Neil Gaiman, an author of such grace and generosity that he has signed for hours beyond his schedule, and posts courteous replies to people who ask strange, repetitive or irrelevant questions, is mad. And this is why. A clerk in Texas has been sentenced to six months jail for selling an adult manga to an undercover adult -- a comic marked over 18 only -- because the prosecutor convinced the jury that comics are for kids. Only and always. And, therefore, art expressed in panels of pictures and words does not gain the first amendment protection of text or images alone.
The Comic Book Defense Fund will appeal this ruling. Offer them your support at www.cbldf.org. Or see Neil Gaiman's web journal Neil Gaiman for his own explanation.
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