Leading up to The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide #50 release on July 22, 2020, Gemstone Publishing will commemorate the milestone by diving into the publication’s rich history. Over the Guide’s five decades in print, thousands upon thousands of comic books have been priced, the market has been meticulously studied, and creators, characters, and publishing houses have been featured with detailed coverage. With the 50th edition comes time to revisit how comic values have steadily (sometimes astronomically) risen over the years and reflect on contributions made in crafting the Guide.

Part of the Guide’s legacy rests in attention to the comic industry and collecting community from following trends to protecting rights. In the Guide #41, the significance of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund was asserted through the following article (written by Brady Bonney):

The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund serves the comics community by defending the First Amendment rights of retailers, creators, and readers when those rights are threatened.

The CBLDF is a grassroots organization that exists because of the generous support of the comics community. The donations of individuals and small businesses add up to make CBLDF the first responder to First Amendment emergencies when they arise.

The CBLDF was founded in 1986 by artist and publisher Denis Kitchen to help store manager Michael Correa of Friendly Frank’s, a shop in Lansing, Illinois. Correa was found guilty of distributing obscene material, fined, and sentenced to one year of court supervision after local law enforcement purchased 15 comics from him. The comics included titles now regarded as classic, including Elektra: Assassin, Love & Rockets, Elfquest, Heavy Metal, and Omaha the Cat Dancer.

As the publisher of Omaha, Kitchen felt a responsibility to help Correa. He said, “Omaha contained adult content, without question. But Omaha was also an artistic and literary success, having received high critical praise internationally. I also knew that the other titles seized could not qualify as pornographic. More importantly, Michael Correa was not charged with selling any of the titles to a minor. The police arrested the manager simply for having ‘obscene’ books on display.”

Kitchen took action by rallying artists including Will Eisner, Robert Crumb, and Frank Miller to create a portfolio of prints to raise money towards an appeal. The appeal was successfully argued by pioneering First Amendment lawyer Burton Joseph, and Correa was a free man. Afterwards, Kitchen had several thousand dollars remaining. Feeling that this would not be an isolated incident, he used it to establish the CBLDF as a permanent institution.

Over the years, the CBLDF has led the charge in dozens of defense cases on behalf of many, including: Paul Mavrides, artist of the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers against the State of California’s Board of Equalization; cartoonist Kieron Dwyer against Starbucks; publisher Top Shelf Productions against U.S. Customs; and DC Comics creators Joe Lansdale, Timothy Truman and Sam Glanzman against the Winter Brothers. The Fund also squelches dozens of small incidents in retail stores and libraries every year by helping defuse situations before they can become a case. Full details on all of these cases can be read at cbldf.org.

Most recently, CBLDF claimed a victory in a case that cost over $100,000 defending Gordon Lee, owner of Rome, Georgia store Legends, against baseless and inflated charges that took three years to resolve. Were it not for the CBLDF, Lee says he almost surely wouldn’t still be in business today.

Lee participated in a local Halloween event where he handed out comics left over from Free Comic Book Day instead of candy. One of the comics in his overstock was Alternative Comics #2, a Free Comic Book Day title that included an eight page selection of Nick Bertozzi’s graphic novel The Salon, a biographical work about the life of Pablo Picasso, where, for a short scene, Picasso appeared painting in the nude. Even though nudity was present in the book, it was not sexual in nature. A copy of Alternative Comics #2 was allegedly given to a minor at the Halloween function, but instead of being confronted with the accusation and given the opportunity to apologize, Lee was arrested under two felony charges, and five misdemeanor charges.

The Fund hired Begner & Begner, the best obscenity firm in Georgia, to manage the case. Over the course of three years, the firm fought for Lee, first knocking out the felony charges. On the eve of trial, 18 months into the case, prosecutors dropped all charges and then refiled the next day, because they claimed they had named the wrong victim. That morning, CBLDF litigator Alan Begner said, “I have never – as a criminal trial lawyer for thirty years – seen a complete changing of the facts like this. The dismissal of the charges … reflects the prosecution’s admission that everything that was presented as evidence before was untrue.” In November 2007, after three years, prosecutors were still unable to prove their accusations against Lee, and created a mistrial during opening statements. District Attorney Leigh Patterson eventually agreed to drop all charges against Lee. Were it not for the CBLDF, Lee would have had to plead guilty to a crime he didn’t commit or risk bankruptcy defending himself.

Many of the CBLDF’s retail members express that they see their membership as an insurance policy, which they hope never to need. The CBLDF assures that whenever there is a First Amendment emergency, they’ll be the first to respond. To learn more about any of the CBLDF’s cases, or to make a contribution to the cause, visit CBLDF.org.