Legal+Issues+with+comic+books

toc =Legal Issues: Obscenity Laws with Comic Books=

What's the Big Deal?
Since 1948, comic books have been protected by The Supreme Court under the First Amendment. During this time, several people boycotted comics and comic came under huge criticism. In 1954, comic book censorship took place because of a book called '//Seduction of the Innocent'// published by Frederic Wertham who argued that comics causes juvenile delinquency. This happened during the McCarthy era, who, being a Republican U.S senator, was accused for being communist and persecuted. This era began the wave of hysteria and hatred towards comic books. The U.S senate held the hearings to investiage the publisher's claims and the 'Comics code authority' prohibited any controversial comics with gory violence or sexual content. Wertham's allegations were that the adventures of Batman and Robin insinuated a homosexual relationship, that Wonder Woman was a lesbian, and other such farfetched insinuations were made. Although several people disagreed, this set off a wave of anti-comic rules. Washington passed a law in 1955 that selling comic books without a license was a crime. Los Angeles County passed an ordinance on the sale of any comic books with crime themes in them to anyone younger than 18. A few years later these laws were claimed to be unconstitutional, but comic book sales still stagnated. The fear of losing jobs and the comic book market gave birth to the 'Comics code of America' which was a censoring code. In a time where there are numerous different types of comics on the market, the range goes from child-appropriate material up to graphic novels with content that may be deemed inappropriate for children. Certain moral guardians that patrol these comics tend to view them as nothing more than picture books with a lack of both literacy and artistic worth. The very word 'comics' are generally assumed by the mass public as being only for kids, thus tightening the grip of obscenity laws around comics. The isssue becomes with comics as it is with movies - parents cannot be around at all times to watch out for what their children are buying, so they require a governing body to decide what their child will and will not see when they go to the local comic store. This in turn causes a huge problem for comic book retailers. If any obscenity at all in any comic book is regarded as inappropriate and far too obscene for a kid to read, then they retailers of that particular comic can have any number of things happen to them.

Potential Danger
The idea of a community standard comes into play here. The views of a particular community can either be very for having more relaxed laws in relation to the comics allowed to be sold, or they can be incredibly harsh in getting them thrown out. A few of the legal ramifications include the potential negative affect on the retailers financial situation. If the comics are no longer allowed to sell, then any number can be pulled from the shelves. This has the potential to greatly hurt the owner financially. Another ramification would be the aesthetic of the comics themselves. Word will travel back to the creator of the comic, and he/she will have to alter their future comics or possibly even the one that has already been released so that it is deemed appropriate to sell. This compromises the integrity of the text itself. Finally, on a personal level, several stores have been shut down and owners have been forced out of business due to the community not being happy with the level of comic that they were selling. Today, seperate lines of comics are sold to young readers, adolescents and adults. The vertigo line of comics sold for mature readers is labelled 'Suggested for mature readers'. The issue of whether or not to label 'explicit content' has been debated because they want parents to decide what their children can read but the authors don't want to draw unneccesary attention from younger audiences who are tempted to read them and the censorship board. If explicit sexual content does not increase to the level of 'obscenity' then it cannot be banned, but it can be legally labelled as 'indecency' which can regulate sale or distribution. The legal definition of indecency is stated as "language (or an image) that describes, in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards … sexual or excretory activities and organs … when there is a reasonable risk that children may be in the audience," (as quoted by the Supreme court in McWilliams, James, 2006). Censorship does not just limit itself to sex or violence but also reference to drugs.

Busted
One mad in Dallas, Texas was arrested and charged with two counts of obscenity for selling adult comics in the adult section of his comics store. The comic was a Japanese horror series named 'Demon Beast invasion: The Fallen'. Jesus Castillo was sentenced to 180 days in jail, and ordered to pay a $4,000 fine. The judge lightened the sentence to just 1 year probation. However, this has been occurring more and more frequently as the social guidelines for what the mass audience wants in comic texts changes.

What's Being Done?
Mature content in comic books always draws negative criticism and protests, and due to the largely arrogant public perception that comics are for little children, the above case won. That was exactly the prosecuting attorney's argument: Children are the ones we, as adults, believe to be the ones buying those comics with those wildly in appropriate pages all over it. Comics status in the public eye can very easily rise or fall, and it is important to keep it up nice and high! A legal defence fund has been established on line for comic's producers and retailers in case they encounter some of their own comic trouble. The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund ([|www.cbldf.org/timeline/index.html]) has been established so that donations are made to help cover the comic shop owners should they encounter a situation like this.