Missourians Press for Ban on “Porn” Comics

We told you yesterday about an effort to ban graphic novels at a Missouri public library. Well, the Marshall Public Library Board of Trustees held their meeting Wednesday night, and though they tabled the final decision until next week, things aren’t looking good for Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home (sampled at left) or Craig Thompson’s Blankets.

Local resident Louise Mills, the first to raise objection to the placement of Bechdel and Thompson on the library shelves, claimed she had no objection to the content of either book, but then asked, “Does this community want our public library to continue to use tax dollars to purchase pornography?” Another protestor complained, “I don’t want seedy people coming into the library and moving into our community.” Yes, because Lord knows the underground perv network sends out IM bulletins whenever they discover a public library that stocks comic books with frank depictions of human sexuality; before you know it, the streets are filled with fetishists demanding the library stock a complete collection of Robert Crumb.

Another argument against shelving Bechdel and Thompson: “If it shouldn’t be on a billboard on I-70, it shouldn’t be in a public library.” In response to that bit of rhetorical brilliance, I strongly encourage Houghton Mifflin, the publisher of Fun Home, to spring for a billboard on I-70, preferably near the Marshall Junction at Highway 65. If they wanted to be really nice, they could cut Top Shelf Comics a deal on some of the marquee space so Blankets (sampled below) could get some exposure as well…

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