The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting First Amendment rights, has announced that Ted Adams has joined its Board of Directors. As founder and CEO of IDW Media Holdings, Adams oversees one of the nation’s leading comics publishing brands whose dedication to developing new readers, preserving comics history, and providing avenues for important creative voices to flourish aligns with CBLDF’s important work of protecting the freedom to read comics.

Adams’s addition to the CBLDF Board of Directors bolsters the organization’s efforts to protect First Amendment rights of readers, creators, librarians, retailers, publishers, and educators who face the threat of censorship. Adams joins creators Reginald Hudlin, the iconic writer, producer and director behind films including Marshall, Django Unchained and the Black Panther animated series; three-time Newbery honoree Jennifer L. Holm; celebrated comics authors and executives Paul Levitz and Larry Marder; Bone creator Jeff Smith; as well as industry leaders Jeff Abraham, president of Penguin Random House Publisher Services; legendary IP litigator Dale Cendali, a Partner at Kirkland & Ellis, LLP; ICv2 CEO Milton Griepp; Sequential Tart founder Katherine Keller; DCBS Service co-owner Christina Merkler, and Chris Powell, VP Retailer Services at Diamond Comics Distributors, in serving on the Fund’s Board in direct oversight of its activities protecting the freedom to read.

For more than thirty years, Comic Book Legal Defense Fund has protected the First Amendment rights of comics field and developed powerful education efforts in the service of the community. In 2017, CBLDF responded to more than thirty censorship cases while developing important resources including Panel Power – a handbook for parents about the value of comics in encouraging literacy. In 2018, the Fund will maintain its readiness in legal emergencies, while developing new programs, including Retailer Rights Workshops, a touring series of training events for comic store staff that illuminates the law and best practices for protecting the right to sell creative content.