Jesus on Trial

Jesus has been rejected by the Supremes.

The Supremes in this case are the justices of the Supreme Court. And Jesus is a latino comics retailer with the last name Castillo. But just like his namesake, Jesus Castillo has been convicted by a corrupt system, for doing nothing wrong.

The original charge - brought by the Dallas police department - was that Castillo sold a pornographic comicbook about alien/human sex, which was clearly labeled for sale to adults only... to an adult. That adult was an undercover cop, engaging in a sting intended to gain brownie points among the local voters. The book wasn't on the shelf next to Archie; it was out of reach of any (infrequent) child who walked into the shop. But the fact that there was a school nearby, and the antiquated notion that comics are only for kids, combined to convince a jury of idiots that Jesus Castillo had done something wrong. And the Supreme Court refused to hear his appeal.

The idea that comics are only for kids is not only out of date, it's almost backwards. Since the 1970's, underground cartoonists have published comics (or "comix") that were clearly intended for grown-ups. R. Crumb's fetishistic women in Zap Comix, Gilbert Shelton's pot-smoking Furry Freak Brothers, and the queer strip Big Dick demonstrated - way back when I was still a child - that some comics were specifically for adults. And ever since comicbooks disappeared from your local newsstand and the prices went up, the primary audience - even of superheroes like Spider-Man or Superman - has been men in their 20's - 40's with their own transportation and disposable income. Most kids today don't even know that comics shops exist. And they certainly aren't buying porn from people like Jesus Castillo.

It's easy to dismiss this case as "just Texas" and "just comics", but not when it's tacitly upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. The store where Castillo worked no longer sells comics with explicit content. To anybody. Which is just what the people behind this want. What it really means is that your local sheriff has the authority to throw someone in jail for selling books to adults that are inappropriate for children. Congress keeps passing laws that try to apply the same rule to the internet, requiring that everything published be kept at a level suitable for children, or face criminal charges. Once upon a time I would've thought that was OK. But now I'm a grown-up, and capable of thinking for myself. If you are, then you should be very concerned about this latest attack on our civil liberties.