Jeet Heer examines both side of the Wertham legacy in a piece in Slate.

So, who is right, Hajdu or Beaty? Did Wertham have a point? Beaty’s revisionism is valuable in forcing us to see Wertham as a complex historical figure, not an easy-to-dismiss cardboard crank. Still, Hajdu is right to point out that Wertham’s ideas of proof were extremely primitive, more forensic than scientific. (Wertham had often testified in court cases, which skewed his sense of evidence.) Wertham thought he could prove his point by stringing together many anecdotes collected from his clinical research, making his claims virtually unverifiable.

More: Pop Culture Safari.

While Fredric Wertham is the archetypal real-life bogeyman of comics, his legacy is not all black and white. Bart Beatty, author of Frederic Wertham and the Critique of Mass Culture and Jeet Heer debate Wertham’s portrayel in David Hajdu’s The Ten Cent Plague at The Globe and Mail
Beatty for the defense:

Hajdu’s portrayal of Wertham substitutes a stereotype of the uptight German intellectual in place of the facts. In order to portray Wertham as a censor, the author ignores his long history as an anti-censorship expert witness. To present him as a dilettante obsessed with comic books, he has to mask his accomplishments as one of the foremost psychiatrists of his day. Most important, to depict him as a foe of children, he has to entirely ignore the monumental role Wertham’s research played in public education reforms, in particular desegregating U.S. schools in the 1950s.

These are the facts that work to undermine Hajdu’s thesis, and which made me a “defender” of the man.

Heer responds:

Alas, Beaty’s apologia is not completely convincing. True, Wertham didn’t favour censorship and the rating system he advocated was eminently sensible. Still, Wertham used language so inflammatory as to give aid and comfort to censors and book-burners. “I think Hitler was a beginner compared to the comic-book industry,” Wertham argued. If Superman and Tales from the Crypt were more dangerous than Mein Kampf or Triumph of the Will, then it might make sense to have comic-book burnings, as happened in the Wertham era.

As for the conflation of children and teenagers, that’s Wertham’s fault. He constantly talked about protecting children, obscuring the fact the most violent and salacious comics were too wordy for pre-teens and were largely read by high-schoolers.

It seems to us that both are right. Wertham may have been scattershot and unscholarly in his attack on comics, but he did a lot of other good things. Life is not always like a comic book.

This post by Molly Flatt in the Guardian has been linked to by several bloggers, starting with Tom. Flatt is definitely of the “Think! Feel! Comics are a great medium!” school, but the comments get a bit lively, although some of the Newsarama-esque ones were removed before we could cut’n'paste. (Damn you, polite literate newspapers!)
A poster named ‘Anytimefrances’ takes point on the rebuttal:

my mottoe is now - people who read comic books also puff the ‘magic’ dragon and listen to bands for hours on end. nothing personal M, you know, but that was the way I found it, and it’s a fool’s paradise. going back, always going back, to childishness, grieving over the lost innocence, recovery, salvage, the joys, the absence of responsibility, always gulping at the jug of delight, free, delighting the senses.

was it St Paul who said, now that I am and adult, i have given up childish things.

Harumph. Must comments are more supportive, such as ‘Alarming’ of Manchester :

If you take a comic strip like Zippy the Pinhead - the writing is very literate and takes in philosophy, social comment, high and low art references, toe curling puns and makes unexpected connections whilst the drawing is very beautiful. The fact that he can carry on producing high quality work in a daily comic strip which doesn’t dumb things down but which is also not too intellectually remote is something to be admired.

Hint: The comment thread is definitely much more fun if you imagine it being read like those letters of complaint on Monty Python.

Book Forum runs an excerpt from David Hajdu’s upcoming The Ten Cent Plague, a history of the persecution of comics books in the ’50s as the source of all juvenile delinquency.

