There appears to be a concerted effort underway to protect Brownstein and the only dissenting voices are coming from comics fans on the message boards. Taki Soma is a well known and much loved personality in fandom. The industry press has basically fallen in line with what looks like a massive cover-up of facts and distortion of evidence that diminsh from Brownsteins's crime against her - along with a few other instances that are floating around as rumors or uncorroborated stories. Rich Johnston's comment in this week's Lying in the Gutters (scroll down to Don't Walk Away...) tells us, inadvertantly, that the whole affair is a big whitewash and that we simply have to live with it.

And you know… while a fair few people have been criticising Newsarama, The Beat and Comics Journal for being biased over this… has anyone noticed the web address for Friends Of Lulu - - http://www.popcultureshock.com/lulu/ - - the charity behind the Fund?

Hey if everybody is biased, does that just kind of even out in the end?

One has to read very carefully between the lines to see the sarcasm in Rich's statement. What he's saying is that the claims coming from comics fans about bias are substantiated. Matt Brady (Newsarama) and Heidi MacDonald (The Beat) both admit to a friendship and endearment to Brownstein when commenting on the story. Brownstein's impressive career in comics journalism included a fruitful association with The Comics Journal. These three institutes are of the most influential in the comics media today. Together, they've taken a stand in Brownstein's defense - and the rest of the comics press has simply fallen in step.

A look at Brownstein's career accolades, as reported in a press release announcing his appointment to directorship of CBLDF, February, 2002:

Brownstein has been one of the more prolific comics journalists of the past decade. He entered the field in 1994 as the writer and publisher of the interview magazine Feature. In three years Brownstein self-published fourteen issues of the magazine, capturing the insights of some of the field's brightest talent during the most tumultuous period in the direct market's history.

In 1998 Brownstein became Programming Director for Comic-Con International where he was responsible for organizing panels and seminars for CCI: San Diego, Comic Book Expo, Pro/Con, and APE. He returned to journalism in 2000, writing for magazines and web sites including The Comics Journal, Comics Buyer's Guide, Comic Book Resources, and TheComicStore.com. He also served as articles editor for the Expo Anthology, published to benefit the CBLDF.

In 2001 Brownstein was the principal reporter for Comicon.com's SPLASH, where he covered the entire convention circuit and broke several of the year's most important news stories. Brownstein also contributed stories to Publisher's Weekly and to the inaugural edition of Wizard Edge.

Last year he also served on the Expo's Steering Committee as Programming Director and consulted in both formal and informal capacities for a variety of comics-related causes.

Charles Brownstein is perceived as an energetic man who's forged a notable career in the comics community. He's gained the friendship and support of the most talented creators, journalists and executives in the medium. His appointment to directorship of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund provides a security blanket like no other. The CBLDF is one of the most respected institutes in the comics, and rightly so. Its tireless efforts to protect publishers and creators are of the most dire necessity in confronting the repeated and continuous litigation assaults on the comics. It's the one institute that enjoys across-the-board support from every publisher, media organization and creator. As its director, Charles Brownstein enjoys this same protection and support that the CBDLF itself has earned.

Charles Brownstein appears to need every ounce of support he can get. His energetic spirit is known to spill over to questionable territory when he's not in the office. Stories of sexual intimidation of female volunteers abound within the close circles of his social acquaintances. He uses his position to blatantly demand semi-sexual favors from them or to insult them with profanities when they don't comply. Several allegations of sexual misconduct against him were swept under the carpet when the victims chose not to suffer the inevitable mud slinging they knew would result from their doing so. A man of Charles Brownstein's position and influence is a very difficult animal to bring down under such circumstances - and anyone who tries to do so is expected to pay a very high price. This is the problem the comics community has with Charles Brownstein

For Taki Soma, however, the story just wouldn't go away. When it spilled over to Ronee Garcia Bourgeois' column at Buzzacope, Brownstein positioned himself for the kill which began with his sexual assult on her. Claiming a watered down version of the incident to make it appear like a misdemeanor and a first and last time affair. An offer of monetary recompense. Casting doubt on the integrity of Taki and Ronee. The cobble-cogs of the comics went into action and succeeded in washing his hands clean of the crime.

Everyone seems to be satisfied with laying the story to rest. Everyone except for the thousands of comics fans expressing their disapproval across the message boards. Add to them one Ronee Garcia Bourgeois, the opinion columnist who bravely uncovered the incident at Buzzscope.

And one woman of valor, Taki Soma, the victim who cries in the wilderness for justice.

Permalink Posted: 4:52 AM EST