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Alan Ginsberg's HOWL was seized by customs in the 1950s when being imported into the US from the foreign printer. He had his day and court and the obscenity ch

Alan Ginsberg's HOWL was seized by customs in the 1950s when being imported into the US from the foreign printer. He had his day and court and the obscenity charge was overturned. So it is possible that the Canadian courts will decide not to censor the material.

hugh3 15y ago
I looked it up, and "Howl" was eventually allowed through on the grounds that the courts decided it was of "redeeming social importance". In other words, since Ginsberg is actually good, they were willing to let it pass. From the extract of the comic in question printed here, I'm willing to assume that this comic isn't particularly good (it looks like something a teenager would draw in the back of his maths book) so it'll be interesting to see how this will play out. The other thing is this: while standards of obscenity have dropped considerably over the decades (to the point where Howl's objectionable phrase "fucked in the ass by saintly motorcyclists" seems almost quaint) there has to be a hard limit somewhere, and we've pretty much reached it. We're at the point where all pornography is acceptable except child pornography, and this case is going to be about arguing where the boundaries of "child pornography" are. Now, I'd say that a line drawing of two chracters who appear to be children (but are stated in the text not to be) having graphic sex is nothing like actual child pornography (which is harmful to actual children) but on the other hand I have a hard time summoning up the motivation to really defend it.
- der_ketzer 15y ago
  After I found Fansadox comics, I came to the conclusion that boundries didn't exist anymore. I don't feel disgusted and everybody can buy/watch whatever they want. But this things are so common nowadays, that I wonder where the boundry should be.
- starwed 15y ago
  "I'm willing to assume that this comic isn't particularly good (it looks like something a teenager would draw in the back of his maths book) so it'll be interesting to see how this will play out." There at least two comics talked about in the article, and the other one (Black Eye) looks way more polished. Besides, there's a difference between the technical skill of the artist and whether the thing itself has artistic merit. -edit- Apparently Young Lions has recieved some recognition and favorable response from critics: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaise_Larmee http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaise_Larmee

hugh3 15y ago

I looked it up, and "Howl" was eventually allowed through on the grounds that the courts decided it was of "redeeming social importance". In other words, since Ginsberg is actually good, they were willing to let it pass. From the extract of the comic in question printed here, I'm willing to assume that this comic isn't particularly good (it looks like something a teenager would draw in the back of his maths book) so it'll be interesting to see how this will play out. The other thing is this: while standards of obscenity have dropped considerably over the decades (to the point where Howl's objectionable phrase "fucked in the ass by saintly motorcyclists" seems almost quaint) there has to be a hard limit somewhere, and we've pretty much reached it. We're at the point where all pornography is acceptable except child pornography, and this case is going to be about arguing where the boundaries of "child pornography" are. Now, I'd say that a line drawing of two chracters who appear to be children (but are stated in the text not to be) having graphic sex is nothing like actual child pornography (which is harmful to actual children) but on the other hand I have a hard time summoning up the motivation to really defend it.

der_ketzer 15y ago
After I found Fansadox comics, I came to the conclusion that boundries didn't exist anymore. I don't feel disgusted and everybody can buy/watch whatever they want. But this things are so common nowadays, that I wonder where the boundry should be.
starwed 15y ago
"I'm willing to assume that this comic isn't particularly good (it looks like something a teenager would draw in the back of his maths book) so it'll be interesting to see how this will play out." There at least two comics talked about in the article, and the other one (Black Eye) looks way more polished. Besides, there's a difference between the technical skill of the artist and whether the thing itself has artistic merit. -edit- Apparently Young Lions has recieved some recognition and favorable response from critics: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaise_Larmee http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaise_Larmee