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History of Censorship in America
(timeline at The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund) 1754: Benjamin Franklin creates the first cartoon published in an American newspaper: a severed snake, representing the states, with the legend "Join, or Die." 1791: The First Amendment is passed in Congress. 1910: George Herriman's "Krazy Kat" debuts. 1913 Anti-cartoon legislation passed in Indiana 1922: "Comic Monthly" reprints newspaper comic strips in magazine form. 1931: Inspired by Elliot Ness' crusade against gangland, Chester Gould introduces "Plainclothes Tracy" in the Chicago Tribune. The lead character's name is soon changed to "Dick." 1954 Roth v. United States 1986: Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns" redefines the superhero and ushers in an era of often dark and violent comics. The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund was founded in 1986 as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of First Amendment rights for members of the comics community. Donations and inquiries should be directed to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund at P.O. Box 693, Northampton, MA 01061. NEW ADDRESS: |
GIRAFNetwork Download for Free Comic Book Day!
5.8.2011
GIRAFNetwork has put together a comic for FCBD. Since it had been released on Saturday, May 7, 2011, we decided to turn it into a downloadable PDF for everyone to access here at GIRAFNetwork.org. Click here to download the file for yourself. Why should you be deprived of our release just because you weren't in the area or didn't get a copy before they were all gone?
SuiseiKon's 2nd Annual Anime Convention
1.6.2011
GIRAFNetwork will be attending a new Con at South Gwinnett High School hosted by their very own Anime Club on Saturday, January 29, 2011 from 2pm-7pm. South Gwinnett High School is located in Snellville, Georgia, at 2288 East Main Street. Admissions is only $5.00. Additional info can be found at their website http://www.suiseikon.webs.com/. We hope to see you there!
Come See Us at Wizard Atlanta Con December 4th & 5th
11.17.2010
GIRAFNetwork and their friends from 4DeepStudio will be at the first Wizard Atlanta Con this December at the Cobb Galleria. This is one of the several small conventions that have allied themselves with Wizard Entertainment around the country. Our staff writers and artists will be available at the show all weekend for signing as well as commissions for all our fans at the show. Rome Montgomery writer of Solitude will be attending. Jason Bullock artist from Kin of Rin Jin, Watchers of Enoch, and The Gryphon will be there. Germaine Webb creator and artist of Twilight:The Battle of Spiritual Warfare is guest starring at the table with Brian Proctor of The Trials of the Samurai Clown.
Some of you may have drawn with us in OCtober at Fernbank Museum during the Dinosaur Sideshow. Now in December you can check out our new releases Soba-ko #1, our manga for kids, Neo-Kyoto #14, the manga anthology, and Danger Zone #9, our full color anthology including The Gryphon photo-comic. Come have fun with us.
You can get all the details about the show at www.wizardworld.com for prices. Saturday Hours 10am till 6pm and Sunday Hours 10am till 5pm. Check it out!
Tokyopop On Tour coming to Atlanta
5.16.2010
This summer, TOKYOPOP will hit the road on a 12,000-mile journey to find America's Greatest Otaku, the person who best exemplifies a truly unique fervor and passion for all things influenced by Japanese pop culture. This nationwide competition will be part of the ambitious "TOKYOPOP Tour," a road show that takes a tour bus to hundreds of thousands of fans, in dozens of cities across the United States-including five fan conventions-to discover and embrace manga and anime fan culture around the nation.
The TOKYOPOP Tour kicks off in July at Anime Expo in Los Angeles, CA, and will run through Chicago Comic-Con at the end of August. The culminating event will be a multi-episode reality show, premiering in the fall on a major online video site, which will reveal to the nation who will be crowned America's Greatest Otaku!
Stu Levy, Executive Producer of the America's Greatest Otaku reality show, as well as TOKYOPOP's founder, says, "Japanese pop culture has influenced many of us Americans in a number of ways. The goal of this show is to prove to the world that American otaku are just as talented - if not more - than their counterparts worldwide."
Joining Levy on the maiden voyage of the TOKYOPOP Tour bus will be his apprentices in the search for America's Greatest Otaku: the "Otaku Six". These six college students-an energetic and outgoing group of manga and anime devotees-were selected from nearly one hundred candidates from thirty-one states and seven countries, after a lengthy and arduous audition process. In addition to reaching out to fans nationwide and seeking out each city's Greatest Otaku, the Otaku Six will also be featured on the show itself.
