Comic-book convention
features porn

A major national comic-book convention in Michigan this weekend features pornographic-film stars and sale of pornographic material, reports the American Family Association in Michigan, a fact that has caused at least one participating organization to pull out of the event.

The Motor City Comics Convention in Novi, a Detroit suburb, encourages attendance by children with a discount admission fee. Kids under 5 are free with a paid adult.

“Even at a comics convention, pornography is not kids’ stuff,” said AFA-Michigan President Gary Glenn in a statement. “The U.N. Commission on Human Rights calls pornography ‘a form of violence against women,’ and police say it’s notorious as a motivating factor in sex crimes against women and children. Hopefully, parents will stay away and keep their children away, and make convention organizers pay a price for having no conscience, for trying to use an event clearly designed to attract families and children to promote pornography.”

According to the group, the Muscular Dystrophy Association, which was scheduled to be the beneficiary of a charity art auction fund-raiser during the event, has pulled out.

David W. Eppihimer of MDA issued a statement Thursday saying the charity has “instructed the people running the Motor City Comics Convention in Novi, Michigan, this weekend to take MDA’s name off of all materials and the event’s website. MDA has also declined participation in the art auction and all other events these people conduct.”

Glenn called it “irresponsible, even reckless” for convention organizers to offer personalities and events likely to attract families and children, then knowingly mix that audience with the largely adult male crowd of porn users.

On the convention’s website, promotion of the porn stars are sprinkled in among photos of other guests.

According to AFA Michigan, the American Family Association of Pennsylvania recently fought a similar battle with a convention in Philadelphia. The Pennsylvania group says the convention “had huge posters directly behind the Marvel and DC Comics booths advertising the Playboy and Penthouse booths. Bargain bins of comic books contained pornographic comics along with regular merchandise. Superhero comics were displayed one shelf lower than pornographic magazines. Vendors handed out free comics to convention attendees – adult and child alike. … Parents had no indication that pornography would be available when they brought their children to this convention.”