Gordon Lee, the proprietor of Legends, a comic book store in Rome, GA, stands accused of two misdemeanor counts of distribution of harmful to minors material for accidentally disseminating a copy of Alternative Comics #2, a promotional comic featuring a scene that briefly depicts famed artist Pablo Picasso in the nude.



Through the efforts of his legal team led by Alan Begner and Paul Cadle, the State dropped five of the seven counts Lee initially faced when he was charged early in 2005. Last April he was scheduled to go to trial to defend against the remaining misdemeanor counts but prosecutors, at the last moment, dismissed his case and drew up a new accusation to accommodate facts they had apparently discovered on the eve of trial. The new accusation alleges that Lee handed "Alternative Comics #2" to a six-year-old minor and his nine-year-old brother, instead of solely to the nine-year-old, as has been previously, and repeatedly, declared.



To date the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund has spent just under $60,000 defending Lee's innocence, and expects costs to rise sharply as a new trial approaches.



For more information on the Gordon Lee case and the CBLDF, please visit www.cbldf.org. You may also make a donation to the Fund in support of this case by visiting the donations section and the updated web store at the CBLDF website.