The progressing crusade against comics on multiple levels provided Harry Wildenberg the opportunity to light many a cigar in satisfaction by 1949. In the final weeks of the preceding year, the National Parent-Teachers Association had issued a directive for a “national housecleaning” of comic books and had distributed a tutorial to help its local chapters spur municipal and state legislation to regulate the sale of comics, and thousands of PTAs around the country began following the plan. Around the same time, the National Institute of Municipal Law Officers distributed a set of guidelines for enacting comic-book controls. “The criminal and sexual theme of these tales have [sic] been the direct contributing cause of many incidents of juvenile delinquency and to the imbedding of immoral and unhealthy ideas in the minds of our youngsters,” wrote the general counsel for the institute. “It is inconceivable that a workable plan cannot be evolved. The police power can and must be exercised so as to eliminate the vice of objectionable comic books.” Shortly thereafter, the United States Conference of Mayors published a ten-page handbook, Municipal Control of Objectionable Comic Books, and the municipal-government trade journal, American City, reported, “Comic Book Control Can Be a Success.”

This looks to be an essential volume for the shelf on comics history. Oddly, we were checking out the Amazon page for the book and saw this plug from one Sean Wilentz, Professor of History, Princeton University:

“Every once in a while, moral panic, innuendo, and fear bubble up from the depths of our culture to create waves of destructive indignation and accusation. David Hajdu’s fascinating new book tracks one of the stranger and most significant of these episodes, now forgotten, with exactness, clarity, and serious wit, which is the best kind.

“Now forgotten”? Ah, Prof. Wilentz, you must have never met a 40-year-old comic book fan. Fear of a New Wertham is a clear and present danger for those of us who grew up schooled on the Seduction of the Innocent Menace lurking around the corner. Hopefully reading this book will help us say “Never again!” and mean it.

Link via Bookslut

This link from the blog of Scott King, Executive Editor of Th3rd World Studios, has been getting some play. It seems King had a run in with the TSA after doing some things you shouldn’t do at airports. King admits he hadn’t flown since 9/11, and was out of the loop on how seriously they take such things as not taking off your shoes and (more importantly) leaving your bags unattended while you pee. After rousing suspicion because of these actions, the clincher came when his baggage was searched.

Then another security guard entered and the second guard went through my bags questioning me on almost everything in them. He gave me a really hard time on several items. The first was a bottle of Allegra-D. He wanted to know why I had it and if I could prove it was actually allegra inside of it.

The second problem was that I had several graphic novels with me. I had planned to read them on the plane. I had “DMZ” volumes 1, 2 & 3, “The Nightly News,” and “Artemis Fowl.” The guard flipped through “DMZ” saw a ravaged New York City and them immediately called for two other security guards to join him in the room. I was then questioned for over an hour about the comics and why I had them. I was point blank asked if I was a terrorist or if I ever had desires to harm other. The whole ordeal was completely ridiculous. I can understand them being cautious but going ballistic because of the graphic novels I had with me is taking it too far.

The Eightball #22 case may have faded into the sunset, but commentators just can’t stop mining it. Cartoonist Tom Tomorrow takes a look back, with his own pointed commentary.

Also, Joanne Jacobs at Brittanica.com offers a measured appraisal, and brings up a notable parallel case:

Then again, consider the case of Kaleb Tierce, an honors English teacher (and assistant football coach) in Tuscola, Texas, who was suspended Oct. 15 for loaning a ninth-grade girl a book by Cormac McCarthy, Child of God, for a book report. The book is on the approved list for advanced ninth graders, though it features a murderer and necrophiliac. Tierce, who is 24, may face criminal charges of providing “harmful materials” to a minor.

Pretty much everything of interest in the Nate Fisher/Eightball case has been said, until Fisher himself speaks, perhaps, but a few late comments are worth noting. We found these through our own trackbacks (Our story got Boing Boinged yesterday, sending our hits and trackbacks through the roof.) but if anyone knows of any other USEFUL commentary, send us a link.
First, Eric Reynolds has his final say on the matter. We encourage everyone to read it for themselves, as its quite thoughtful. Nut kernal:

I appreciate any parent wanting to protect their children, but in this case, would the child be any less protected if a solution that didn’t include a police investigation and/or immediate resignation had been pursued? To me, that’s the fundamental question.

