Rocket Bomber - article - comics - general fandom - Free Comic Book Day: May Day Revolt.

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I’d like to start by mentioning Free Comic Book Day is a fabulous thing, and at least in concept is genius — actual implementation varies from year to year but it’s a great event that has my full support.

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That said:

I’m making good on a previous threat

It won’t take much. Every blogger just needs to include a blurb for the CBLDF in any post reporting on the Free Comic Book Day. I’m hoping we can even get some cool graphics going (soviet-era-style propoganda posters, ironic or otherwise, would be great) so maybe it’d end up as little more than posting a button & a link at the bottom of any Free Comic Book Day report. (On top of whatever other promotion my fellow bloggers feel like giving this initiative)

I didn’t wait until May to make another donation to the CBLDF; they already have another hundred of my hard earned dollars. But I’ll be back in April to remind everyone of this drive and with a special challenge:

DC, Marvel, Dark Horse, Image, Tokyopop, Viz; Random House, Hachette, Penguin, HarperCollins, Macmillan, and Simon & Schuster: I’m an unknown blogger with $100 — but I’ve put that c-note where my values lie. Can you match me? Just $100, I’m not asking for more. $100 to help protect your retailer partners, your customers, and yourselves. $100 out of your massive PR budgets to show even a token acknowlegement to the concerns of your fans, and to promote both free speech and the future of the comics industry.

You can donate $100 to the CBLDF in my name, or in Christopher Handley’s name, or under your own aegis; and I hope you donate more but $100 is the challenge. Can you match my commitment? And if you can’t, I wish you’d tell us why.

I’d like to challenge every fan and blogger to donate today, dammit to the CBLDF. “Free Comics” means more than just a once yearly industry promotion. “Free Comics” is not a corporate sponsored promotion. “Free Comics” shouldn’t be a gimmick or slogan or me-first-grab-fest.

Free Speech and Free Comics for All

I put my money where my mouth is: I myself donated an additional $100 to the CBLDF just 45 minutes ago. I hope my most recent hundred bucks pays directly for an amicus brief to the Supreme Court on any of the IP and Censorship issues that will no doubt soon be considered, given recent rulings.

My 2010 challenge now sits at $200: I’ve given that much this year just so far and I Dare all publishers [and any fans or bloggers who are also game] to match me at this level.

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No one submitted any images; I was forced to ‘shop my own propaganda posters.
(All images released under a non-commercial CC license; so please share.)
(And I like to once again encourage others to make their own)

source image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kentwang/18520131/

source image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ford/16127481/

source image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rodrigot/3818305854/

Not May Day Soviet, but worth including:

source image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulpod/3293054712/

And not ‘free comics’ but I saw the source and had to add it:

source image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/modestchanges/3214701312/

[and I’d love to see a whole slate of similar “women make/read comics” posters; I’ll be happy to post-&-link to any submitted to me]

1 May is also May Day, a day-of-note for revolutionaries the world over. I’m quite pleased to make my call for increased reader freedom on the same date. Free Comic Book Day, quite honestly, should be more than a promotion-and-giveaway: let’s all take a minute to consider that Free Comics Day should also be a day to celebrate Freedom in Comics.

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Here’s the donation button again: please consider giving money to the CBLDF to keep Comics Free.

[link]