Border Bust on Comics
Canadian customs agents seized copies of Black Eye 1: Graphic Transmissions to Cause Ocular Hypertension,
a Kickstarter-funded “Comics Anthology of Dark Humor” on May 6th as
artist Tom Neely was attempting to transport five copies to the Toronto
Comics Arts Festival. Agents confiscated the books for “obscenity,”
according to a post on the publisher’s blog. The post quoted Neely on the The process: “They went through everything
in our car. Opened every suitcase and looked through every book.”
The seizure is part of a growing number of incidents on the
U.S.-Canada border, where enforcement activities against comics appear
to be increasing. The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (yeah that's a real thing), noted some examples
in its CBLDF Advisory: Legal Hazards of Crossing International Borders
with Comic Book Art. One incident involved a person en route to an
anime/manga convention who was handcuffed, held briefly on charges of
child pornography, and his materials seized.
The CBLDF Advisory
reviews the legal issues surrounding crossing a border with comics, and
offers guidance on how to reduce the potential for problems.So remember geeks keep your Archies at home, Canada ain't having it.Comics Seized Crossing the Border - ICv2