Another interesting perspective is from a blog called Minivan Diaries, which the sidebar tells us, is written by a mother of four who once planned to be a children’s advocate:

However, at what cost and to what extremes do we go to protect our children? Isn’t it also our job to be good role models for our kids, especially when they are teenagers and they judge our behavior so scrupulously? By rushing to the police, and notifying school officials, she denied the teacher any opportunity to explain himself. He was guilty way before he even had a chance to prove his innocence, or at least his poor judgement. This was a perfect opportunity for a Parental Teaching moment — to demonstrate how adults work out differences by gathering facts, communicating, trying to understand both sides of an issue, and in this case, realizing that people, even teachers are human and they make mistakes.

After reading all of the hullabaloo, it’s pretty clear that mistakes were made on every side. I don’t think anyone would question the right or duty of parents to protect their kids. Hopefully the next time something like this happens, more private discussion will occur before the media decides to have its own field day.

UPDATE: Based on the news video at the below link, it appears that the issue in questions was EIGHTBALL #22, shown at left. I had originally put a picture of Eightball #2 in this post, which IS NOT THE ISSUE IN QUESTION.
Dan Clowes, perverter of children? The comic given by a teacher to a 13 year old as supplemental reading that was deemed lewd was…EIGHTBALL. What’s most interesting from our standpoint about this story is that it did not take place deep in Red State country, but in CONNECTICUT, one of the most liberal bastions of villainy in America.

Inside Eightball are stories with graphic language and nudity and there’s no question it is a magazine with adult content.

Amy Lindgren is a parent and also drives a Guilford school bus. She can’t believe this has happened in her town.

“If that was my daughter that came home and showed this to me I honestly believe my husband would hurt the man,” said Amy.

Stephen Sang was in Fisher’s class and can’t believe a teacher would give that sort of material to a student.

“It’s pretty odd. I mean, I liked him. My first impression was that he was pretty cool,” said Sang.

Fisher may have been too cool for his own good and that’s not what they want in a teacher.

“They were being taken advantage of, in a way,” said Jenny.

The headline of this UK Observer article would appear to be the beginning of a long awaited graphic novel backlash as literary pundits grow resentful of having these comics sprinkled over their Wheaties on a daily basis: I get the picture: comics can be cool . And it starts out bad:

I used to think that graphic novels were for geeks: written by geeks and read by geeks. The geeks in question were all male, obviously. They had long hair and wore Marillion T-shirts, and they lived in sock-like basements where they spent too much time on their own, furtively picking their noses and watching Star Trek videos.

Uh oh! She hates us. BUT NO! In a surprise twist ending, SHE TURNS OUT TO LOVE COMICS!

In the years since, graphic novels have gone mainstream. They have clever, cool fans (Zadie Smith, Dave Eggers, Nick Hornby), respectable publishers (Cape, Penguin), and sell in decent numbers (or at least far more than many first literary novels). Most important of all, they are good. What I like about them, apart from the pictures, is their immediacy, wit and sly brevity, and the way they can deliver quite dazzling changes of tone without ever seeming clunky. To me, it feels as if there is nothing they cannot do: that, as Dave Eggers has put it, far from being literary fiction’s halfwit cousin, the graphic novel is actually its ‘mutant sister, who can often do everything fiction can, and, just as often, more’.

All this is prelude to a Random House UK competition for “Graphic Short Story Prize.” Judges include Nick Hornby, Posy Simmonds, Paul Gravett, Rachel Cooke, Dan Franklin (Cape), and Suzanne Dean (Random House), and first prize is £1000.

Oh boy, literary prizes. So what are you waiting for???

TheEU parliament has refused delivery of Will Eisner’s THE PLOT a graphic novel discussing the long running anti-Semitic tract “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.”

The European Parliament has refused to distribute to MEPs a book denouncing the “Protocols of the Elders of Zion”, an anti-Semitic literary forgery.

Produced by the Okhrana, the Russian Czar’s secret police, in 1905, the Protocols accuse the Jews of plotting to rule the world.

Last month, the Transatlantic Institute, a Brussels-based think-tank fostering ties among the EU, Israel and the US, sent copies of “The Plot: The Secret Story of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion” written by American Will Eisner in a comic-book form, to the 785 members of the European Parliament and their staff.

