This week, a collector of japanese animation and comic books (better known as "anime" and "manga"), pleaded guilty to charges of obscenity, down from a nastier charge of child pornography.
There's been a lot of debate about whether or not the person is, to use the legal term, one sick puppy or if he actually knew about the contents of his books. Tell you what, let's save that debate for later. For now, this is the latest in a long line of people looking at sequential art such as comic books or manga and deciding to prosecute the owner because they believe it's inappropriate. Their job is easier than you might expect because most people in the comic book business are usually not that wealthy. It's a labor of love.
The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund was established to help these people by supplying legal aid and money for court costs. They're supported by such comic book luminaries as Frank Miller and Neil Gaiman. If you become a member, you join them in a fight against censorship, on what is often an overlooked venue of the arts. I could go on and on about the greatness sequential art can achieve and the works of Osamu Tezuka and Will Eisner, but instead I'll just put up this link: Comic Book Legal Defense Fund Membership
The base membership is $25 for one year. If you can spare it, I'm sure they'd appreciate it.