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(ominous music)
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(pencil scratching)a
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(bright instrumental music)
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00:00:25,992 --> 00:00:27,538
- [Mike] I'm dying
for your sins.
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00:00:28,023 --> 00:00:30,988
- [Jello] So-called artist
Mike Diana is going to jail for
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00:00:31,013 --> 00:00:34,004
three years due to his issues
number seven and number eight
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of "Boiled Angel." The good
citizens of Pinellas County and
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00:00:37,056 --> 00:00:39,884
surrounding counties burned
copies of "Boiled Angel" and
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00:00:39,909 --> 00:00:42,873
an effigy of Mr. Diana outside
the courthouse. Prosecutors
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00:00:42,898 --> 00:00:44,642
said that Mr. Diana
is responsible
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00:00:44,667 --> 00:00:45,838
for the moral breakdown
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00:00:45,863 --> 00:00:48,728
of society and has been
restricted from going within 200
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feet of any schools or parks
where young children may be.
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(television smashes)
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00:00:52,871 --> 00:00:55,759
- [Mike] Fuck those
motherfuckers, man! Don't those
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00:00:55,784 --> 00:00:58,370
dumb fucks realise
that I use my art as outlet
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00:00:58,395 --> 00:01:01,199
for all my anger? Maybe
I should just act like the
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00:01:01,224 --> 00:01:03,862
evil monster that they
are making me out to be.
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00:01:03,890 --> 00:01:06,386
I'll show you
fucks! See this little
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00:01:06,411 --> 00:01:08,802
brat? This kid is
trash now, he's fucked.
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(baby wailing)
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00:01:09,950 --> 00:01:13,733
This kid would've grown up
to be a Florida state prosecutor
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or a newscaster. Shit, maybe
I'm giving you people the wrong
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idea with this comic. You have
to understand that I don't want
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00:01:21,601 --> 00:01:25,502
to hurt anyone. Hell, I wouldn't
even hurt a little insect.
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- [Announcer] The trial of Mike
Diana is aired on live TV all
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across the state. Diana showed
up with his stripper girlfriend!
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- [Reporter] In court today,
the jury reached a unanimous
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decision finding
Diana not guilty
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of publishing lewd and obscene
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material. So, Mr. Diana, how do
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00:01:42,116 --> 00:01:43,734
you feel about
the jury's verdict
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00:01:43,759 --> 00:01:45,073
and will you now continue in
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00:01:45,098 --> 00:01:46,715
your efforts to
draw and publish?
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(gunshot fires)
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Jesus fucking Christ, Mike Diana
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has just been shot
dead on live TV!
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(gunshot, screaming)
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And the lamb of
God that killed him
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00:01:54,460 --> 00:01:56,166
has just blown his
own brains out also!
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00:01:56,906 --> 00:01:59,859
- [Announcer] Mike's
body is wrapped in old
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00:01:59,884 --> 00:02:02,746
newspapers rather
than a coffin due to the
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00:02:02,771 --> 00:02:05,846
fact he spent all his
money on lawyer's fees.
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00:02:05,871 --> 00:02:08,787
The holy lamb of God
rests in a gold plated
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00:02:08,812 --> 00:02:11,362
and diamond studded
coffin with a big
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00:02:11,387 --> 00:02:14,316
American flag draped
over it. Mike's spirit
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00:02:14,341 --> 00:02:17,226
spends eternity in
Hell where he is forced
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00:02:17,251 --> 00:02:20,337
to draw cute pictures
of flowers and puppies.
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00:02:21,145 --> 00:02:24,921
The spirit of the lamb
of God is given his wings
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00:02:24,946 --> 00:02:29,005
and halo and flies around
Heaven eating Big Macs and
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Chicken McNuggets.
Mike is buried in an isolated
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graveyard. Only the insects
come to visit his grave.
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(crickets chirp)
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00:02:38,970 --> 00:02:40,490
- [Reporter] Michael
Diana emerged
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00:02:40,490 --> 00:02:43,156
from a Dallas County
courtroom this afternoon.
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00:02:43,181 --> 00:02:44,957
- [Reporter] Michael
Diana was arraigned today.
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00:02:44,982 --> 00:02:47,154
He claims efforts to
publish a magazine called--
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00:02:47,179 --> 00:02:49,451
- [Reporter] Michael Diana today
entered pleas of not guilty
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to three counts of
promoting obscenity.
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00:02:51,822 --> 00:02:55,615
Diana publishes a magazine
called Boiled Angels.
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00:02:55,640 --> 00:02:56,950
- [Reporter] A
comic book filled
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00:02:56,950 --> 00:03:00,516
with sadism, masochism,
and perversion.
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00:03:00,516 --> 00:03:01,970
(energetic music)
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00:03:01,970 --> 00:03:06,280
- It's not any innocent
soft pornography.
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00:03:06,280 --> 00:03:10,880
This is hardcore
psychopathic material.
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00:03:10,880 --> 00:03:14,070
- Here we have another
sort of monster
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00:03:14,070 --> 00:03:17,960
being fellated by
a disembodied head.
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- The prosecutors don't want
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00:03:19,140 --> 00:03:20,780
to acknowledge
Mike as an artist.
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00:03:20,780 --> 00:03:24,080
They want to treat this
as some sort of corruptive
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00:03:24,080 --> 00:03:28,370
foul sausage that Mike was
moving through the mails.
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00:03:28,370 --> 00:03:29,710
- It's just drawings.
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He's not a rapist.
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He's not a murderer.
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He doesn't even harm a fly.
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This guy is the nicest
man I've ever known.
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- The whole theme of this,
of number eight was cannibalism.
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00:03:40,220 --> 00:03:42,860
- There's definitely though
a strain in his work of,
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00:03:42,860 --> 00:03:45,345
he's like class clown.
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(babbling)
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00:03:48,380 --> 00:03:50,340
- I don't know if I've
read the whole thing,
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00:03:50,340 --> 00:03:55,280
but yes, I looked at 'em
and to me, art is art.
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00:03:55,280 --> 00:03:58,650
- I told him, draw things
that when you look at it,
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it makes you happy.
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00:04:01,176 --> 00:04:04,690
Looking at somebody getting
their brains blown out,
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00:04:04,690 --> 00:04:07,680
it's not something that
makes most people happy.
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00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:09,629
- [Reporter] The Concerned
Women of America and
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00:04:09,654 --> 00:04:12,080
another group called
Citizens Opposing Pornography
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00:04:12,080 --> 00:04:14,020
say they will
maintain a court watch
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00:04:14,020 --> 00:04:15,793
to keep the
pressure on Diana.
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00:04:16,950 --> 00:04:18,213
- Jesus loves Michael.
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00:04:18,666 --> 00:04:20,230
He'll forgive him.
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00:04:20,230 --> 00:04:22,505
- Teenage boys are
always drawing dicks.
