an undercover police officer investigating the store. A short time later, he was arrested again for selling a another adult manga comic to a member of the PTA. Needless to say, both the PTA member and the police officer are adults, and the arresting officer even noted that the comics were segregated from the rest of the store in an enclosed "Adults Only" section. Nevertheless, the state contends that these comics are so utterly without merit that they are not even safe for adults to read. The store manager faces two counts of obscenity, which carry a maximum penalty of five years in jail and a $20,000 fine.
Both comics involved are print adaptations of Legend of the Overfiend, a series of Japanese anime films that have sold over 14 million copies worldwide. The series is clearly designed for adults and contains many violent and sexually explicit scenes. Recognized as a classic of its genre, Overfiend embodies many themes prevalent throughout much hentai (i.e. adult) anime and manga. Widely available in America, the Overfiend videos and comics carry the clearly printed advisory warning "Absolutely Not for Children."
The store manager formally applied for CBLDF support, and in February 2000 the Fund's board of directors voted to indemnify him for all legal fees stemming from this case, including his bail. Since the charge of obscenity must be measured against community standards, the Fund's first order of business was to secure competent local counsel familiar with the community in which the case is to be tried. CBLDF Legal Counsel Burton Joseph procured the services of one of the best legal teams in Texas, including a trial lawyer who has years of experience as a District Attorney himself. This attorney was also familiar with the presiding judge and the city council woman who appears to have agitated for the investigation of the store.
This is not insignificant in light of the highly charged political situation in Texas, particularly in the city in which the case is to be tried. In the 1980s, the city was the scene of a long, embittered battle between local authorities and the owners of the city's many adult bookstores, video stores, and gentlemen's clubs. It was a war of attrition, in which the authorities finally ceded that the First Amendment guarantees such establishments the right to operate in a law-abiding fashion. The city council woman involved in our case first made a name for herself with an agenda promising to "clean up" the city and threatening renewed action against purveyors of adult entertainment. Local observers tell us that this same woman stands a good chance of being elected the city's next mayor. The conviction of a comics retailer for selling obscene materials would be a "family values" victory and would doubtless play well on the stump.
The political pressures involved in this case may explain why the presiding judge, himself an elected official, denied the CBLDF's motion to have the charges dismissed. The prosecuting district attorney was similarly disinclined to settle the case and instead pressed for a full jury trial.
With the trial approaching, the CBLDF is making sure that this comic shop will not be the easy target the city is looking for. The Fund's legal team has already had a subpoena served against the city council woman to make sure that she appears in court and to explain her role in orchestrating the investigation and arrests.
The Fund has also coordinated a team of expert witnesses to appear at the trial, including local citizens knowledgeable about the city's community standards. The Fund's expert witnesses also include Scott McCloud, one of comics' foremost theoreticians, and the author of the hugely influential Understanding Comics and its sequel, Reinventing Comics. He will be testifying about comics as an artform capable of presenting any form of narrative, in any genre, for children and for adults. McCloud has also written widely about manga and its influence on western comics.
McCloud will be joined by Dr. Susan Napier, associate professor of Asian Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. She is the author of The Fantastic in Modern Japanese Literature, and is currently preparing a rigorous study of adult anime and manga. Dr. Napier will be testifying about the important role of hentai in Japanese pop culture and its growing popularity in the US.
In addition to these expert witnesses, the CBLDF hired its own investigators to visit some of the city's adult bookstores and video stores to gather evidence of the wide array of adult materials currently for sale, apparently in accord with the city's community standards. The contents of the two comics in question pale beside much material that is readily available for sale elsewhere in the city.
Throughout the case, the Fund has worked to keep the retailer's name and the name of the store out of the press. Obscenity charges, however unfounded, are simply not conducive to the business of comics. Whatever the outcome of the trial, negative portrayals in the press could do far more damage to the store. Should the trial receive coverage in the local press, the Fund stands ready to wage a counter press campaign of its own.
Before even going to trial, legal costs for this case were in excess of $10,000. Thanks largely to membership support, the CBLDF was able to commit these funds without hesitation. And the CBLDF will continue to offer a rigorous and powerful defense of this retailer's First Amendment rights for as long and as far as the trial lasts.
Previous Texas stories:
The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund was founded in 1986 as a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of First Amendment rights for members of the comics community. Donations and inquiries should be directed to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.
For additional information, call 413-268-7776 or e-mail the CBLDF staff.
271 Madison Avenue, Suite 1400
New York, NY 10016
800-99-CBLDF
info@cbldf.org
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