The Beat noted a story the other day about a Guilford, Conn., teacher accused of giving a 13-year-old girl a “pornographic” comic book. What wasn’t mentioned at all in the story was what the name of said comic book was exactly (though David Welsh later discovered that the teacher had resigned over the incident).
Turns out the comic in question was none other than a copy of … Eightball. That’s right, not Robert Crumb or Horny Biker Sluts, but freakin’ Eightball.
An English teacher at Guilford High School has resigned after assigning a questionable comic book to a 13 year old, and now the child’s parents may press charges.
Parents like Jenny Ginns are outraged that a teacher provided a adult comic book to a freshman student.
“It’s pornographic. I can’t imagine my 13 year old looking at it,” said Jenny.
After looking through the comic magazine ‘Eightball’, Jenny understands why the Nate Fisher resigned from job at the high school and why the parents of the young teen want to press charges.
“You’re trusting that they’re hired by the town, sending your kids to school, assuming they’re going to be safe and cared for all day,” said Jenny.
Now, to be fair, Clowes work is full of content obviously aimed at adults, not teens, and depending upon which issue was loaned, I can completely understand the parental concern. Was it a copy of The Death Ray or Pussey? Ghost World or Like a Velvet Glove? If it was the latter rather than the former that was handed to my 13-year-old by a teacher, then I might be very well contacting the principal as well.
Still, man, Eightball?? Seriously?
Note: My apologies to Heidi for stealing the image, but it was just too perfect.
September 20th, 2007 at 5:40 pm
The issue in question was #22, which was later collected as Ice Haven. There’s not a whole lot of anything explicit in this particular issue, and School Library Journal had reviewed it and given it an age rating of grade 10 and up. The girl in question is a high school freshman. The book is NOT pornographic, no matter what the girl’s father says. However, the teacher may have suffered a lapse in judgment giving this particular comic to a young teen girl. The father is over-reacting in an all-too-typical way. After all, the public library in Marshall, Missouri, had to deal with a patron who called Fun Home and Blankets pornography – although that situation had a happy ending. This particular situation may not – the girl has been harassed by fellow students because the teacher has been popular. The image being shown here is not in Eightball issue #22.
September 21st, 2007 at 6:25 am
Appropriate or not?
Eightball #22 by Daniel Clowes
p26
Blue Bunny
Blue Bunny: I’m back in town, kids, fresh-sprung from prison!
Blue Bunny: I paid my dues! It’s all about me this time!
(bunny passes people on streat)
Blue Bunny: Wha’ choo lookin’ at, doosh?
(blue bunny passes female on street)
Blue Bunny: Hey red, how’sabouta suck-job? I been living on state pussy for eighteen months!
Blue Bunny: That’s alright for you then, bitch!
(bunny passes sign “now hiring”)
Employer: Sorry, but the position has already been filled.
Blue Bunny: Who needs your shitty job? I won’t starve!
(bunny passes old lade with purse in on the street)
Blue Bunny: Hand it over, grammaw!
Blue Bunny: GIVE IT!
Policeman: Hold it right there!
Blue Bunny: Yowsa!
Blue Bunny: You won’t take me down!
Blue Bunny: I’m on my third strike!
(bunny shoots flamethrower into crowd of police)
Blue Bunny: I’ll roast you all!
(bunny throws dynamite into crowd of police)
Blue Bunny: My excuse is I had a lousy upbringing!
(explosions all around)
Blue Bunny: Top o’ the world, ma!
Blue Bunny: That’s more like it! Eat shit losers!
This isn’t the worst of what is in Eightball 22
- Two young kids have sex than kill another kid because he was gay and retarded, bury him in a hole, then piss on the grave.
- A man masturbates on a toilet
- A cave man killing another caveman and then rapes his mate.
The School Library Journal has rated this book for 10th grade or above, but who is the School Library Journal and what authority do they have to rate reading material for schools.
The real problem with this is the fact that a teacher gave this student this type of reading material after class as an additional reading assignment. This 13 yo girl was the was the ONLY one that received this material. The school had no knowledge of this as stated by the superintendent.
The teacher resigned in order to avoid a lengthy wrongful termination hearing in which he would have had to prove that his actions were condoned by the school board, which it has already been reported that it wasn’t.
Charles Brownstein spoke all through the article and even wrote on blogs about this article that it is a grave injustice that a teacher resigned over assigning a Daniel Clowes comic. The CBLDF clearly feels that this course of events is completely innocent. Clearly, the CBLDF and Charles Brownstein have no problem exposing you children to this type of material and don’t feel there is any need to approve reading material before handing it out to students.
What’s next, shall teachers hold kids after class and give them additional assignments in the proper way to give oral sex, and than ask for a demonstration?
Where do we draw the line?
There is a reason why reading material is first approved by the administration before hand. This is not a censorship issue, no one is calling for censorship. A line has to be drawn on what material is used as reading, and once defined, that line should never be crossed, because we trust the school administration to follow through with the policy they create.
-A concerned parent
September 24th, 2007 at 5:49 pm
I think some concerned parents overreact due to close mindedness and care less about what’s actually going on in a situation, but more about how that can use it as some of springboard proving they’re concerned for their child’s well being.
Is this story REALLY just about a vulgar blue bunny, and people sexually and physically abusing each other? Is there no redeeming value or deeper message to the circumstances presented in the comic?
We read “American Psycho” my senior year of high school in an English Literature class, and it without a doubt contains the most violence and disgusting depictions of murder and sexual abuse I’ve ever read. That being said, any one who’ll put the book off as just being a glorification of murder, misogyny and hate probably doesn’t understand that sometimes stories are about more than the events in the plot. That’s the entire foundation of studying literature and art.
What’s most unfortunate about this whole situation is that we have no information about what the teacher intended by giving this to the girl (I highly doubt this was any assignment other than an offer of recommendation, that would not be required for a grade) and why the girl accepted it instead of immediately going to authorities, instead of waiting until she got home to go to her parents, if she at all felt as though this teacher was attempting to push pornography on her, or take advantage of her.
This just sounds like close-minded bull to me.
October 18th, 2007 at 9:03 pm
clearly cbldf has no problem with taking advantage of girls in any situation…this was a teachers attempt to try to get into a 13 year old pants, kinda like trying to get into a swimsuit in a hot tub wouldn’t you say? I no longer trust were my cbldf money goes, that is why my money goes to heroes initiative
October 22nd, 2007 at 1:22 pm
Brownsteinfan: I imagine with the latest news of what happened your judgmental comments have been altered?
November 19th, 2007 at 5:42 pm
““It’s pornographic. I can’t imagine my 13 year old looking at it,” said Jenny.”
You have a very very poor understanding of 13 year olds.