Comic book store owner Gordon Clifford Lee will go on trial Wednesday. Lee is charged with distributing harmful materials to a minor, a misdemeanor.
The charges stem from a Halloween 2004 giveaway when an employee of Legends Comics in Rome gave a copy of Alternative Comics #2 to two 6-and 9-years-old brothers.
In the comic book, a series of drawings with pictures of a naked Pablo Picasso were used to depict the artist’s first meeting with artist Georges Braque. The two artists are considered the founders of Cubism. Picasso is depicted in the nude, which, according to Charles Brownstein, executive director of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF), is historically accurate.
The CBLDF has been representing Lee in this matter.
Lee was set to be tried Monday, however a breakdown in the courthouses air conditioning delayed the start of the trial.
Read tomorrow's Rome News-Tribune for a complete story.
