Tag Archives: jeff trexler

NYCC 2023: Join the CBLDF for its update panel, Defending Comics Today

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New York Comic Con starts tomorrow, and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund will be there! Join them on Saturday, October 14, at 10:30am in the Javits Center’s River Pavilion for the annual CBLDF update panel, Defending Comics Today. They’ll discuss the most recent developments in their fight to protect the legal rights of the comics community.

What are the CBLDF’s most recent court cases and what do they mean for attempts to restrict access to graphic novels, comics, and manga nationwide? What new legislation poses the greatest risk for free expression through the comic arts and fandom? Are challenges to graphic novels in schools and libraries evolving in response to earlier successful defenses? And what can you do to make a difference?

Speakers: Interim Director Jeff Trexler and CBLDF board members Christina Merkler, Chris Powell, Dale Cendali, and Joseph Illidge.

For New York attorneys, CLE credit accreditation is pending – 1.0 hour professional practice, transitional or non-transitional.

In addition to the official CBLDF panel, Jeff will also be discussing the CBLDF’s work in other NYCC panels on challenges to graphic novels and manga:

  • Thursday, October 12, 1:00-2:00pm, Room 1B02 – Keep Bans Off Our Books, with creators Frederick L. Jones, Jasmine Walls, Kate Glasheen, and Raina Telgemeir,
  • Thursday, October 12, 3:15-4:15pm, Room 406.1 – Book Bans and Censorship: The New American Epidemic, and
  • Saturday, October 14, 11:45am-12:45pm, River Pavilion – Joining Forces: Comics Publishers, Librarians, and Retailers Unite – and Unite Fans – Against Book Bans.

SDCC 2023: Cong. Robert Garcia officially kicks off the Congressional Popular Arts Caucus

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Announced at the end of June, Congressman Robert Garcia headed to San Diego Comic-Con 2023 to officially launch the bipartisan Congressional Arts Caucus. A caucus is a group of members of Congress that meet around a certain topic, interest, party, and more. Rules govern them including their name, statement of purpose, officers, the employee designated to work on the issue, and more.

Garcia is a fan of comics and was sworn in on a copy of Superman #1. At San Diego Comic-Con, the Congressman was featured on a panel that included Megan Halsband of the Library of Congress comics collection, writer and creator Josh Trujillo, and Jeff Trexler of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. The Library of Congress holds a massive collection of comics and regularly holds event tied into the local convention Small Press Expo.

The goal of the caucus is to focus on everything from piracy to AI and what the government can do to champion the rights of creators and workers.

What’s more interesting is that Garcia stated that Free Comic Book Day would be held at the Capitol. The goal would go beyond getting comics into the hands of kids but into the hands of policy makers. Free Comic Book Day is held the first Saturday in May and will occur May 4, 2024. Congress is generally out of session on weekends. Members of Congress are bombarded with piles of magazines and books that are sent to their office. Comics would not be a stretch. During the convention Cong. Garcia also met with DC President/CCO Jim Lee and Marvel Comics’ editor-in-chief C.B. Cebulski.

Jeff Trexler Named Interim Director of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund

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The Comic Book Defense Legal Fund (CBLDF) has announced that Jeff Trexler will assume the role of Interim Director, effective immediately. Trexler was unanimously selected following a thorough interview process in which both the current board members and staff participated. He will oversee and update the organization’s operations to more effectively execute the CBLDF mission, drawing on his breadth of legal experience as a law professor and an ethics advisor for a variety of non-profit organizations, media companies, and fashion brands.

Prior to joining CBLDF, Trexler served as Associate Director of the Fashion Law Institute where his work on ethics issues included advising government officials on sexual harassment legal reform. A lifelong comics fan, he also provides analysis on legal matters impacting the comics business for multiple industry outlets.

Trexler is a member of the Ethics Committee at Kering Americas and also served on the board of the Museum of Comics and Cartoon Art. He holds a J.D. from Yale Law School and a Ph.D. in American Religious History from Duke University, and he is admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court and New York bars.