A MEP is a member of the European parliament. The book was refused “due to the nature of its content” and because “the parliament don’t allow advertisement and that the book had no relevance with the parliament’s legislative agenda.”

Just to clarify, essentially a lobbyist sent a bunch of the books to the EU Parliament, which refused to distribute them to members. This has nothing to do with the book’s sale or distribution throughout Europe.

Mothers react with shock to the discovery of a copy of HOW TO MAKE MONEY LIKE A PORN STAR buried among the legit children’s comics at a Singapore Book Fair, and some suggest even grater scrutiny.

Books like these have upset some parents, who also complained that some graphic novels, clearly intended for mature readers, were available at the National Library.

Mrs A Chen, 40, a housewife and mother of three boys aged 8, 11 and 15, said such books should be kept in a separate section which is not accessible to children.

Another parent, Madam Haslinda Putri Harun, 36, a mother of two daughters, aged 7 and 4, said: ‘If this happens to me, I will be shocked. I think the library has to play its part and have more stringent guidelines.’

However, the director of a dental clinic added that ‘parents should also be more pro-active and check the books and programmes their children are reading and watching’.

Mr Roger Ong, 42, a counsellor with Care Corner Service Centre, agreed that parents must take an active role in supervising their children, and not just leave it to the authorities.

He said his daughter was only 2 1/2years old when she asked him: ‘Daddy, can I have sex with you?’

She had learnt the words from television. He and his wife had left the TV on and had left her unsupervised for a few minutes.

Evidently a few minutes exposure to TV radiation is all it takes to create a lifetime of shame.

UPDATE: Via Kevin Melrose, news that THe Punisher: Barracuda, and Punisher Max have both been pulled off the shelves in Singapore. And it may not end there.

However, The Punisher: Barracuda was not the only book with explicit content available there. We also found other comics from the same series with similar content. We borrowed one of them.

The comic had the words ‘explicit content’ in small print in bold on the back cover.

We alerted the National Library Board (NLB), which said it has since pulled The Punisher series from its shelves. An spokesman said that they have found the series unsuitable for loan.

She said: ‘Meanwhile, we are reviewing all the other titles in the existing adult comic collection to ensure that they meet our criteria for inclusion. We are re-examining our processes to ensure that such incidents are not repeated.’

She apologised for the slip-up but did not explain how it occurred.

In case you missed it, here is the full story from the Marshall Democrat-News on the new Marshall, MO library policy and the fate of FUN HOME and BLANKETS which were removed from shelves following complaints over adult content. The books have been returned to circulation but will be shelved in the Adult section instead of the YA section.

And just like that, democracy and intelligence reign.

More in the link.

Meanwhile, back in Marshall, MOthe new library policy has its first reading and two citizen-democrats showed up to have their say.

Hird was wearing a button that said, “I read banned books.” He brought up the fact that several books that are vital to education have been challenged. They include “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, “The Catcher in the Rye,” by J.D. Salinger, “The Color Purple” by Alice Walker, “1984″ by George Orwell and others.

“There is nothing wrong in challenging books,” Hird said. He said he read the two books that have been pulled from the library’s shelves.

The other fellow felt different.

Blakely also applied the proposed policy to the banned books. According to Blakely, “Blankets” and “Fun Home” only meet one of the general criteria for selection — the timeliness of the subject matter.

The books go along with the timeliness of the gay/lesbian movement and you would find these types of trash along I-70, Blakely said.

As you all know, it is the Age of the Graphic Novel, a time of peace, harmony and awards being heaped upon the comics. But even among the approbation, there are still a few doubters. It’s always good to remember the few that have resisted conversion to Our Way.

For instance, we saw this recent story from Arizona Central on the Guardian line of Christian comics but didn’t link to it because it seemed like a typical piece on the efforts to get Christian comics into the lucrative religious market. However, it seems we missed this clear cut example of comics dissing:

Not everyone agrees that God and his teachings belong in the same medium occupied by the Hulk. The Rev. Oscar Tillman, president of the Maricopa County branch of the NAACP, said comics can cheapen the message.

