From bleedingcool.com-
"The Avatar comic Neonomicon by Alan Moore and Jacen Burrows, published by Bleeding Cool owner Avatar Press, has caused a little trouble at a local library when it was taken out by a fourteen year old girl, one Jennifer Gaske, believing it to be… something other than it was.
Neonomicon is, basically, The X-Files Meets HP Lovecraft, an FBI procedural that goes terribly, horribly wrong, with scenes of rape, murder and general vicious nastiness throughout, the nature of which has divided critics.
Channel 7 News in South Carolina reports that the book was stacked in the adult section of the Greenville County but that those over the age of thirteen can check out adult books with parents permission.
The library doesn’t use ratings systems, preferring parental discretion and judgement. However, both copies stocked by the library have been pulled while the book’s nature is considered."
Ok time for my rant.
This woman just announced to the world "I'm a bad parent and a fucking idiot."
The book was in the adult section (and I have never in my life even seen a library with a adult section, but I'm not in the Bible Belt thank Odin) of the library. AND SHE GAVE HER DAUGHTER PERMISSION TO READ IT! She has no room to complain as this situation is 100% her fault. She is the one who put what she calls pornography (and come on, pornography? Try a comic by Glenn Danzig some time) into the hands of her child. Charge her with corruption of minors and leave our libraries alone!
The good news is today, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF), the National Coalition Against Censorship and the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression have sent a letter to the library’s board of trustees in defence of the book. The letter reads-
Dear Board Members,
On behalf of the National Coalition Against Censorship, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund we strongly urge you to keep Alan Moore’s Neonomicon in the Greenville Public Library. This book has reportedly been challenged by a member of the community who claims its “sexually graphic” images make it inappropriate for the library.
Removing this book because of objections to its content is impermissible under the First Amendment. As the Supreme Court said in Board of Education v. Pico, the Constitution does not permit “officially prescribed orthodoxy” which limits what people may read, think, speak, or say. The fact that we are confronted with images and not words does not make a difference—the courts have ruled that images, like words, constitute symbolic expression and are protected by the First Amendment.
Neonomicon is a horror graphic novel which explores themes present in the works of fantasy writer H.P. Lovecraft, delving into complex issues of race, crime and sexuality. Moore and artist Jacen Burrows use the visual nature of the graphic novel medium to more fully examine the subject matter found in Lovecraft’s original work, achieving a commentary both on Lovecraft and on the horror genre itself. The authors deliberately disturbing depictions of sexual violence are included as a critical comment on how such subject matter is handled elsewhere within the genre. The book recently won the Bram Stoker award for “Superior Achievement in a Graphic Novel.” Its critical acclaim testifies to its artistic value which is aided, not eclipsed, by its sexual content.
Alan Moore is one of the most influential and acclaimed authors in both the graphic novel category and the larger literary culture. His body of work includes Watchmen, which Time Magazine named one of the 100 best English-language novels published since 1923. His works also include the graphic novels V For Vendetta, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, From Hell, and Lost Girls, all of which have enjoyed tremendous critical acclaim. Neonomicon continues Moore’s explorations in appropriating classic literary characters and themes in the service of post-modern storytelling. It is an essential work by an author who is indisputably a master within his field.
The book was appropriately shelved in the adult section of the library. The fact that it was withdrawn by a minor, whose mother had given written permission for her to borrow materials from the adult section, is no basis for removing the book—an action that infringes the First Amendment rights of adult library patrons. Indeed, the removal of the book during the review process is itself problematic, since any government suppression of material because of objections to its viewpoint or content transgresses constitutional boundaries. As a legal matter, the harm has been done, even if it is later rectified.
The book meets the criteria that form the basis for the library’s collection development policy. Removing it because of sexual content not only fails to consider the indisputable value of the book as a whole, but also ignores the library’s obligation to serve all readers, without regards to individual tastes and sensibilities. If graphic violent and sexual content were excluded from the library because some people object to it, the library would lose ancient and contemporary classics, from Aeschylus’ Oresteia to Toni Morrison’s Beloved.
We strongly urge you to respect the rights of all readers to read and think freely, and to reject the notion that the views of some readers about the value of literature, or its “appropriateness”, maybe imposed on all. By keeping the books on the library shelves you will demonstrate respect for your readers and their choices, for the professionalism of the librarians who serve the reading public, and for the First Amendment and its importance to a pluralistic democratic society.
Please consult NCAC’s resource “Graphic Novels: Suggestions for Librarians” (http://ncac.org/graphicnovels.cfm) or contact us if there is anything we can do to help.
Sincerely,
Joan Bertin
Executive Director
National Coalition Against Censorship
Chris Finan
President
American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression
Charles Brownstein
Executive Director
Comic Book Legal Defense Fund
Hats off to the people who protect our freedom of speech and our literature and mass media.
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