One key difference between us and Japan - freedom of speech

Tokyo assembly votes down measure to regulate child porn in comics
(Mainichi Japan) June 14, 2010

We may have the First Amendment, but there's a law in the US that says possessors drawings of imaginary under-age cartoon characters (how is that even possible?) can be prosecuted for child pornography. Support the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund today.

Here's a new interview with its head - Spurgeon, Tom. 2010.
CR Newsmaker Interview: Charles Brownstein Of The CBLDF.
Comics Reporter (June 13).

Hello Kitty and Ben Classen in Express

Ben "Dirt Farm" Classen, who is using bendependent.com as his signature and is the only cartoonist left in the City Paper, has a nice Escher-inspired full page piece in today's Express for the Capital Fringe Festival.

Also in the paper is an article about a local exhibit -

Art History Gets Cute: Say Hello Kitty to a thought-provoking show of cheeky art.

Written by Express contributor Danielle O'Steen

Posted By Express July 16, 2009
http://www.expressnightout.com/content/2009/07/art_history_gets_cute_leslie_holt_and_he.php

Good stuff in today's papers

"Godzilla's Older, Creepier Cousins: Beings Such as Filth Licker Haunt Japanese Culture," By Blaine Harden, Washington Post Foreign Service, Friday, October 31, 2008; A01. This is about creatures called yokai, who are apparently roughly equivalent to goblins and boggarts. Hiroko Yoda and Matt Alt are a married couple have written a book about them, when not translating manga.

The animated movie Fear(s) of the Dark was also reviewed in "Gripped (at Times Loosely) by Fear," By Neely Tucker, Washington Post Staff Writer, Friday, October 31, 2008; Page C06.

Meanwhile in the Post's Comic Riffs, Michael Cavna's interviewed a bunch of cartoonists about the election including locals Telnaes, Sorenson, and Wuerker in "Who'll Win the White House? Cartoonists Issue Their Predictions" as well as decidedly non-local Garry Trudeau in "Obama Wins? Yes, 'Doonesbury' Calls the Election!"

And on Disney's direct to video movie and Fairies product line is "Disney Hoping 'Tinker Bell' Spreads Fairy Dust on Sales" By BROOKS BARNES, New York Times October 31, 2008.

Marvel attempting manga... again

For their current effort, see "Superheroes to Be Recast for Japan," By GEORGE GUSTINES, New York Times August 25, 2008. This is by no means new though - both Spider-Man and the X-Men were produced in Japan and reprinted in America, and there was a Hulk series not seen in the US. There's a nice big book on Batman manga coming out from Chip Kidd soon. Marvel also took a shot at putting Spider-Man in India recently.

Wildly OT: USS George Washington manga

This has nothing at all to do with Washington and comics, but you can download a free manga book made by the US Navy to justify the visit of the USS George Washington aircraft carrier to Japan. I think it's an interesting use of educational manga. Or would that be propaganda...