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00:04:22,530 --> 00:04:23,553
(bell chimes)
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00:04:23,578 --> 00:04:25,002
And here's a guy
just because he's
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00:04:25,027 --> 00:04:26,567
printing it up in
a little mini comic
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00:04:26,592 --> 00:04:28,920
that clearly wasn't being
sold at the local 7-Eleven,
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00:04:28,920 --> 00:04:31,480
it seems so
strange that people
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became so freaked
out about it.
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00:04:32,990 --> 00:04:34,690
- He was very
scared, you know?
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00:04:34,690 --> 00:04:36,310
And he made every
right to be.
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00:04:36,310 --> 00:04:37,960
- It's not always
the function of art
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00:04:37,960 --> 00:04:42,670
to soothe or to simply depict
comfortable situations.
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00:04:42,670 --> 00:04:44,720
Sometimes art has
to depict things
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00:04:44,720 --> 00:04:47,220
that are very offensive,
very horrifying.
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This case was a
perfect example
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00:04:49,680 --> 00:04:54,680
of obscenity law dealt
in laboratory sterility.
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- The idea that somebody in,
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00:05:00,501 --> 00:05:03,360
at that time and
this day and age,
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00:05:03,360 --> 00:05:07,000
could be arrested
for drawing comics
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00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:10,406
seemed to me absolutely
and utterly obscene.
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- They did want
to put me in jail
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for three years
because of it.
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- Because you're a
danger to society.
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- Yeah.
- Well, I think you are.
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00:05:18,490 --> 00:05:19,885
I think you know
you're a punk.
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00:05:19,885 --> 00:05:22,052
(gushing)
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- Hi, I'm Mike Diana.
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00:05:24,850 --> 00:05:26,250
I'm the only
comic book artist
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00:05:26,250 --> 00:05:29,230
ever convicted of obscenity
in the United States.
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00:05:29,230 --> 00:05:31,939
That happened in
1994 here in Florida.
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00:05:31,964 --> 00:05:33,942
(pencil scratching)
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(heavy punk music)
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00:05:44,833 --> 00:05:47,750
(paper fluttering)
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♪ You want me to
kiss your ass ♪
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♪ Well bend over buddy,
here comes my foot ♪
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00:06:00,018 --> 00:06:04,008
♪ I don't need
your crying shit ♪
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00:06:04,008 --> 00:06:05,023
(siren wailing)
129
00:06:05,023 --> 00:06:09,699
♪ Jesters rise
and take a fist ♪
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00:06:09,699 --> 00:06:14,220
♪ Bite it, you scum ♪
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00:06:14,220 --> 00:06:18,897
♪ Bite it, you scum ♪
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00:06:18,897 --> 00:06:22,203
♪ Bite it, you scum ♪
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00:06:22,203 --> 00:06:23,872
♪ Here I come ♪
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00:06:23,872 --> 00:06:25,647
♪ Bite it ♪
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00:06:25,647 --> 00:06:28,961
♪ Dumb fucking
sucking whore ♪
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- [Jello] In a small
town in Florida,
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00:06:31,310 --> 00:06:34,830
artist Mike Diana created
two handmade zines
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00:06:34,830 --> 00:06:37,070
so full of potent imagery
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00:06:37,070 --> 00:06:39,940
that people wanted
to put him in jail.
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00:06:39,940 --> 00:06:42,270
Shocking, provocative,
offensive,
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00:06:42,270 --> 00:06:44,860
and often disturbingly
hilarious,
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00:06:44,860 --> 00:06:49,860
Mike Diana's art was also seen
by many as simply obscene.
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Here then is what happens
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00:06:52,110 --> 00:06:56,972
when one man's art becomes
another man's obscenity.
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00:06:56,972 --> 00:06:59,972
(suspenseful music)
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00:07:13,130 --> 00:07:16,063
But first, a brief detour.
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00:07:17,231 --> 00:07:20,560
- The first time I saw an
EC was at Sam's Candy Store.
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00:07:20,560 --> 00:07:24,280
It was January 1951.
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00:07:24,280 --> 00:07:27,250
I was nine years old
and my aunt Leona
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00:07:27,250 --> 00:07:30,480
had taken me to the candy
store to get some ice cream,
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00:07:30,480 --> 00:07:33,310
and while she was negotiating
with the ice cream,
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00:07:33,310 --> 00:07:35,110
I was looking at the
racks of comic books
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00:07:35,110 --> 00:07:39,620
and standing out was "The
Vault of Horror" number 17,
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00:07:39,620 --> 00:07:41,708
I'll never forget it,
it had a werewolf on the cover
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00:07:41,733 --> 00:07:43,500
and I had never
seen a werewolf.
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00:07:43,500 --> 00:07:45,110
So I bought this comic book
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00:07:45,110 --> 00:07:48,570
and I knew that it was something
special, something for kids
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00:07:48,570 --> 00:07:52,700
and something that we really
didn't want the adults in on.
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00:07:52,700 --> 00:07:55,100
- [Jello] In an effort
to boost sagging sales,
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00:07:55,100 --> 00:07:58,170
William Gaines,
the publisher of EC Comics,
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00:07:58,170 --> 00:08:02,020
introduced a line of outstanding
horror and crime titles
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00:08:02,020 --> 00:08:05,630
that forever changed the
landscape of comic book culture.
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00:08:05,630 --> 00:08:09,130
Kids loved them,
parents hated them.
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00:08:09,130 --> 00:08:14,475
- EC Comics, they were the
best and they all had morals.
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00:08:14,500 --> 00:08:18,970
Each story had a moral.
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00:08:18,970 --> 00:08:21,518
Everybody that got their
comeuppance deserved to get it.
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00:08:21,543 --> 00:08:22,663
(gunshot fires)
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00:08:22,688 --> 00:08:25,090
- [Jello] EC horror
titles were so popular
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00:08:25,170 --> 00:08:26,940
that they opened the
door for hundreds
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00:08:26,940 --> 00:08:29,820
of horror and crime comics
from other publishers
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00:08:29,820 --> 00:08:32,250
that quickly flooded
the comic book racks.
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00:08:32,250 --> 00:08:36,580
Adults, however, feared that
somehow horror and crime comics
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00:08:36,580 --> 00:08:39,770
would seriously damage
children's minds.
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00:08:39,770 --> 00:08:43,698
Suddenly,
comics were a serious threat.
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00:08:43,723 --> 00:08:44,865
(bright music)
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00:08:44,890 --> 00:08:46,279
- [Announcer] There
are no economic
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00:08:46,304 --> 00:08:48,173
or racial lines to
the comic book threat.
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00:08:49,810 --> 00:08:51,460
But they're not reading
anything constructive.
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00:08:51,560 --> 00:08:53,610
They're reading stories
devoted to adultery,
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00:08:53,610 --> 00:08:55,870
to sexual perversion,
to horror,
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00:08:55,870 --> 00:08:59,190
to the most
despicable of crimes.
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00:08:59,190 --> 00:09:02,230
Horror and crime
comics upset kids.
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00:09:02,230 --> 00:09:03,710
You can see the
tension develop
184
00:09:03,710 --> 00:09:06,770
as the story gets more
gruesome and if it's a bad one,
185
00:09:06,770 --> 00:09:08,560
the kid is a mass
of jangled nerves
186
00:09:08,560 --> 00:09:09,960
by the time he's through it.
