Censorship is Alive and Well in Georgia...

Okay, I know I wasn't going to talk about comics for awhile but a) I can't help myself and b) these two bits are more in the line of relevant current events that happen to be set on a background of the comics world. I've provided a couple of links that should flesh things out nicely....please visit these sites.

Comic-Book Store Owner on Trial for Nude Images

...is the first story (click this link to get the full story http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12768951) . Here's the basic jist: comic book store owner in Georgia three years ago tries to be part of the community and rather than giving out candy on Halloween, gives out comics. One of the kids, aged nine, with little brother, aged six, in tow grabs a comic anthology. Couple of days later the owner of the shop is arrested for peddling obscene materials to minors. Mr. Lee, the owner of the shop has had this lawsuit hanging over his head for the past three years and finally goes to court this week. If convicted of wilfully giving this material to the two boys, Mr. Lee faces up to a year in prison and a $1000.00 fine.

I really don't what to say here except that maybe Mr. Lee should apologize and the parents of the two kids should accept the apology and we should all move on. From what I've read on the case, there was no willful intent to expose the boys to "harmful" material (oh come on...most of what they're watching on TV is way worse than anything they'll see in a comic anyhow). The real potential for damage here the possibility that comics could once again be plunged into the "obscene" category and make this ripe for a whole new generation of comics-censoring (see Comics Code Authority in wikipedia for more on this. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comics_Code_Authority ).