Courtesy of the Oddly Compelling: The Denis Kitchen Story Kickstarter, AIPT can share an essay from Denis Kitchen about the importance of free speech in these turbulent times and the value of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and the documentary.
Before reading the essay below, consider backing the Kickstarter, as it has just a few days left to go. Also, check out the trailer for more details on the project!
Read on for Kitchen’s essay:
A Few Words from Denis Kitchen
I founded the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF) in the 1980s after a Chicago-area comic shop manager was arrested for “displaying obscene material,” including Omaha the Cat Dancer, a celebrated erotic series published by Kitchen Sink Press. One of the arresting policemen quoted by a local reporter said the shop sold “Satanic material, like Wonder Woman posters.” The manager, Michael Correa, was soon convicted.
I quickly realized that if a random super-religious cop could shut down a store and subject the manager to a serious fine and months in prison because he disliked Devil-inspired material, the comics industry needed help, and fast. The newly-formed CBLDF, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization, quickly raised money, hired an experienced attorney, overturned Correa’s conviction on appeal, and has been battling threats to the industry’s First Amendment rights ever since.
I began as a cartoonist and publisher, creating “underground comix” during the late ‘60s and 1970s when Vietnam War protests flooded America’s streets, Watergate-era corruption shocked America, and Richard Nixon seemed the worst imaginable President. But anyone looking at today’s headlines and news images is aware that the threats to our basic rights are reaching dangerous new heights. Even the long-respected PBS, which recently censored an Art Spiegelman documentary film, has succumbed to the intensifying pressure.
The Oddly Compelling documentary being done on my own career in part addresses the CBLDF and my longtime involvement with self-expression and free speech. If you share these important values, more relevant now than ever, I implore you to support the Kickstarter campaign from the creators of the documentary. The end of their campaign is near. If you’d like to ensure that the film reaches as many people as possible, please pledge what you can afford and get some cool rewards in return. Thank you for your support!