187
00:09:10,830 --> 00:09:13,580
(dramatic music)
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00:09:17,410 --> 00:09:18,760
Ah, he wasn't gonna hit ya.
189
00:09:18,760 --> 00:09:20,350
He just wanted to know
what it would feel like
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00:09:20,350 --> 00:09:22,980
to almost knock
someone's brains out.
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00:09:22,980 --> 00:09:25,190
- [Jello] Leading the
charge against the comics
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00:09:25,190 --> 00:09:28,160
was psychologist
Fredric Wertham.
193
00:09:28,160 --> 00:09:30,800
- Fredric Wertham was
a child psychologist
194
00:09:30,800 --> 00:09:34,440
who had done interesting
work with the poor in Harlem.
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00:09:34,440 --> 00:09:37,320
He wrote a book that
became notorious
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00:09:37,320 --> 00:09:39,677
in its persecution of comic
books and it was called,
197
00:09:39,677 --> 00:09:40,990
"Seduction of the Innocent."
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00:09:40,990 --> 00:09:44,520
For parts of it life, a Book
of the Month Club selection,
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00:09:44,520 --> 00:09:46,604
so it had a wide audience.
200
00:09:46,604 --> 00:09:50,390
His case basically was
that reading comic books
201
00:09:50,390 --> 00:09:53,070
turned children into
juvenile delinquents.
202
00:09:53,070 --> 00:09:54,722
It was false science.
203
00:09:54,722 --> 00:09:59,722
It was poorly reasoned, but
it was a very influential book
204
00:09:59,900 --> 00:10:02,950
and it scared the
hell out of parents.
205
00:10:02,950 --> 00:10:04,860
- [Jello] After first
captivating the nation
206
00:10:04,860 --> 00:10:08,010
with his televised hearings
on organised crime,
207
00:10:08,010 --> 00:10:11,430
senator Estes Kefauver
zeroed in on comics
208
00:10:11,430 --> 00:10:13,560
with a 1954
hearing in New York
209
00:10:13,560 --> 00:10:17,370
featuring EC publisher
William Gaines as a witness.
210
00:10:17,370 --> 00:10:19,290
- It would be just as
difficult to explain
211
00:10:19,290 --> 00:10:22,145
the harmless thrill of a
horror story to a Dr. Wertham
212
00:10:22,145 --> 00:10:24,030
as it would be to explain
213
00:10:24,030 --> 00:10:26,300
the sublimity of love
to a frigid old maid.
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00:10:26,325 --> 00:10:27,690
But do we think our children
215
00:10:27,690 --> 00:10:30,090
so evil, so vicious,
so simple minded,
216
00:10:30,115 --> 00:10:32,100
that it takes but a
comic magazine story
217
00:10:32,100 --> 00:10:33,700
of murder to set
them to murder,
218
00:10:33,700 --> 00:10:35,982
or robbery to set
them to robbery?
219
00:10:35,982 --> 00:10:38,670
(flames crackling)
220
00:10:38,670 --> 00:10:41,040
- We were also aware
of comic book burnings,
221
00:10:41,040 --> 00:10:45,330
and these occurred in various
towns across the country,
222
00:10:45,330 --> 00:10:48,640
and we knew that the jig
was up at a certain point.
223
00:10:48,640 --> 00:10:50,210
It was all gonna
come to an end,
224
00:10:50,210 --> 00:10:52,490
and it did with the
Comics Code Authority.
225
00:10:52,490 --> 00:10:54,310
- [Jello] Panicking,
comic book publishers
226
00:10:54,310 --> 00:10:56,460
quickly created a
comic book code,
227
00:10:56,460 --> 00:10:59,930
which gutted their books
of anything objectionable,
228
00:10:59,930 --> 00:11:02,350
horror and crime
comics disappeared.
229
00:11:02,350 --> 00:11:05,834
Publishers folded, hundreds
of artists were out of work.
230
00:11:05,859 --> 00:11:08,510
EC killed their
entire line of comics,
231
00:11:08,510 --> 00:11:11,030
except for "Mad," which
is a whole other story.
232
00:11:11,030 --> 00:11:12,640
And for all their trouble,
233
00:11:12,640 --> 00:11:16,340
juvenile delinquency
still plagued America.
234
00:11:16,340 --> 00:11:21,340
- I was reading EC before
the comic code. (chuckles)
235
00:11:24,140 --> 00:11:26,970
That's how old I am,
and then all of a sudden
236
00:11:26,970 --> 00:11:32,543
came the comic code and we
had to buy them underground.
237
00:11:32,690 --> 00:11:35,252
We had to pay more for them.
238
00:11:35,408 --> 00:11:37,662
There were only certain
guys that would sell 'em,
239
00:11:37,687 --> 00:11:40,350
and it was like, you know,
240
00:11:40,350 --> 00:11:45,350
a minor version of,
where do you get your dope?
241
00:11:46,440 --> 00:11:48,160
- At a certain point,
242
00:11:48,160 --> 00:11:51,970
I started thinking also
about the arguments
243
00:11:51,970 --> 00:11:53,750
that were being
made against comics
244
00:11:53,750 --> 00:11:56,663
from all sides, all borders,
245
00:11:56,663 --> 00:11:59,730
and I took it into my mind
246
00:11:59,730 --> 00:12:01,860
that maybe I shouldn't
have these comics.
247
00:12:01,860 --> 00:12:03,240
Maybe they were harming me.
248
00:12:03,240 --> 00:12:05,197
Maybe they were bad
for me and I said,
249
00:12:05,197 --> 00:12:08,037
"That's it,
these comics are not wholesome.
250
00:12:08,037 --> 00:12:09,268
"They're not a good idea."
251
00:12:09,293 --> 00:12:13,070
I took them all, all my ECs
and threw them in the garbage,
252
00:12:13,070 --> 00:12:15,490
and they,
(laughs) they wound up burned.
253
00:12:15,490 --> 00:12:17,330
About a month later,
I decided that,
254
00:12:17,330 --> 00:12:19,190
gee,
I need 'em all back again
255
00:12:19,190 --> 00:12:22,380
and so then began
the lifetime search
256
00:12:22,380 --> 00:12:24,070
to complete my EC collection.
257
00:12:24,070 --> 00:12:26,280
To buy them for the next
10, 20 years.
258
00:12:26,280 --> 00:12:27,980
Finally,
I got 'em all back again.
259
00:12:29,270 --> 00:12:33,420
- [Jello] In 1969,
a new threat emerged.
260
00:12:33,420 --> 00:12:36,243
Mike Diana was born.
261
00:12:37,290 --> 00:12:39,650
- [Mike] Well,
I was born in upstate New York,
262
00:12:39,650 --> 00:12:42,400
a small town called Geneva,
263
00:12:42,400 --> 00:12:45,530
and my father,
he was a science teacher.
