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December 1999ELFQUEST: Busted in West VirginiaA 36-year-old West Virginia social worker was awakened at 12:30 a.m. on July 13, 1999 by a pounding on his door. Outside, police officers were waiting to take him into custody. The charge: selling a copy of Elfquest to a minor.
Earlier that day the man had been removing comic books from the trunk of his car some days after attending a flea market. He was approached by three neighborhood boys, two eight years old, and one age eleven. They were interested in the collection, and the man sold each child an issue of Elfquest: New Blood for a quarter. One of the eight-year-olds came back that evening to return the comic, explaining that his mother did not want him to keep it. The man refunded the boy's quarter. Their conversation was overheard by the man's next-door neighbor, the grandfather of the other eight-year-old boy. Apparently offended by unspecified scenes in the comic, the grandfather called the man "a pervert" and accused him of selling smut to children. Following a verbal altercation between the two men, the grandfather reported the incident to the police. That night, police obtained authorization from the local magistrate for the comic collector's immediate arrest on charges of distributing obscene materials to a minor. A few hours later, he was behind bars in the local jail. The comic collector was released the next morning on a $5,000 bond. His attorney requested a jury trial and the hearing was set for mid-August, but later postponed until September 2. In West Virginia, the charge of "knowingly distributing obscene materials to a minor" carries a sentence of up to one year in jail and/or a $1,000 fine, in addition to associated court and legal fees. Click here to view the "offending" scene from the comic, 1993's Elfquest: New Blood #6. Published by WaRP Graphics, Elfquest is a long-running fantasy series created by the husband and wife team of Richard and Wendy Pini. It's an award-winning series that is often recommended for younger readers. The comic's one scene of partial nudity occurs in the context of a child birth that is depicted as a life-affirming tribal event. The criminal warrant states that "the magazine depicted a group of Elf like creatures, females, nude (no pelvic areas exposed), gathered around some sort of pond." On the advice of his local comic shop owner, the man contacted the CBLDF for legal and financial assistance. The Fund's Board of Directors voted unanimously to take the case. In his recommendation to the Board, CBLDF Legal Counsel Burton Joseph said "I have never seen a prosecution as unwarranted, baseless, and bizarre as this case." "This is what the Fund is all about," said CBLDF Executive Director Chris Oarr. "If you wanted an object lesson in why we exist, you couldn't ask for a better-or worse-example." Throughout the case, the CBLDF maintained the defendant's anonymity in the hopes that the charges would be both dismissed and suppressed at the preliminary hearing. "Our defendant is a substance-abuse counselor in a small town who sometimes works with adolescents," explained Oarr. "Even if he wins the case, this kind of publicity would be ruinous for his career if it got out. The charge of obscenity carries a huge public stigma, whether the charges are well-founded or not." "I'm really glad my local comics retailer suggested I contact the CBLDF," said the defendant. "From talking with the Fund and with other comics fans and retailers, I feel like everyone's rooting for me. We're not a bunch of pornographers in trench-coats. We're a responsible, well-educated community, and we can pull together to protect our rights." Eventually, the charges were dismissed at the preliminary hearing. The material in question fails the common Miller test of obscenity on all counts: there is no lewd exposure of genitalia, no appeal to prurient interest, and the work as a whole clearly has artistic and literary merit. Moreover, the comic does not fulfill the standards of West Virginia's definition of what is obscene to minors, which explicitly requires exposed genitalia. Recognizing this, the district attorney did not object to the defense counsel's motion to dismiss the charge. The CBLDF paid the attorney's retainer and all other legal fees associated with the case. Ultimately, the Elfquest bust isn't about an obscene or even a salacious comic book. It's about a long-standing feud between the grandfather who filed the charges and the defendant. The grandfather's grudge goes back eight years, to when his daughter was romantically involved with the defendant. In fact, they had a child together- a boy who, eight years later, bought an "obscene" comic for a quarter from his biological father. The charge of obscenity was just another weapon in this feud, close at hand, easy to use, and potentially very damaging. It can be leveled at a safe distance, and personal motivations can be concealed under concern for what may be harmful to minors. All too often, those who target comic books-cultural extremists, over-eager district attorneys, or grudge-bearing grandfathers-are doing so in order to further their own agendas.
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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 Web design and site maintained by Eric Griffith / Squished Frog Productions. |
