comic book

SACRAMENTO — On a recent day at Sacramento native Lecho Lopez’s comic shop in the city, his 5-year-old nephew read his first word aloud: “bad.” It was from a graphic novel.

There was irony in that being his first word, because Lopez credits comic books with many positive things in his life. That is why he supports repealing a city ordinance dating to 1949 that bars the distribution of many comic books to kids and teens. It is not enforced today.

“It’s a silly law,” said Lopez, who has a red-and-black tattoo of the Superman logo on his forearm, in an interview at his store, JLA Comics. “A lot of good things come out of comic books.”

A City Council committee unanimously voted last week to advance the repeal and designate the third week of September as “Sacramento Comic Book Week.” It now heads to the full council for a vote. The ban prohibits distributing comic books prominently featuring an account of crime that show images of illegal acts such as arson, murder or rape to anyone under 18.

In the mid-20th century, as comic books were on the rise, fears spread over their effect on children, with some arguing they could lead to illiteracy or inspire violent crime. The industry decided to regulate itself, and local governments — from Los Angeles County to Lafayette, La. — adopted bans to shield certain comics from young people. While some cities like Sacramento still have those laws on the books, they are rarely if ever enforced.

Now, proponents of repealing the Sacramento law say it is necessary to reflect the value of comics and help protect against a modern wave of book bans.

Local artist pushes for repeal

Comic book author Eben Burgoon, who started a petition to overturn Sacramento’s ban, said that comics “have this really valuable ability to speak truth to power.”

“These antiquated laws kind of set up this jeopardy where bad actors could work hard to make this medium imperiled,” he said at a hearing Tuesday held by the City Council’s Law and Legislation Committee.

Sacramento is a great place to devote a week to celebrating comics, Burgoon said. The city has a “wonderful” comic book community, he said, and hosts CrockerCon, a comics showcase at a local art museum, every year.

Sam Helmick, president of the American Library Assn., said “there is no good reason” to have a ban such as Sacramento’s on the books, saying it “flies in the face of modern 1st Amendment norms.”

The history behind comic book bans

The movement to censor comics decades ago was not an aberration in U.S. history, said Jeff Trexler, interim director of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, which fights to protect the free speech rights of people who read or make comics.

New York, for example, created a commission in the 1920s dedicated to reviewing films to determine whether they should be licensed for public viewing, based on whether they were “obscene” or “sacrilegious” and could “corrupt morals” or “incite crime,” according to the state archives.

“Every time there’s a new medium or a new way of distributing a medium, there is an outrage and an attempt to suppress it,” Trexler said.

The California Supreme Court ruled in 1959 that a Los Angeles County policy banning the sale of “crime” comic books to minors was unconstitutional because it was too broad. Sacramento’s ban probably doesn’t pass muster for the same reason, Trexler said.

There is not a lot of recent research on whether there is a link between comic books and violent behavior, said Christopher Ferguson, a professor of psychology at Stetson University in Florida. But, he said, similar research into television and video games has not shown a link to “clinically relevant changes in youth aggression or violent behavior.”

Comic-book lovers tout their benefits

Leafing through comics like EC Comics’ “Epitaphs from the Abyss” and DC’s and Marvel’s collaboration “Batman/Deadpool,” Lopez showed an Associated Press reporter images of characters smashing the windshield of a car, smacking someone across the face and attacking Batman using bows and arrows — the kinds of scenes that might be regulated if Sacramento’s ban were enforced.

But comics with plot lines that include violence can contain positive messages, said Benjamin Morse, a media studies lecturer at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

“Spider-Man is a very mature concept,” said Morse, who became an “X-Men” fan as a kid and worked at Marvel for 10 years. “It’s a kid who’s lost his parents, his uncle dies to violence, and he vows to basically be responsible.”

Lopez’s mother bought him his first comic book, “Ultimate Spider-Man #1,” when he was about 9 years old, he said. But it was “Kingdom Come,” a comic featuring DC’s Justice League, that changed his life at a young age, with its “hyperrealistic” art that looked like nothing he had ever seen before, he said.

He said his interest in comic books helped him avoid getting involved with gangs growing up. They also improved his reading skills as someone with dyslexia.

“The only thing that I was really able to read that helped me absorb the information was comic books, because you had a visual aid to help you explain what was going on in the book,” Lopez said.

And a comic book can offer so much more, Burgoon said at last week’s hearing.

“It makes imaginative thinkers,” he said. “It does not make widespread delinquency. It does not make societal harm.”

Austin writes for the Associated Press.

