Canadian Government to Make Comic Books Legal Again for the First Time Since the 1940s! 0

[ecgt]

Canadian Government to Make Comic Books Legal Again for the First Time Since the 1940s!

One of the most ridiculous things about comic books in Canada is that "crime comics" have been illegal in the criminal code since the Fulton Bill was passed into law in 1949/1950. Comics are banned as part of the "Corrupting Morals" section of Canada's criminal code. Here's a link to how the law is phrased, verbatim (see 163, 1b):

https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Canadian_Criminal_Law/Offences/Obscenity

These laws have not been enacted since 1987 (which led to the "True North" comic series) and are considered "zombie laws." However, following the letter of the law in Canada, virtually every comic shop and comic collector is breaking the law if they own comics that depict crimes of any kind. This video does a pretty good job of explaining how this works:

 

Well, just now the Canadian government's Justice Minister announced that several zombie laws are being removed from the books, including crime comics, challenging people to duels, engaging in "blasphemous libel" and pretending to practice witchcraft. Time to rejoice over challenging our enemies to duels, hoarding crime comics and pretending to practice witchcraft! It's a great time to be Canadian! 

http://globalnews.ca/news/3506330/criminal-code-changes-illegal-comics-duel-witchfraft/

[aardvark88]

Sounds great. Demand should go up for 1950s crime and Witchcraft comics now that I am legally allowed to display and sell them. Sabrina, Teen-age Witch #1 and Warlock /Infinity Crusade #1 overstock  just went up ... in Canada anyways.

[Action252Kid]

Is this something that was ever actually enforced, or was it like one of those old/weird laws we have in the US where something like bathing a donkey in a bathtub on a Sunday is considered a felony?  

[ecgt]

32 minutes ago, Action252Kid said:

Is this something that was ever actually enforced, or was it like one of those old/weird laws we have in the US where something like bathing a donkey in a bathtub on a Sunday is considered a felony?  

All joking aside, the law has had a negative effect on the history of the Canadian comic book industry. The law essentially forced Superior (the last Golden Age Canadian Comic company) to close its doors in the 1950s. It was enforced sporadically until the 1980s. The last time the law was used was in 1987 in Calgary when police raided a comic shop and charged the owners with selling obscene materials. This led to the creation of the Comic Legends Legal Defense Fund: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comic_Legends_Legal_Defense_Fund

[roach04]

I also heard it will no longer be a crime to challenge someone to a duel.  First chance I get, I'm duelling somebody! 

[tv horror]

Crime comics at ten paces!

[thehumantorch]

My god, I've been a criminal mastermind most of my life and didn't know it.

[ecgt]

23 minutes ago, roach04 said:

I also heard it will no longer be a crime to challenge someone to a duel.  First chance I get, I'm duelling somebody! 

[ecgt]

1 minute ago, thehumantorch said:

My god, I've been a criminal mastermind most of my life and didn't know it.

At almost 25,000 posts here on the boards, you're probably more culpable than anyone else!

[thehumantorch]

2 minutes ago, ecgt said:

At almost 25,000 posts here on the boards, you're probably more culpable than anyone else!

You probably have an alias with tens of thousands of posts. 

[ecgt]

2 minutes ago, thehumantorch said:

You probably have an alias with tens of thousands of posts. 

I plead Section 13 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

[Buzzetta]

And all of a sudden @greggy inbox was flooded with duel requests 

[Ken Aldred]

The Brits had similar restrictions on horror comics.

It didn't stop Youngblood 1 entering the country and was clearly never rigorously enforced.

Edited June 7, 2017 by Ken Aldred

[ADAMANTIUM]

1 hour ago, roach04 said:

I also heard it will no longer be a crime to challenge someone to a duel.  First chance I get, I'm duelling somebody! 

It's time to DDDDDdddduel -- insert Yu-Gi-Oh meme here