Filming the day-to-day events for broadcast will be TOKYOPOP associate producer Daisuke "Dice" Kinouchi, who anticipates a thrilling ride. "I can't wait to experience the unpredictability of the road on this summer-long show. I just hope no one accidentally whacks me with a yaoi paddle while I'm lugging around my camera filming the show."
You and your friends can enter to become America's Greatest Otaku at http://tokyopoptour.ning.com . The TOKYOPOP Tour web site has a complete list of all stops, details for how to enter the competition, application requirements, and reasons why every citizen of Pokopen isn't eligible to enter. New features, including the official America's Greatest Otaku merchandise store, will be added in the coming weeks.
Adds Levy: "We also have thousands of giveaways and prizes to hand out all over the course of the Tour-new manga, signed artwork, shirts and hats, stickers of your favorite characters such as Domo-kun, Tohru Honda, Abel Nightroad, and scores of others. I think I even saw a flag from HETALIA on our list of swag."
The TOKYOPOP Tour bus is fueling up for its first stop at Anime Expo in July, and fans can follow the daily goings-on at http://tokyopoptour.ning.com for the latest city-by-city Otaku updates, road videos and blogs, giveaways, and much more.
Plans are for the tour to come to Atlanta on Aug. 11.
FBI Shuts Down Comic Scan Site
5.6.2010
1.6 Million Visits a Day
Published: 05/06/2010 02:08am
The FBI has shut down comic scan site htmlcomics.com and seized its servers in a raid supported by a consortium of comic publishers, according to an announcement by Katten Muchen Rosenman, the law firm representing the publishers consortium. Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, Bongo, Archie, Conan Properties, Mirage, and United Media were involved.
Htmlcomics.com was the largest site offering scanned American comics, according to the announcement, with an average of 1.6 million visits a day and over 6.6 million pages of comics from 5,700 series. The site was “…producing rampant copyright infringement on a daily basis and depriving artists and publishers of hard-earned and much-needed revenue,” according to the publishers’ attorneys.
The FBI investigation was conducted by its Tampa Field Office, which led to the search warrant served in the raid.
GIRAFNetwork will see you at MomoCon!
3.3.2010
GIRAFNetwork is looking forward to being on the panels, at our table in the Artist Alley, and seeing our friends at MomoCon this year. The guests this year include some of our friends like Bobby Nash, Sean Taylor, Jennie Breeden, and Kittyhawk. Stop by our table in the Piedmont Room to find out what we have new for this convention. Click here to visit the MomoCon Website.
GIRAFNetwork Calendars have Finally Arrived!
2.6.2010
GIRAFNetwork has made up some calendars for our fans to print out. You can find our FREE 6-month calendar in printable PDF format here. We do have the 12- and 16-month calendars available for $1.00 each. If you are interested in getting one of these other calendars, please e-mail us at jasonb@girafnetwork.com.
Wizard Entertainment CEO Acquires Atlanta Comic Convention
1.20.2010
Wizard Entertainment CEO Acquires Atlanta Comic Convention
Official Press Release
Gareb Shamus, Wizard Entertainment CEO, Acquires Atlanta Comic Convention
Shamus buys “The Best One-Day Show in the South!”
New York, NY (January 19, 2010) - Gareb Shamus announced today that he acquired and will produce the Atlanta Comic Convention, now renamed Atlanta Comic Con Wizard World Convention.
"The spirit of the Atlanta convention was very much in line with our own shows. The fans in Georgia appreciate the festival feel of this show," Shamus, CEO of New York-based Wizard Entertainment, said. "The fans here are savvy, and they are ready for the evolution of their con."
Founded in 1994 by 20-year comic veteran Wes Tillander, the Atlanta Comic Convention showcases comics, cards, prints, gaming artwork, videos, toys, manga, anime, statues, new artists, book signings and much more.
"Giving fans a little of everything is something I've been doing for years," said former owner Tillander. "There are so many facets of this industry that comics fans appreciate and expect to see as part of a show. With Wizard producing the show, I know that mixed presentation idea will really thrive."
Tillander will consult on Atlanta Comic Con to maintain the local traditions of the event. Wizard will expand the show from a one-day format to a three-day weekend format, while many aspects of pop culture will continue to be represented. Atlanta Comic Con fans can expect a high-energy show with a festival atmosphere recognized and enjoyed by fans everywhere.
Dates and venue will be announced shortly.