264
00:12:45,530 --> 00:12:49,490
My mother stayed at home and
took care of me and my sister.
265
00:12:49,490 --> 00:12:51,190
I seemed to have
a happy life.
266
00:12:51,190 --> 00:12:52,660
I enjoyed school.
267
00:12:52,660 --> 00:12:55,773
I enjoyed holidays
and everything.
268
00:12:56,670 --> 00:13:01,623
- When he was preschool,
prekindergarten,
269
00:13:02,480 --> 00:13:06,413
and the teacher came to
me and said, "Can he talk?
270
00:13:07,797 --> 00:13:10,707
"Because he has never said a
word since he's been here."
271
00:13:11,855 --> 00:13:14,027
And I said, "Yes,
he can speak."
272
00:13:15,080 --> 00:13:17,790
Well, one day the
teacher asked a question
273
00:13:19,320 --> 00:13:22,170
and Mike said the answer,
274
00:13:22,170 --> 00:13:24,238
and one of the little
girls in the class said,
275
00:13:24,238 --> 00:13:27,877
"He talked, Michael talked!"
276
00:13:29,380 --> 00:13:32,870
- Growing up,
Mike was always special.
277
00:13:32,870 --> 00:13:37,870
He was well behaved,
he was quiet.
278
00:13:37,960 --> 00:13:39,920
Never had any
problem with him,
279
00:13:39,920 --> 00:13:42,520
never had any problem at all.
280
00:13:42,520 --> 00:13:44,840
Not compared to my other two.
281
00:13:44,840 --> 00:13:47,440
- When I was in kindergarten,
282
00:13:47,440 --> 00:13:51,771
we had an assignment was to
draw our family portrait.
283
00:13:52,522 --> 00:13:55,570
So I ended up drawing
my whole family nude,
284
00:13:55,570 --> 00:13:58,410
and I had drawn us
naked with genitalia,
285
00:13:58,410 --> 00:14:01,637
and the teacher came over
my shoulder and said,
286
00:14:01,637 --> 00:14:02,930
"Well,
where are their clothes?"
287
00:14:02,930 --> 00:14:07,360
And I remember I felt ashamed
and erased all the genitalia,
288
00:14:07,360 --> 00:14:09,320
and added clothes,
but you could still see
289
00:14:09,320 --> 00:14:13,310
the indentations of the pencil
underneath the clothing.
290
00:14:13,310 --> 00:14:15,260
I also had a
tapeworm collection,
291
00:14:15,260 --> 00:14:17,920
hundreds of different
types of tapeworms.
292
00:14:17,920 --> 00:14:19,630
I would sometimes
bring these items
293
00:14:19,630 --> 00:14:22,540
into show and tell at school.
294
00:14:22,540 --> 00:14:25,110
My father didn't really
believe in spanking,
295
00:14:25,110 --> 00:14:27,250
but he did believe
in pulling hair
296
00:14:27,250 --> 00:14:29,233
because he was a
science teacher,
297
00:14:29,862 --> 00:14:31,860
they weren't allowed
to hit the students,
298
00:14:31,860 --> 00:14:34,340
but they had to harm them in
ways they wouldn't leave marks,
299
00:14:34,340 --> 00:14:36,940
and pulling hair is
one of those ways.
300
00:14:36,940 --> 00:14:40,090
So, my father was always pulling
our hair when we were bad.
301
00:14:40,090 --> 00:14:41,240
I started doing drawings
302
00:14:41,240 --> 00:14:44,073
about people having their
hair pulled out by the roots.
303
00:14:45,020 --> 00:14:49,440
Occasionally there was a problem
with one of the neighbours.
304
00:14:49,440 --> 00:14:53,220
I remember one time this
woman who lived next door,
305
00:14:53,220 --> 00:14:54,780
she was a little
crazy in the head.
306
00:14:54,780 --> 00:14:58,370
She came out with two
cupcakes with cherries on 'em
307
00:14:58,370 --> 00:15:00,600
and she called me and
my best friend over.
308
00:15:00,600 --> 00:15:02,626
When we got close
enough, she smashed
309
00:15:02,651 --> 00:15:04,430
a cupcake right in his face,
310
00:15:04,430 --> 00:15:07,853
and he started instantly crying,
and then I ran right home.
311
00:15:08,881 --> 00:15:09,977
(laughing)
312
00:15:10,002 --> 00:15:11,116
- [Producer] Wait, what?
313
00:15:11,116 --> 00:15:13,050
Is there any back
story to that?
314
00:15:13,050 --> 00:15:14,138
Why?
315
00:15:14,138 --> 00:15:15,402
- I don't know. (laughs)
316
00:15:15,427 --> 00:15:17,140
- But then when I
was eight years old,
317
00:15:17,140 --> 00:15:19,374
our family decided
to move to Florida.
318
00:15:19,374 --> 00:15:22,624
(energetic punk music)
319
00:15:24,582 --> 00:15:25,946
♪ My daddy died ♪
320
00:15:25,946 --> 00:15:27,410
♪ He died on the phone ♪
321
00:15:27,410 --> 00:15:29,352
♪ We all knew and
cried and cried ♪
322
00:15:29,352 --> 00:15:31,515
♪ He thought I was a joke ♪
323
00:15:31,515 --> 00:15:33,289
♪ They'll take his job ♪
324
00:15:33,289 --> 00:15:35,199
♪ You know what they did ♪
325
00:15:35,199 --> 00:15:37,233
♪ All I do is try and try ♪
326
00:15:37,233 --> 00:15:39,983
♪ I'm just a kid ♪
327
00:15:47,690 --> 00:15:51,410
- When I did move to Florida,
I never stopped drawing.
328
00:15:51,410 --> 00:15:53,653
Drawing was what I
always liked to do.
329
00:15:54,500 --> 00:15:56,520
In school,
it became the only subject
330
00:15:56,520 --> 00:15:58,600
that I really got
good grades in.
331
00:15:58,600 --> 00:16:01,740
I started drawing
monsters, spaceships,
332
00:16:01,740 --> 00:16:04,060
the kinda stuff I
was drawing before,
333
00:16:04,060 --> 00:16:08,053
but it was more intense,
even more radical in some way.
334
00:16:08,920 --> 00:16:11,400
I remember making pottery
projects for my mother.
335
00:16:11,400 --> 00:16:12,823
She still has them today.
336
00:16:14,350 --> 00:16:16,530
One of the ways my mother
encouraged my artwork
337
00:16:16,530 --> 00:16:19,370
is she took me to art
museums around Florida.
338
00:16:19,370 --> 00:16:22,143
The Ringling Art Museum,
the Dali Art Museum.
339
00:16:23,030 --> 00:16:25,043
We both enjoyed art together.
340
00:16:26,190 --> 00:16:28,860
I often wondered how
my art would differ
341
00:16:28,860 --> 00:16:30,373
if I never moved to Florida.
342
00:16:31,480 --> 00:16:33,420
I feel like Florida
shaped my art
343
00:16:33,420 --> 00:16:35,640
and put it in the direction
344
00:16:35,640 --> 00:16:37,903
of the extreme nature
that it was in.
