Supergirl has been cancelled. The news just went up on Peter David's Blog. The solicitation read kind of like it might be the last issue, but I thought it was just the end of the arc. That makes even more books that we read cancelled. Gotham Adventures, Supergirl, Young Justice, Spectre, Titans.... it's almost a death-kiss to be read by us.
As Elayne noted in her response to my last blog, the CBLDF has been involved in two cases that don't exactly fit. In the interests of full-disclosure to anyone who might not be up-to-date on their comic book legal issues, here's the rundown:
The first one, Kieron Dwyer versus Starbucks was about Dwyer's parody of the Starbucks logo. The problem was that Dwyer was making t-shirts and mugs with the logo and selling them. I agree that that use of the logo was wrong. But the use of the logo on a comic book was also deemed wrong by the court. The argument that the CBLDF is putting forth as to why they are still supporting the case is that comparing comic books to t-shirt and mugs reduces comic books to the status of commodity, when in fact they should be a protected form of speech, similar in this case to an editorial cartoon. I don't know that I can completely agree with that, but unlike Elayne it doesn't bother me enough to stop supporting the CBLDF, especially with Castillo's case still being fought.
As for the other case, Stu Helm verses Kraft, I think I'm on Elayne's side on this one. Helm started signing his work with the moniker "King VelVeeda" after deciding that he was a cheesy artist. Kraft eventually noticed, and got annoyed because Helm is the kind of artist that definitely doesn't fit their image, and told him to stop. He fought back, and eventually asked for help from the CBLDF. The CBLDF agreed that his use of the nickname should be protected under first amendment rights. I disagree. Helm hijacked the name and used it repeatedly in the context of "cheese", albeit of a different sort. It's within Kraft's rights to ask him to stop. The only way Helm has the moral high ground here is that he was using the nickname for a decade before Kraft noticed. Again, it's not enough to stop me from wanting to support the CBLDF for Castillo's sake, but this one really does stretch the credibility of the CBLDF in my eyes.
I suppose the way for me to get around this is pretty simple. Next time I donate (whenever that may be), I should include a note that mentions I don't support either the Dwyer or the Helm case, and ask that my money not go to either of those funds. I doubt the CBLDF has the means to do that, but at least whoever receives my note will know that I'm not behind them in those two cases. Maybe that will make a difference. But I can't not support Castillo. He was just working at a comic shop, and was being responsible. He shouldn't be punished for selling an adult comic book to an adult. Period.
My husband worked part-time at the local comic shop. It could have been him. If it could happen to a guy that did everything right, including hiding adult comics in a separate section just for adults, then it could happen to any comic book retailer or clerk. I just can't let that go by without a fight.
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