Comics A.M. | Swedish court rules manga images aren't 'child porn'

Comics A.M. | Swedish court rules manga images aren't 'child porn'

Legal

Legal | The Swedish Supreme Court has overturned the 2010 conviction of manga translator Simon Lundström on charges of possessing 39 drawings that violated the country's child-pornography laws. The court found that while the images are pornographic and do depict minors, they are obviously drawings and cannot be mistake for real children. 'The criminalization of possession of the drawings would otherwise exceed what is necessary with regard to the purpose which has led to the restriction on freedom of expression and freedom of information,' the court ruled. [The Local]

Creators | A group of friends is trying to raise money via The Hero Initiative for a 'modest funeral' for Static co-writer Robert L. Washington III, who died last week at age 47. [The Outhousers]

Tr!ckster 2 art by Scott Morse

Conventions | Tr!ckster, the small, indy-focused event held in San Diego at the same time as Comic-Con International, will be back this year, with a new location, more creators and a streamlined format. The organizers of last year's event paid most of the costs themselves, but this year they're raising money on IndieGoGo. Co-organizer Anita Coulter has more details. [Hero Complex]

Creators | John Armanini reveals how his Marin County, California, town of Santa Venetia became the setting for his graphic novel Monster Myths, which was recently published by Com.X: 'We always felt different from the rest of the Marinites. We were kind of secluded, we grew up around a lot of nature, we had a lot of monuments like an island and an abandoned mansion that burned down.' [Marin Independent Journal]

Creators | Eva Volin interviews Frank Cammuso, creator of Knights of the Lunch Table, in a video shot last month at the Toronto Comic Arts Festival. [Good Comics for Kids]

Creators | Eric Buckler talks to Blue Pills creator Frederik Peeters about his new graphic novel Sandcastle. [The Comics Journal]

Attack on Titan, Vol. 1

Creators | Robot 6 contributor Brigid Alverson posts an interview with Hajime Isayama, creator of Attack on Titan, that first appeared in the Japanese manga magazine Bessatsu Sh'nen. [MTV Geek]

Comic strips | Cartoonist Rina Piccolo talks about the upside and downside of being a syndicated cartoonist. The upside is easy: You make money by working at home. The downside is the relentlessness of the work: 'Syndication is a treadmill that you can never get down from, no matter what is happening in your life. If a plane crashes into your house, you better have an alternate internet connection so that you can send in your work for that week. If the Rapture comes, you better make sure you are not one of God's worthy souls, 'cause then how would you get your strips in on time? Seriously, the work never stops. If you're lucky, it'll stop when you die (a lot of cartoonists have not had luck in this sector).' [Tina's Groove]

Graphic novels | Cheryl Lynn Eaton critiques the graphic novel presence at BookExpo America. [The Hooded Utilitarian]

Advice | Al Jaffee offers some pithy thoughts on professionalism in a short video. [The Daily Cartoonist]

• June 15, 2012 @ 06:55 AM by Brigid Alverson and JK Parkin
• Tagged: Al Jaffee, Book Expo America, comic books, comic conventions, Comic-Con International, comics a.m., Frank Cammuso, Frederick Peeters, graphic novels, Hajime Isayama, John Armanini, legal, manga, newspaper comics, Rina Piccolo, Robert Washington III, syndication, TCAF, tr!ckster

2 Comments

Thank god. I am a swede and this whole case was embarassing. Finaly they can move on and catch the real pedophiles.

No offense to Cheryl Lynn Eaton, but I don't think she understands what BEA as a show is about. She makes a couple of good points about what Marvel had there and the absence of DC and Dark Horse but the rest is totally wrong.

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