345
00:16:40,440 --> 00:16:42,920
My dad liked sideshows
all the time,
346
00:16:42,920 --> 00:16:45,460
so we'd go to sideshows
347
00:16:45,460 --> 00:16:49,591
and see the freak animals,
barnyard oddities.
348
00:16:49,591 --> 00:16:52,150
- Okay, what about
human oddities though?
349
00:16:52,150 --> 00:16:55,290
- Those too.
We had the sword swallower.
350
00:16:55,290 --> 00:16:56,810
Things like that
would amaze me.
351
00:16:56,810 --> 00:16:59,050
I think at least people
in the carnival here
352
00:17:00,489 --> 00:17:03,420
are kind of
outcasts in society.
353
00:17:03,420 --> 00:17:04,620
- Okay, yes.
354
00:17:04,620 --> 00:17:07,371
- After seeing them,
I felt the same way.
355
00:17:08,010 --> 00:17:11,010
(suspenseful music)
356
00:17:17,170 --> 00:17:20,280
When I was eight years old,
we first moved to Florida.
357
00:17:20,280 --> 00:17:22,280
This was the church
we started going to.
358
00:17:23,520 --> 00:17:25,080
I remember that
it was different
359
00:17:25,080 --> 00:17:27,560
from the church I was
used to in New York.
360
00:17:27,560 --> 00:17:29,250
The sermons here
by the priest
361
00:17:29,250 --> 00:17:31,920
seemed to be full of
fire and brimstone.
362
00:17:31,920 --> 00:17:35,180
He was telling us how we were
gonna burn in Hell for our sins,
363
00:17:35,180 --> 00:17:36,890
unless we repented.
364
00:17:36,890 --> 00:17:39,120
It felt very heavy somehow.
365
00:17:39,120 --> 00:17:42,130
I remember one time
in Bible class,
366
00:17:42,130 --> 00:17:45,610
the elderly teacher
was talking about
367
00:17:45,610 --> 00:17:49,540
the crucifixion itself,
the suffering that Jesus did.
368
00:17:49,540 --> 00:17:53,620
She went on in great description
talking about his tortures.
369
00:17:53,620 --> 00:17:56,360
They rubbed salt
in his wounds.
370
00:17:56,360 --> 00:17:58,623
They pulled his
beard hairs out.
371
00:17:59,520 --> 00:18:00,770
They spit in his face.
372
00:18:00,770 --> 00:18:02,230
She actually started crying
373
00:18:02,230 --> 00:18:04,940
while she described
the tortures
374
00:18:04,940 --> 00:18:07,980
and the horror that
Jesus went through.
375
00:18:07,980 --> 00:18:11,970
Around this time, I also would
watch news reports on television
376
00:18:11,970 --> 00:18:15,450
about Catholic priests
molesting children,
377
00:18:15,450 --> 00:18:17,707
and how the church
would actually
378
00:18:17,732 --> 00:18:19,457
cover these instances up.
379
00:18:20,360 --> 00:18:24,337
This was very troubling to
me as a young person myself.
380
00:18:24,365 --> 00:18:27,448
(church organ music)
381
00:18:29,550 --> 00:18:32,313
When I was nine,
I went to my first Confession.
382
00:18:33,540 --> 00:18:35,800
Father Hope handed
me a small wafer
383
00:18:35,800 --> 00:18:37,863
and asked me to eat
it, I did.
384
00:18:39,450 --> 00:18:41,970
He then asked me to drop
my shorts and put my rear
385
00:18:41,970 --> 00:18:44,383
to the hole in the wall
that was between us.
386
00:18:45,910 --> 00:18:49,323
I felt a sharp penetrating
pain in my tight anus.
387
00:18:51,096 --> 00:18:53,373
That was the first
time I saw God.
388
00:18:55,270 --> 00:18:56,853
It wasn't what
I was expecting.
389
00:18:59,350 --> 00:19:02,333
That night I told my mom
about my experience with God.
390
00:19:04,261 --> 00:19:06,250
I went and saw Father Hope
391
00:19:06,250 --> 00:19:08,273
every Sunday for
about six months.
392
00:19:10,490 --> 00:19:12,677
Then one day I went
to see Father Hope
393
00:19:12,677 --> 00:19:15,123
and the nun said
he left for Canada.
394
00:19:17,270 --> 00:19:20,210
I saw about six
other kids my age
395
00:19:20,210 --> 00:19:22,680
wondering why Father
Hope had left.
396
00:19:22,680 --> 00:19:24,080
They looked like lost sheep.
397
00:19:25,990 --> 00:19:29,850
Now I'm 25,
I still trip out with God.
398
00:19:29,850 --> 00:19:33,173
I drop acid hosts and shove
a crucifix up my asshole.
399
00:19:34,560 --> 00:19:37,290
I'm a junkie sex
slave for God,
400
00:19:37,290 --> 00:19:39,723
but at least I'll be
rewarded in the afterlife.
401
00:19:40,271 --> 00:19:41,380
Right?
402
00:19:42,590 --> 00:19:44,270
One more time.
403
00:19:44,270 --> 00:19:45,475
This is your brain.
404
00:19:46,440 --> 00:19:47,493
This is a Bible.
405
00:19:49,130 --> 00:19:50,430
This is your
brain on a Bible.
406
00:19:50,430 --> 00:19:52,060
(sizzling)
407
00:19:52,060 --> 00:19:53,713
Any questions?
408
00:19:53,713 --> 00:19:56,296
(bell tolling)
409
00:19:59,530 --> 00:20:01,890
When I was about
10 years old,
410
00:20:01,890 --> 00:20:04,430
I found some real
life violent pictures.
411
00:20:04,430 --> 00:20:06,720
It was a book on child abuse
412
00:20:06,720 --> 00:20:09,053
that was actually in
the school library,
413
00:20:10,130 --> 00:20:13,560
and I started seeing these
images of dead children.
414
00:20:13,560 --> 00:20:16,090
I felt attracted
to it somehow,
415
00:20:16,090 --> 00:20:19,156
but also nervous
or afraid maybe
416
00:20:19,156 --> 00:20:21,913
about violence,
real life violence.
417
00:20:22,805 --> 00:20:25,472
(ominous music)
418
00:20:27,460 --> 00:20:31,370
I used to love horror movies
ever since I was a young child,
419
00:20:31,370 --> 00:20:35,950
and I went with my father
and talked him into taking me
420
00:20:35,950 --> 00:20:38,430
to the local mom
and pop video store
421
00:20:38,430 --> 00:20:40,610
and getting me my
own video membership,
422
00:20:40,610 --> 00:20:43,430
so I could just ride there on
my bike and pick out movies.
423
00:20:43,430 --> 00:20:45,990
Some of my favourite
videos back then to rent,
424
00:20:45,990 --> 00:20:47,510
of course were
the horror videos.
425
00:20:47,510 --> 00:20:50,323
The more bloody and
crazy the better.
