The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is backing a legal challenge to charges brought against a US shopkeeper who accidently allowed a child to be given a copy of a comic book featuring images of artist Pablo Picasso in the nude.
Gordon Lee, owner of the Legends comic book retailer in Rome, Georgia, faces seven charges for allegedly accidentally handing over a copy of Alternative Comics #2 to a minor during a Halloween promotional giveway. The parents complained to the police and Lee was arrested. The comic includes a story called The Salon by Nick Bertozzi, an account of Picasso´s first meeting with painter Georges Braque, which included a segment depicting Picasso in the nude. Georgia state law bans the unsolicited delivery of any content depicting nudity, with a penalty of one to three years in prison and/or fines of up to $10,000. He is also charged with distribution of “material harmful to minors”. The Fund applied on 2 May to have the charges dismissed, citing Lee’s free expression rights under the first amendment to the US Constitution.