We live in Pasadena with our two teen boys, 14 and 17. We moved from the East Coast four years ago and are still getting to know all the interesting neighborhoods, foods and quirks of Los Angeles. We spent a lot of time in Little Tokyo as we love all things Japanese, but we need to explore more and see other neighborhoods that we don’t even know about. We’re interested in art, but not really art museums because that’s too boring for teen boys. We love food as an anchor for a visit to a neighborhood. Can you give me some suggestions? — Margaret Hunt

Looking for things to do in L.A.? Ask us your questions and our expert guides will share highly specific recommendations.

Here’s what we suggest:

I don’t have kids yet, but every time my siblings visit me from Las Vegas, I’m reminded of how difficult it is to keep teenagers entertained (and off their phones). But it sounds like your boys have some cool interests. We’ve put together a few mini itineraries in different neighborhoods. You won’t be able to cover them all in one day, so choose your own adventure.

If your teens are into the art form of comic books, check out Revenge Of, not too far from Pasadena in Glassell Park. “The shop, with its black-and-white tile floors, murals and neon lighting, is full of comic books, graphic novels and collectibles,” Times entertainment and features editor Brittany Levine Beckman tells me. “There are also pinball machines and arcade games, which may be as fun for you as they are for your kids.” Next door is sister shop And Destroy, which offers coffee and inventive beverages (the November menu includes a cornbread matcha concoction and sweet potato latte), and hosts a board game day on Sundays. Up the street is Bub and Grandma’s diner (the tuna made our food critic’s list of great sandwiches in L.A. a few years ago). But be warned, it gets packed on the weekends, so prepare to wait for a table or order to go.

For a Westside option, given that your family is already acquainted with Little Tokyo, explore L.A.’s other Japanese enclave: Sawtelle. Kick off your adventure at Odd One Out, an award-winning boba tea shop, then take a quick walk to the Giant Robot store, which is often cited as the birthplace of Asian pop culture products. Your kids will love browsing the shelves. In a Times guide to Sawtelle, Grace Xue writes that it’s packed with “quirky-cool art pieces, blind boxes, plushies, home goods, toys, anime merch and gifts that will delight the young and young at heart.” Across the street is Giant Robot’s sister gallery, GR2. The snug art hub is anything but boring — this month’s group exhibit features dinosaur art. By now, you’ve probably worked up an appetite and the noodles at Wadaya are hearty enough to satisfy the stomachs of teen boys. Times contributor Tiffany Tse recommends its mazemen: “the rich, sauce-slicked, brothless cousin of the classic noodle bowl.”

A neighborhood that should be at the top of every East Coaster’s list is Los Feliz, one of the most walkable areas in L.A. Start your day off at Ululani’s Hawaiian Shaved Ice, a Maui-born sweet shop that sells cloud-like shaved ice that is so soft it practically melts in your mouth. There are fun flavors like cotton candy and pickled mango. Once you’ve secured your treats, head to Barnsdall Art Park, where you can relax on on a luscious lawn and take in a stunning view of the city. Don’t forget to bring a picnic blanket, and for bonus points, bring a card game to play. I did this with my siblings and we had so much fun. You can also tour the century-old, Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Hollyhock House from Thursday to Saturday — advance tickets are recommended. Have a quick dinner at smash burger hot spot Goldburger and be sure to order the curly fries. Finally, wrap up your evening at Vista, a glorious single-screen movie theater owned by Quentin Tarantino.

Now for some rapid-fire picks across L.A.: There’s Koreatown, where you can take your pick of delicious Korean BBQ joints, then go bowling at Shatto 39 Lanes, virtual golfing at W Screen Golf or sing your heart out at karaoke. My colleague, food writer Stephanie Breijo, also suggests checking out Santa Monica’s pier, Camera Obscura Art Lab, “some of the L.A.’s best pastries at Petitgrain Boulangerie” and having dinner at Southeast Asian hot spot Cobi’s. For an off-the-beaten-path art option, there’s Phantasma Gloria, one Echo Park man’s massive front-yard sculpture. It’s made of rebar and colorful glass bottles, and shines differently depending on the light that day. You can see the art from the street on a drive-by or schedule a free tour by texting the creator, Randlett King Lawrence, in advance at (213) 278-1508. He says he has some “recent spectacular expansions.” Finally, Downtown L.A. is overflowing with things to do such as exploring the treasured Last Bookstore, eating food from around the globe at Grand Central Market, taking a ride along the iconic Angels Flight railway and learning about music history at the Grammy Museum.

Living in L.A. is realizing how expansive it is. Each time I feel like I’ve figured this city out, something new and exciting pops up, sending me down a road of discovery. So as you and your family explore the sprawling city, I hope you find more and more reasons to love it as much as I do.