426
00:20:51,220 --> 00:20:55,400
In 1986, I actually had
saved up enough money
427
00:20:55,400 --> 00:21:00,400
at my supermarket bag boy
job to buy a video camera,
428
00:21:00,620 --> 00:21:02,690
a brand new video
camera of my own,
429
00:21:02,690 --> 00:21:05,820
and my father thought
it was a good idea
430
00:21:05,820 --> 00:21:09,810
for me to get the camera
because I could go around
431
00:21:09,810 --> 00:21:13,650
and film family events
and stuff like that.
432
00:21:13,650 --> 00:21:15,770
But what I ended
up filming mostly
433
00:21:16,650 --> 00:21:19,300
was something my father
would end up not approving of
434
00:21:20,246 --> 00:21:24,885
and that was making my own
homemade gore and slasher films.
435
00:21:24,885 --> 00:21:27,135
(laughing)
436
00:21:28,627 --> 00:21:31,040
Back then, I didn't really
have any of my own friends
437
00:21:31,040 --> 00:21:33,739
who would want to be in
these films of my age,
438
00:21:34,309 --> 00:21:37,740
so my younger brother was
kind of drafted into it.
439
00:21:37,740 --> 00:21:40,760
I would send my brother
out to recruit his friends,
440
00:21:40,760 --> 00:21:42,829
which again, was kids
around the neighbourhood.
441
00:21:42,854 --> 00:21:44,840
We would say,
"You want to be in a movie?"
442
00:21:44,840 --> 00:21:46,311
And their eyes
would light up.
443
00:21:46,336 --> 00:21:47,770
"Oh,
in a movie?" (child screaming)
444
00:21:47,770 --> 00:21:51,344
We're talking about kids
as young as five years old.
445
00:21:51,344 --> 00:21:53,953
- Oh, that was fun. That
was fun making those videos
446
00:21:55,547 --> 00:21:58,310
Having my friends from school
447
00:21:58,310 --> 00:22:01,550
and trying to get them to be
in the videos was pretty fun
448
00:22:01,550 --> 00:22:04,120
and having their
parents let them,
449
00:22:04,120 --> 00:22:07,180
the ones that knew about
it anyway. (laughs)
450
00:22:07,180 --> 00:22:10,653
- Mike suggested that I
be in one of his movies,
451
00:22:10,653 --> 00:22:12,980
and I said, "Sure, why not?"
452
00:22:12,980 --> 00:22:16,307
I think I had
my head cut off.
453
00:22:16,307 --> 00:22:19,057
(dramatic music)
454
00:22:23,291 --> 00:22:25,940
(splattering) (head thuds)
455
00:22:25,940 --> 00:22:29,310
- Mike has always been
into making movies,
456
00:22:29,310 --> 00:22:31,063
and I was actually in one,
457
00:22:32,040 --> 00:22:35,310
and I kind of wasn't sure
if it was a good idea,
458
00:22:35,310 --> 00:22:36,570
and maybe after the fact,
459
00:22:36,570 --> 00:22:39,623
I wondered if it was
smart that I had done it
460
00:22:39,623 --> 00:22:41,460
because I was religious
when I was younger.
461
00:22:41,460 --> 00:22:45,543
I would go to church a lot,
and for this particular film,
462
00:22:46,390 --> 00:22:48,492
he was to give me an abortion.
(laughs)
463
00:22:48,517 --> 00:22:49,990
So in the film.
464
00:22:49,990 --> 00:22:51,850
My stomach, I'm
pregnant, my baby!
465
00:22:51,850 --> 00:22:53,414
Matt was hitting
me and I says,
466
00:22:53,439 --> 00:22:55,027
"Oh, don't hit
me, I'm pregnant."
467
00:22:55,027 --> 00:22:56,036
"I'm gonna have a baby."
468
00:22:56,061 --> 00:22:58,260
And Matt says, "Oh, well,
I'll give you an abortion."
469
00:22:58,260 --> 00:23:02,740
And so here I am, laying
there, and Matt has a hanger.
470
00:23:02,740 --> 00:23:05,034
(screaming)
471
00:23:07,171 --> 00:23:08,727
And then he pulls
the hanger back
472
00:23:08,727 --> 00:23:11,920
and there's a little
plastic toy foetus
473
00:23:11,920 --> 00:23:13,770
with fake blood all over it,
474
00:23:13,770 --> 00:23:15,130
and that was kind of fun.
475
00:23:15,130 --> 00:23:18,110
I'm glad that I did that,
even though I wasn't sure.
476
00:23:18,110 --> 00:23:19,860
I have no regrets over it.
477
00:23:19,860 --> 00:23:22,825
- After watching 'em
after we made 'em,
478
00:23:22,825 --> 00:23:25,820
and it's just, that was
our home movies, you know?
479
00:23:25,820 --> 00:23:29,010
That's all we got to
look at now. (laughs)
480
00:23:29,010 --> 00:23:32,173
- In real life,
I detested violence.
481
00:23:33,150 --> 00:23:35,810
Even in school when
fistfights would break out,
482
00:23:35,810 --> 00:23:38,090
or all the kids would
gather around in a circle
483
00:23:38,090 --> 00:23:40,800
and would watch the
fight and cheer and yell,
484
00:23:40,800 --> 00:23:43,310
and the whole of energy
of that kind of scared me.
485
00:23:43,310 --> 00:23:45,160
I remember always
walking the other way,
486
00:23:45,160 --> 00:23:46,870
but horror movies I liked,
487
00:23:46,870 --> 00:23:50,040
because it had a lot of fake
blood and I knew it was fake,
488
00:23:50,040 --> 00:23:52,830
and it seemed to
me, it was fun.
489
00:23:52,830 --> 00:23:54,270
I realised it was much easier
490
00:23:54,270 --> 00:23:56,410
to make comics than
it was to make movies.
491
00:23:56,410 --> 00:23:59,020
I didn't need
anyone else's help.
492
00:23:59,020 --> 00:24:01,910
I didn't need anyone
else to approve anything.
493
00:24:01,910 --> 00:24:04,143
I didn't need any
parents' permissions.
494
00:24:05,339 --> 00:24:07,721
- Look at Phoebe.
- Phoebe, come here!
495
00:24:07,721 --> 00:24:09,465
(laughing)
496
00:24:09,465 --> 00:24:12,380
- Eventually, I discovered
"Heavy Metal" illustrated.
497
00:24:12,380 --> 00:24:15,113
I got this at the
supermarket newsstand.
498
00:24:16,740 --> 00:24:19,170
These were unlike any
comics I had seen before.
499
00:24:19,170 --> 00:24:22,170
There was nudity, violence.
500
00:24:22,170 --> 00:24:26,490
I found an ad in one of
the "Heavy Metal" magazines
501
00:24:26,490 --> 00:24:30,793
and it said you could buy an
underground comic grab bag.
502
00:24:32,200 --> 00:24:35,490
I had never heard of
underground comics before that.
503
00:24:35,490 --> 00:24:37,843
Soon in the mail,
I got a plain brown
504
00:24:37,868 --> 00:24:39,787
package of
underground comics.