Tillman, who had not seen the books but had studied the Guardian Line’s online site, said he was disappointed by the examples he saw. He was particularly distressed by the character of a young boy who is told that God took away his father.

Children, Tillman said, should learn about the Bible in Sunday school, not the comics.

“We have other ways to responsibly address religious and moral values,” he said. “These do not get my stamp of approval.”

CHEAPEN! Oh dear. Regular reader “Birmy” also sent us a quote from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about the proposed revitalization of a local shopping strict that contained this gem:

Bob Greenstreet, the city planning director, calls the revised, $50 million plan “a real step forward, using very sound urban strategies.”

If it fails, he says, “I’m afraid we’re dangerously close to check-cashing stores and comic book shops.”

Check cashing shops! What century is this? Pow! Sock!

§ Comics artist Tomm Coker turns out to have done the cinematics for the new 300: MARCH TO GLORY video game:

On the technical and artistic front, 300 is a decent-looking PSP game. Despite the movie tie-in, this is a PSP original, so the artists weren’t constrained by the necessity of porting to other platforms. The characters are fairly detailed and there are a lot running around and hurting each other at any given time. The comic-style cinematics are the work of Tomm Coker, and their style definitely evokes the original Frank Miller artwork and the uniquely stunning visuals of the upcoming film — see the trailer if you haven’t.

§ Meanwhile, manga-ka Shinji Mizushima, famedfor a long career producing sports manga, has become a real life commish, by backing a bew independent pro baseball league:

Mizushima has pulled some strings among his extensive personal network to select managers for the Hokushinetsu Baseball Challenge League, which consists of four teams from Niigata, Nagano, Toyama and Ishikawa prefectures.

Mizushima also has been helping to promote the new venture by drawing posters and will even feature the league–the second independent pro league in the nation after the Shikoku Island League, which began playing ball in 2005–in his serial comics.

§ Handsome Olivier Martinez DESPERATE to play comics character!

Q: Do you like comic books (I guess this was asked because Hugh Dancy’s character in the film writes and draws graphic novels)?

Olivier: Oh yeah. I love them. The Marvel ones I know by heart. I don’t know why nobody has offered me a superhero [role]. Maybe it’s because I don’t speak the language. You don’t have superheroes in France. We have super cooks (laughs). It’s more an American vision. Captain Marvel.

§ Microsoft is launching an anti-piracy campaignusing the international power of comics:

Dubbed “Genuine Fact Files,” the campaign is now launching in the U.S. It went online last month in Italy, France, the U.K., Indonesia, Brazil, Australia and the United Arab Emirates. Microsoft plans to draw attention to it through banner ads on its Web sites and promotional material that it will hand out through partners. By using comics, the company aims to make the message more accessible to a broader audience. They are black and white, in a style similar to newspaper comics.

Thus reads the headline on a story , widely circulated via the AP which looks at the Marshall Library matter in a wider context:

The Chicago-based American Library Association said it knows of at least 14 graphic novel challenges in U.S. libraries over the past two to three years. Among the titles were “The Watchmen” by Alan Moore, which was challenged in Florida and Virginia as unsuitable for younger readers; “Akira, Volume 2″ by Katsuhiro Otomo, challenged in Texas for offensive language; and “New X-Men Imperial” by Grant Morrison, challenged in Maryland for nudity, offensive language and violence.

Even “Maus” and its sequel, “Maus II,” were challenged last year in Oregon as anti-ethnic and unsuitable for younger readers.

Sometimes the challenges are successful. In April, county officials in Victorville, Calif., removed from their library “Manga: 60 Years of Japanese Comics,” because the book included nudity and sexuality.

“Some people find graphical depictions of things more offensive than text,” said Carrie Gardner, a spokeswoman for the ALA’s Committee for Intellectual Freedom and a professor at Catholic University in Washington, D.C.

Of some interest is the note at the end which compares concern over graphic novels to parental unease when video tapes and internet access became part of library offerings.

