Author: Glenn Hauman

The Rome News Tribune (via JK Parkin at Newsarama) reports that the Gordon Lee case has been postponed yet again. Judge Larry Salmon, who is presiding over the case, is sick. A new start date for the trial has not been set.

Any minute now, Galactus will just show up and interrupt the hearing.

Via the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund: The eyes of the comics, publishing, and Free Expression communities are focused on Rome, GA as the trial of Gordon Lee begins this morning.

Mr. Lee will stand trial for two misdemeanor counts of distributing harmful to minors material, and faces penalties of up to a year and prison and $1,000 in fines for each count if convicted. Lee’s day in court comes after nearly three years of legal proceedings arising from the Halloween 2004 distribution of Alternative Comics #2, a Free Comic Book Day sampler which featured an excerpt from the critically acclaimed graphic novel The Salon that depicted Pablo Picasso in the nude, and was allegedly handed to a minor. The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund has spent $80,000 on Lee’s defense since taking the case in early 2005, and anticipates this week’s trial to cost another $20,000.

Lee’s case is also being closely watched by the mainstream media for its implications on Free Expression. In the past week, stories have appeared on NPR’s Morning Edition, CourtTV, and New York Magazine, joining profiles from venues including The New York Times, The Book Standard, and Publishers Weekly.

"This case has broad consequences for all retailers of First Amendment protected material," says CBLDF Executive Director Charles Brownstein. "If Gordon is found guilty, it would establish a precedent that makes the seller of any book, magazine, or film depicting non-sexual nudity vulnerable to a similar prosecution in the State of Georgia." He adds, " We’re confident that Gordon is not guilty of the charges he’s accused of, and that the work in question comes nowhere near the threshold the law requires to deem a work harmful to minors."

"It’s appalling that these charges were brought in the first place," Brownstein says. "It’s outrageous that it’s taken nearly three years, a complete change of facts by the prosecution midstream, and tens of thousands of dollars for Gordon to get his day in court. Now that we’re here, we have every confidence in our legal team of Alan Begner, Cory Begner, and Paul Cadle to wage the best defense on Gordon’s behalf. We couldn’t have done it without the overwhelming support of the comics community, whose contributions have ensured that we are able to fight back."

For a detailed summary of the case and its developments, please see Gordon Lee: The Road to Trial

To make a tax-deductible contribution to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, please visit their donations page.

Via Warren Ellis and Newsarama: Mike Wieringo, the artist well known for drawing Flash, Robin, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Sensational Spider-Man, Adventures of Superman, Fantastic Four, and the co-creator of Tellos and Impulse, suffered a fatal heart attack on Sunday.

Everybody in the comics industry is shocked and saddened at his sudden passing, including collaborators Peter David and Todd Dezago.

We’ll post more details about services and the like as we get them.

UPDATE 8:57 PM EDT: More kind words from Mark Waid and Karl Kesel.

My mama told me never to play pool against someone who brings his own cue. I shudder to think what she’d say about someone who brought his own pool table.

Paul Jenkins (The Sentry, Wolverine, The Darkness) is shooting pool at the Hero Initiative booth (#140) at $30 a game, 8-ball or 9-ball. If you win, you get prizes. That’s if you win. So far, I haven’t seen anybody do that. I suppose it’s possible, I mean, he has missed shots, and I wasn’t there all day, and they do have prizes there, just in case, but…

Well, it’s for a good cause. So if you lose, you can say that you planned to lose, to maximize your donation.

Yeah, right.

Ah, August. The birds are singing. The bees are buzzing. The barbecues are cooking. And that means it’s time for — Crazy Eddie’s Christmas Sale!

Oh, wait. They closed down that chain. Never mind. Well, what do we have that’s Christmas themed and deranged beyond all possible belief?

How about this: some happy clowns took The Lobo Paramilitary Christmas Special by Keith Giffen, Alan Grant, and Simon Bisley, and made a movie out of it– and it’s actually one of the better adaptations out there. Take a look at Part 1 and decide for yourself.

(Do I really have to tell you that it’s not safe for work or kids? Oh, all right.)

A few years back when the folks who eventually started up ComicMix were figuring out what we were going to be doing in comics next, we were debating on bidding for the rights to the Valiant characters at a bankruptcy auction. Now, thanks to a heavy analysis at Newsarama, I’m really glad we didn’t, as there seems to be a major battle shaping up between two entities, Valiant Entertainment and Valiant Intellectual Properties, LLC. as to who owns what trademarks, characters, and so on. And it looks messy enough to make the battles over First and Eclipse look sane.

There’s no easy excerpt, just read the whole thing — but be warned, this way lies madness. And legal minutae induced tedium. Meanwhile, I’m wondering if we’re going to have to get us a legal correspondent over here…