505
00:24:40,330 --> 00:24:41,630
The first one I pulled out
506
00:24:41,630 --> 00:24:44,885
of the envelope
was "Bizarre Sex."
507
00:24:44,910 --> 00:24:47,980
It had a giant
penis on the cover
508
00:24:47,980 --> 00:24:51,010
breaking through the
sidewalk on a city street,
509
00:24:51,010 --> 00:24:52,973
people screaming,
running away from it.
510
00:24:54,105 --> 00:24:56,058
This did seem very
exciting to me.
511
00:24:57,170 --> 00:25:02,170
Also "Skull Comics" and "Zap
Comix" were some of the titles.
512
00:25:02,550 --> 00:25:03,800
- So, underground comics
513
00:25:03,800 --> 00:25:05,670
were part of this
counterculture movement
514
00:25:05,670 --> 00:25:09,770
and they were very subversive,
explicit publications.
515
00:25:09,770 --> 00:25:12,600
I really feel the whole
point of underground comics
516
00:25:12,600 --> 00:25:13,920
was to break taboos.
517
00:25:13,920 --> 00:25:15,920
I mean,
that's why they were made.
518
00:25:15,920 --> 00:25:18,290
They were all about
pushing boundaries,
519
00:25:18,290 --> 00:25:20,330
and why that was so important
520
00:25:20,330 --> 00:25:24,080
is because they showed us
that nothing was off limits.
521
00:25:24,080 --> 00:25:27,750
That we had complete
artistic freedom,
522
00:25:27,750 --> 00:25:29,100
and I think by the time
523
00:25:29,100 --> 00:25:31,500
Mike Diana was creating
"Boiled Angel,"
524
00:25:31,500 --> 00:25:32,823
that's what he believed.
525
00:25:34,041 --> 00:25:35,571
(people screaming)
526
00:25:35,571 --> 00:25:38,404
(gunshots firing)
527
00:25:41,559 --> 00:25:43,700
- I was drawing when I was
like, three years old.
528
00:25:43,700 --> 00:25:46,680
I did some funny animal book
529
00:25:46,680 --> 00:25:48,660
with an animal on
the right hand side,
530
00:25:48,660 --> 00:25:51,220
and an animal on
the left hand side,
531
00:25:51,220 --> 00:25:54,987
and poetry about that animal
on the right hand side like,
532
00:25:54,987 --> 00:25:56,737
"Here's Edgar the Elephant.
533
00:25:56,737 --> 00:25:58,433
"He thinks he's
a smell-ephant."
534
00:25:58,433 --> 00:26:00,840
I didn't know there was
not a word smell-ephant.
535
00:26:00,840 --> 00:26:05,400
Well, in high school I
started to do fanzines,
536
00:26:05,400 --> 00:26:08,373
and when we went to college
and we did college magazines,
537
00:26:09,512 --> 00:26:11,723
then we worked for
the realist and
538
00:26:11,748 --> 00:26:13,770
free press type publications,
539
00:26:13,770 --> 00:26:15,290
and then the
underground press came,
540
00:26:15,290 --> 00:26:17,070
and then we did
underground comics.
541
00:26:17,070 --> 00:26:18,850
We wanted to
speak to our peers
542
00:26:18,850 --> 00:26:21,730
and our peers were not
reading the comic books
543
00:26:21,730 --> 00:26:24,480
that were approved by the
good comics code at the time.
544
00:26:25,340 --> 00:26:26,607
So, we just ignored it
545
00:26:26,607 --> 00:26:29,970
and did what we wanted to do
and printed our own books.
546
00:26:29,970 --> 00:26:33,070
So, when we did our
comics, we defied the code.
547
00:26:33,070 --> 00:26:36,378
We ignored the
code, and today,
548
00:26:36,378 --> 00:26:41,378
I'm happy to say the
code is dead. (laughs)
549
00:26:43,600 --> 00:26:46,900
- So, these were very
explicit publications.
550
00:26:46,900 --> 00:26:48,890
You're not gonna find
them in a drug store.
551
00:26:48,890 --> 00:26:52,410
You're not gonna find them
next to Archie comics.
552
00:26:52,410 --> 00:26:54,030
Where they were
primarily sold
553
00:26:54,030 --> 00:26:56,170
is head shops next to
drug paraphernalia.
554
00:26:56,170 --> 00:26:59,290
So, there was this outlaw
aspect to these publications.
555
00:26:59,315 --> 00:27:01,490
That's why they were spelled
with an X at the end.
556
00:27:01,490 --> 00:27:04,320
The X suggested an X rating.
557
00:27:04,320 --> 00:27:06,580
- So-called pornographic
underground comics
558
00:27:06,580 --> 00:27:09,037
like "Snatch" and "Felch"
559
00:27:09,037 --> 00:27:12,200
weren't really pornography
in the traditional sense.
560
00:27:12,200 --> 00:27:15,540
It was more like a
satire of pornography,
561
00:27:15,540 --> 00:27:17,970
because the audience
were hippies, you know?
562
00:27:17,970 --> 00:27:23,285
And they already, they
didn't have those repressions
563
00:27:23,310 --> 00:27:27,250
about performing such
sexual acts themselves,
564
00:27:27,250 --> 00:27:30,217
so it was kinda like mocking
those who did, you know?
565
00:27:30,217 --> 00:27:33,060
"Snath," or "Felch,"
or "Jiz" comics
566
00:27:33,060 --> 00:27:34,420
came out and it was kind of,
567
00:27:34,420 --> 00:27:37,240
I even did one called,
"Turned on Cuties."
568
00:27:37,240 --> 00:27:40,700
And I used a fake
name, just for kicks.
569
00:27:40,700 --> 00:27:42,353
Everybody knew it was
me, but.
570
00:27:43,140 --> 00:27:45,600
- Underground comics
weren't completely immune
571
00:27:45,600 --> 00:27:48,709
from attacks of obscenity.
572
00:27:48,734 --> 00:27:50,480
Usually the way it worked
573
00:27:50,480 --> 00:27:52,770
was when there was
obscenity charges,
574
00:27:52,770 --> 00:27:55,970
they would go after the
bookstores and the booksellers,
575
00:27:55,970 --> 00:27:57,430
and this bookstore,
576
00:27:57,430 --> 00:28:00,710
East Side Books in New
York was busted basically.
577
00:28:00,710 --> 00:28:03,439
One of the kids
at the cash register,
578
00:28:03,439 --> 00:28:06,010
there was charges
brought against him,
579
00:28:06,010 --> 00:28:09,110
and it was for this
comic, "Zap" number four
580
00:28:09,110 --> 00:28:13,130
and specifically
for this story,
581
00:28:13,130 --> 00:28:16,960
Joe Blow, which is pretty
infamous in comics.
