As If I Needed More Reasons...

[redneckgaijin]

"Kris," I have been asked, "why aren't you going to CAPE in Dallas this weekend? You're a comic publisher- it's a comic exhibition- you should be there!"

Well... first off, I haven't been invited.

Second, it's only a one-day event and about a five-hour drive one-way.

Third, it's being marketed primarily at kids- adult wares definitely not welcome. That's fair enough- it's Free Comics Day, and the best way to get new readers into comics is to target the young.

However, Scott Kurtz at PvP posted what appears to be an official proclamation from Mayor Laura Miller.

Read where it makes multiple references to children, and not to adults.

Also, strong rumor has it- rumor I am inclined to believe- that Laura Miller, while only a city councilperson, objected to the prices Jesus Castillo had on Pokemon cards at his Keith's Comics branch, and therefore started the investigation which led to his conviction for obscenity for selling a translated hentai manga to a forty-year-old undercover cop.

If that woman has her attention on CAPE, then I'm definitely giving it a miss.

See you at A-Kon, and maybe AnimeFEST... unless Mayor Miller focuses her "comics are only for kids" attention on those events, too...

Comments

[ed-dirt.livejournal.com]

Ohhh...so it was Judith Miller that invented Free Comic Book Day.

[redneckgaijin.livejournal.com]

No, although I've no doubt she'd like people to think so.

She didn't invent abuse of power for personal vendetta or the concept that comics are always and only for children, either, but she used both to her own ends, according to rumor. Dallas is, and remains, extremely unfriendly to adult-oriented comics...

[wildcard9.livejournal.com]

My local comic store moved all the adult material out of reach of small kids last year for FCBD. A wise move, I think, on a day when you get a ton more of kids than he does the rest of the year. Not that the adult comics were that reachable (they are behind another floor display and next to the counter where he stands), but his extra efforts were still applauded by myself and other regulars to avoid any mistakes.

[redneckgaijin.livejournal.com]

Er... that sounds nice, until I consider that the rest of the year the adult material WAS in reach of small kids.

Adult materials should be kept someplace which cannot be accessed without the active consent of the person running the store- in a special room, or gated-off section, or something like that. I saw one store in the greater Chicago area which displayed its adult comics about eight feet off the floor on the walls, well out of reach... and black-bagged so only the logos were visible, not ideal. (Understandable, though, since I seem to be the only adult publisher that keeps front cover art to public-display standards... but I digress.)

Anyway, adult comics should not be accessible by minors at any time. When I'm at cons, I either construct a behind-table adult section for browsers to access, or else I personally monitor the adult content and set it behind the table if I ever have to leave the table.

This isn't just for legal purposes, although it is required virtually every place the sale of sexually explicit material is legal at all. If you make porn available to kids, you're interfering with the parents' right to control what, when, and how their kids encounter sexuality, what they're taught about it, and how they deal with it. It's not just a matter of staying out of jail, it's a matter of respect.

Again, I don't mind that CAPE is a kids-oriented event. I mind Laura Miller having any role in it whatever. Hell, I mind Laura Miller, period. As mentioned, she has a past history of using her power in office to advance personal vendettas and gain fundie votes.

I'm not fond of Dallas in general; if I didn't live in Texas, I'd regard Dallas as an annex of Oklahoma and avoid all events there whatever.