While The Beat feels that parents are only being reponsible in showing concern over their kids reading habits, why does it always have to be major works of art like WATCHMEN, FUN HOME and CATCHER IN THE RYE that get caught in the net?

There is he. Tony Long. The enemy. The Wired staffer’s modest proposal that AMERICAN BORN CHINESE wasn’t good enough for a National Book Award nomination has spurred defenses of comics far and wide. Here’s First Second’s own Mark Siegel, the publisher of the collected AMERICAN BORN CHINESE

Rather than taking to task each assertion, or the tone of the missive, let’s step back a minute: isn’t it finally time the debate over the standing of the graphic novel within modern literature be left behind? Will it finally elevate from an obsession over the formal aspects of comics vs. prose — and move into substance, storytelling, character, plot, voice, these much more interesting depths?

Obsession over the form overlooks the fact it’s A VEHICLE, and while there are some differences in the crafts of novel and graphic novel creation, fundamentally it’s mostly about STORY, the work of AUTHORS, and in the best cases, a discerning reader’s reading experience. (This is why I have no interest in being a champion of the Graphic Novel form per se, even though I sound like one on many of my talks to booksellers and librarians — but no, I champion creators, voices, talent that moves and touches me, creators who speak a universal storytelling tongue, and in the case of First Second, they happen to be working in this chosen medium.)

But Siegel need not have worried. Here’s The Orlando Sentinel’s Rebecca Swain Vadnie:

(more…)

Tony Long, copy chief at WIRED, comes right out and says it: comics aren’t good enough to get nominated for the National Book Award:

Gene Luen Yang is a teacher in the San Francisco Bay Area who also happens to be a fine illustrator. He produced a graphic novel (or “comic book,” as we used to call them), American Born Chinese, which has been nominated for a National Book Award in the young people’s literature category.

I have not read this particular “novel” but I’m familiar with the genre so I’m going to go out on a limb here. First, I’ll bet for what it is, it’s pretty good. Probably damned good. But it’s a comic book. And comic books should not be nominated for National Book Awards, in any category. That should be reserved for books that are, well, all words.

This is not about denigrating the comic book, or graphic novel, or whatever you want to call it. This is not to say that illustrated stories don’t constitute an art form or that you can’t get tremendous satisfaction from them. This is simply to say that, as literature, the comic book does not deserve equal status with real novels, or short stories. It’s apples and oranges.

We’ll note that most “copy chiefs”–at least in our experience–are what are commonly known as “sticklers.” And sticklers like “rules.”

Neil Gaiman (where we first saw this link) has a response. Of course, who would take the word of a crummy, comic-writing Brit?

I suppose if he builds a time machine he could do something about Maus’s 1992 Pulitzer, or Sandman’s 1991 World Fantasy Award for Best Short Story, or Chris Ware’s Jimmy Corrigan winning the 2001 Guardian First Book Award, or even Watchmen’s appearance on Time’s Hundred Best Novels of the 20th Century list. Lacking a Time Machine, it seems a rather silly and antiquated argument, like hearing someone complain that women have the vote or that be-bop music and crooners are turning up in the pop charts.

I like the bit where he says that he hasn’t read the comic in question, but he just knows what things like that are like. It’s always best to be offended by things you haven’t read. That way you keep your mind uncluttered by things that might change it.

Oh, snap!

Marshall Democrat-News editor Chuck Mason takes a stand:

I’m no legal scholar but there is one thing I do know: censorship is censorship.

I have no qualms with Louise Mills of Marshall, who objected to the two books and filed the necessary paperwork to bring the matter to the attention of the board of trustees. Mills is a resident who has a complaint and she has the right to register it.

What I object to is pulling the books off the shelves.

The library board has essentially blinked in the harsh light of public discussion.

In case you missed it, The Marshall Democrat-News story on the library board’s decision to remove FUN HOME and BLANKETS from shelves until a book policy can be drafted.

Wright proposed the policy during her opening remarks at the meeting. Board members voted seven to one, with board member Connie Grisier voting against the motion to go forward with developing the new policy. A committee made up of most of the board members was formed to write the new policy.

