Peter David reports that the CBLDF is going to fight for Jesus Castillo. If you believe that comics are for everyone, not just kids, visit The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund Website and help fight the battle against censorship.
If you haven't read about this story yet, Jesus Castillo was the clerk at a comic shop that was targeted in a very strange sting operation. He was convicted of obscenity charges for selling an adult comic book to an undercover police officer, an ADULT, even through the book did not meet the test for obscenity. He was convicted because the jury agreed with the prosecution that comic books are for kids!
In other words, all comic books should be aimed ONLY at children. It's apparently not legal to have any adult material in comic book form, even if you are only selling it to adults. Forget mature readers books like Powers, those are obscene! Not because they are really obscene, of course... but because they aren't aimed at kids.
If you run a shop, or even work at a shop like poor Jesus did, be really careful! You shouldn't be selling comics to adults!! Comics are only for children, according to the state of Texas.
I personally think that the jury is obscene, as are the higher judges who didn't overturn the ruling on appeal. The store in question was very careful with its adult material, making sure that no kid could get at it. They never sold adult materials to children. And yet they were still successfully taken down, even though they were being responsible citizens.
And that, my friends, is pretty sick.