“Research will be done to find out what other libraries throughout the state — and we can even inquire nationally if desired — have done in this arena.” Wright said during her opening comments.

Newsarama has the fullest account:

According to Zack Sims, Staff Writer for the Marshall-Democrat News, the meeting opened with the Board President, in her opening statement, suggesting that, in light of the recent developments, a committee be formed for write a formal “materials selection policy�? for the library, to determine the guidelines the library will use to select titles for its collection.

No public comment was heard or asked for, as it was noted that the meeting on October 4th served as the public’s time to comment on the issue, and last night’s meeting was a Library Board Meeting – albeit with more people than normal in attendance.

The proposal was agreed to unanimously, and until the policy has been written and adopted by the Board, the two books will remain out of circulation. After the policy is formed, the two books will be evaluated as to their suitableness for the library.

Reaction is mixed. Tom says it’s “a smart way to go about it.” One of our email correspondents suggests “So, essentially, the books have [been] banned, without saying it.”

It is a disappointing result for those who find the idea of branding BLANKETS as pornography ludicrous, but it’s hardly surprising. The public was 3 to 1 FOR the books being removed, after all, and as the Supreme Court said, “community standards” are part of the test of material which appeals to “prurient interest.”

The decision will come as no surprise to those who live outside the more liberal coastal beltways. On our one car trip to Missouri, we were struck by the number of billboards along side the road advertising DNA clinics, who seemed to be doing a booming business in paternity tests. There was even one with a picture of an adorable tot, and the memorable headline “Who’s my daddy?” Perhaps if the youth of Marshall, MO were more busily engaged by reading challenging material they would not spend so much time getting knocked up. Just a thought.

The Marshall, MO school library board voted last night on whether to keep shelving FUN HOME and BLANKETS. At our press time, Tom Spurgeon has word that the library voted “against shelving.” That’s a bit ambiguously worded, but the rest of Tom’s post makes it sound like the books were removed.

Earlier stories in the Marshall Democrat-News here and here.

We’ll update when everyone else does.

We’d like to take a moment to recognize our regular gallery of posters here at The Beat, and commend them for their insightful and informative postings on a variety of topics. If you are not reading the comments here you are missing out; rest assured, we do not allow idiocy to run rampant here, and although we leave the occasional dopey remark up for humor value so far the community has remained top notch.

Which is a roundabout way of saying, we appreciated librarian Kat Kan’s comment on the constant battles that libraries have against people who want to remove controversial books from the shelves.This is not a one time thing — it’s an ongoing struggle. And as we mentioned yesterday, the books that people want taken off the shelves are in some cases literary classics.

Several book blogs linked to the Marshall, Missouri story yesterday, most of them erupting into geysers of snark at the stated belief among citizens of Marshall, MO that reading FUN HOME would attract wandering bands of pornography-reading weirdoes who would hide behind the library beating off into their ratty ols raincoats. Behere’s a sampling:

PowellsBooks.Blog:

Sometimes you need to keep an even keel about an issue. You need to look at a controversy from both sides, try to empathize with those whose opinions you don’t necessarily agree with, and reach some informed compromise in order to achieve a greater understanding of one another.

And other times you realize people are just idiots.

YA Literature Censorship

This statement is just silly. I have viewed the pictures that are in question and in my opinion, there are far from pornography. Her comment about drawing clientele from the porn shop is, at least, discriminatory. Not only does she want to decide what books are allowed in the library, she wants to decide who is allowed in the library.

Edward Champion:

Okay, so some of the people of Marshall (and it’s important to note, not all; a brave man named Dave Riley spoke in favor of the two graphic novels) consider illustrations of naked people lying in a postcoital position — a form of illustration, mind you, that goes back to the Paleolithic era and the Moche of Peru, something relatively tame compared against a distinguished history going back centuries before Ms. Miles’ birth — “obscene.�? Personally, I found both Bechdel and Thompson’s respective illustrations quite beautiful. But that’s just me.

BookBlog:

Typical. I wrote a post the other day dissing Banned Books Week, and then Edward Champion finds this article on a hearing to remove two graphic novels from a public library in Missouri. The titles in question are Blankets by Craig Thompson and Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel.

I’m not really against having a Banned Books Week; I just don’t go for its overemphasis on challenges in schools. Parents should question what their children are taught and have every right to voice their opinions on required reading. Pointing fingers, as if their concerns are akin to book burning, can easily turn into a means of intimidating them out of speaking up. Isn’t fighting the suppression of ideas exactly what Banned Books Week all about?

A few items that have drifted in over the day regarding the library cencorship story that everyone is tracking.

One of our correspondents notes that Marshall, MO is where WAITING FOR GUFFMAN was filmed, although it was called “Blane, MO’ in the film. We’re the center of a stool boom, indeed.

Another correspondent points us towards a similar story regarding Asimov’s SF Magazine.

An earlier post on the controversy at GalleyCat points out that last week wa,s ironically enough, Banned Books week. There is no rest for the “wicked”, it seems.

More commentary: Tom , Kevin Melrose @ Newsarama (check out the comments), and Alison Bechdel.

Yesterday we told you about an attempt in Marshall, MO to remove FUN HOME and BLANKETS from the shelves of the library. Now via comments and email, the followup report on a library board hearing. The room was packed, and people talked for TWO HOURS. Reporter Zach Sims gives a very thorough account on the hearing and what was said, saying that only one quarter of the speakers were in favor of keeping the books. Part of the worry was that public funds should not be spent on the kind of material that would draw the wrong element:

“I don’t want seedy people coming into the library and moving into our community,” Aulgur said.

Some of the speakers requested removal of the books in question, others suggested a special section for books with what may be deemed “adult” material. Some suggested the books be kept behind the library counter or someplace else where they would not be within the reach of children.

“This is a clear-cut case of common sense,” said Mark Mills, husband of Louise Mills.

Some were more positive about the material.

A small number of citizens at the meeting spoke in support of the library, including Claudia Milstead. Milstead said that there are people who want to read the books in question.

“I want to thank the Marshall Public Library for acquiring these two books and I hope that you find a way to keep the two books without offending the people who have expressed what I think are some very heartfelt concerns,” Milstead said.

Well, we’ve all been waiting for something like this. Obviously, it’s still small at this point. As one of our commenters pointed out, imagine if Mills had come across a REALLY explicit comic, like Crumb or S. Clay Wilson. Or Phoebe Gloeckner or Gilbert Hernandez. Or LOST GIRLS.

It’s not just comics, of course. At this very moment, parents are trying to ban Fahrenheit 451 (for bible burning and foul language) and Harry Potter. In fact, Harry Potter is the most banned — and popular — book of the 21st century. Here’s the complete Top 10:

1. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

2. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier

3. Alice series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

4. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

5. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

6. Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers

7. It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris

8. Scary Stories series by Alvin Schwartz

9. Captain Underpants series by Dav Pilkey

10. Forever by Judy Blume

Thus far, comics have come under remarkably little attack in libraries and elsewhere. There have been a few worries over manga, but parental concerns have stayed local for the most part, with nothing gaining much traction. Is this just luck? Maybe. Watchdog pressure groups are really good at mustering support, and mobilizing phone calls and letter writing campaigns. It’s probably only a matter of time before some national crusader gets wind of yaoi and gets a grassroots campaign under way. And then, all hell will break loose.

Libraries are the first best defense of keeping a free flow of ideas. Librarians and library boards in America have a pretty decent track record of defending their right to shelve controversial material. Some battles are lost, of course. And America right now is losing endless battles of common sense on a depressingly daily basis.

Is this a tempest in a teapot? Yes and no. It’s a small town library board meeting, after all. Defending award-winning, best selling books like BLANKETS and FUN HOME is easy. Other books aren’t going to have that critical back-up. They’re more like the slow moving wildebeest in the herd: vulnerable.

Comics and graphic novels may continue their free ride of approval for quite some time. Or the storm cloud we’ve feared may bust wide open at any time. I no longer believe that common sense will prevail in America, so there may be tough battles, if they come. There may be casualties. I think we’ll win in the end, but…don’t take any of this lightly. Be mindful.