582
00:28:16,960 --> 00:28:18,890
It's a comic by R. Crumb
583
00:28:18,890 --> 00:28:22,210
and it's about a family
that at first glance
584
00:28:22,210 --> 00:28:24,750
looks like this
squeaky clean family
585
00:28:24,750 --> 00:28:26,460
but we get a couple pages in
586
00:28:26,460 --> 00:28:28,245
and we learn they have
587
00:28:28,245 --> 00:28:30,550
a very incestuous relationship
amongst themselves.
588
00:28:30,550 --> 00:28:35,550
It really was pushing all of
the boundaries, very explicit.
589
00:28:35,630 --> 00:28:38,403
As you might imagine,
it did attract attention,
590
00:28:38,898 --> 00:28:41,320
and they did not successfully
fight those charges.
591
00:28:41,320 --> 00:28:43,393
They had to pay a fine.
592
00:28:44,830 --> 00:28:47,430
- Comics was really about
bonding with my dad in a way
593
00:28:47,430 --> 00:28:48,889
because he was a
salesman, and he
594
00:28:48,914 --> 00:28:50,390
sold cigarettes
and he sold candy,
595
00:28:50,390 --> 00:28:53,410
and he would work most of the
day and come home at night,
596
00:28:53,410 --> 00:28:55,840
and he'd have one comic
book that he'd give me,
597
00:28:55,840 --> 00:28:59,950
and you know, I just was
sitting there waiting for it.
598
00:28:59,950 --> 00:29:01,710
Sometimes I
remember the horror,
599
00:29:01,710 --> 00:29:03,940
every now and then he
would have bought me one
600
00:29:03,940 --> 00:29:06,161
that he had already
bought me before,
601
00:29:06,186 --> 00:29:08,880
and I was like, "Oh my
god, I already have this."
602
00:29:08,880 --> 00:29:11,430
But normally, it was this
really exciting thing,
603
00:29:11,430 --> 00:29:12,637
and it was like this,
604
00:29:12,637 --> 00:29:14,650
"Dad's coming home and
I get a comic book."
605
00:29:14,650 --> 00:29:16,429
When I was in grade school,
606
00:29:16,429 --> 00:29:18,000
I would get a
Big Chief tablet
607
00:29:18,000 --> 00:29:20,230
and just draw my own
comics, you know?
608
00:29:20,230 --> 00:29:21,540
I didn't do word balloons,
609
00:29:21,540 --> 00:29:24,110
because I wanted to draw
them as quickly as possible,
610
00:29:24,110 --> 00:29:26,857
so I would just say the
dialogue aloud like,
611
00:29:26,857 --> 00:29:31,150
"Stop it, I'm gonna blast
you with my laser."
612
00:29:31,150 --> 00:29:33,370
Whatever, and then draw
it as quickly as I could,
613
00:29:33,370 --> 00:29:35,190
and then turn the
page and again,
614
00:29:35,190 --> 00:29:38,570
it was sort of like this
feeling of incredible,
615
00:29:38,570 --> 00:29:41,330
like an addict looking
for their next fix.
616
00:29:41,330 --> 00:29:42,420
By some miracle,
617
00:29:42,420 --> 00:29:45,250
I ended up going into the
Master's programme at Yale,
618
00:29:45,250 --> 00:29:48,540
so I have like a BFA
from Yale University.
619
00:29:48,540 --> 00:29:50,880
Yeah, over time I sort
of came to my senses
620
00:29:50,880 --> 00:29:53,350
and went back
to doing comics,
621
00:29:53,350 --> 00:29:54,866
and a big part of that
622
00:29:54,866 --> 00:29:59,710
was sort of discovering the
zine world of the late '80s.
623
00:29:59,710 --> 00:30:04,570
- These zines were
self-published by amateurs,
624
00:30:04,570 --> 00:30:06,681
and they were printed
in small numbers
625
00:30:06,681 --> 00:30:08,664
using mimeograph machines
626
00:30:08,664 --> 00:30:13,160
or later in the '70s,
photocopy machines.
627
00:30:13,160 --> 00:30:15,691
They were traded in the mail.
628
00:30:15,691 --> 00:30:19,750
These weren't publications you
would find on the newsstands.
629
00:30:19,750 --> 00:30:21,520
There was the zine community
630
00:30:21,520 --> 00:30:23,790
that was dedicated
to science fiction.
631
00:30:23,790 --> 00:30:27,130
There was a zine community
that was into horror comics,
632
00:30:27,130 --> 00:30:29,400
and then there was the zine
community that was into poetry,
633
00:30:29,400 --> 00:30:33,020
or bicycle repair, or all
these different categories,
634
00:30:33,020 --> 00:30:35,003
and these different
communities
635
00:30:35,003 --> 00:30:37,750
really didn't connect
or talk to each other.
636
00:30:37,750 --> 00:30:39,450
They were very separate,
637
00:30:39,450 --> 00:30:41,450
and one thing
that changed that
638
00:30:41,450 --> 00:30:43,830
was a publication
called "Factsheet Five,"
639
00:30:43,830 --> 00:30:47,506
and basically "Factsheet
Five" was like a catalogue
640
00:30:47,506 --> 00:30:52,506
of almost all the zines that
were being created at the time.
641
00:30:52,570 --> 00:30:54,550
- I was like,
how can I see all of these?
642
00:30:54,550 --> 00:30:56,010
You know,
I'd buy "Factsheet Five,"
643
00:30:56,010 --> 00:31:00,970
where there was this 100 pages
of all these zines listed,
644
00:31:00,970 --> 00:31:02,660
and I'd get that
and I'd get home
645
00:31:02,660 --> 00:31:04,116
and I'd start
going down there
646
00:31:04,141 --> 00:31:05,982
and I was like, "I'd like to
see that one and that one."
647
00:31:06,007 --> 00:31:08,160
But even though
they were cheap,
648
00:31:08,160 --> 00:31:10,180
there still wasn't,
I wasn't making any money,
649
00:31:10,180 --> 00:31:13,700
so it wasn't like I could
afford to buy all of them.
650
00:31:13,700 --> 00:31:16,800
So I thought,
I had this friend Steve Serios.
651
00:31:16,800 --> 00:31:21,210
We got the idea to
curate a show of zines,
652
00:31:21,210 --> 00:31:23,750
and then the zine people
would send us the zines.
653
00:31:23,750 --> 00:31:27,310
So in 1989,
we just started getting
654
00:31:27,310 --> 00:31:30,410
boxes and boxes of
zines coming to us.
655
00:31:30,410 --> 00:31:34,190
There was this extreme
quality to a lot of the zines.
656
00:31:34,190 --> 00:31:35,270
They were just like,
657
00:31:35,270 --> 00:31:38,333
pushing the envelope in every
direction you can think of,
658
00:31:39,211 --> 00:31:42,800
and yet there was
this one zine (laughs)
659
00:31:42,800 --> 00:31:44,850
that just stood out
from all the others.
660
00:31:44,850 --> 00:31:46,920
I think the zines were
called "Angelfuck."
661
00:31:46,920 --> 00:31:48,910
You know,
which is kind of in your face,
662
00:31:48,910 --> 00:31:50,460
and it was Mike Diana.
663
00:31:50,460 --> 00:31:54,910
- The title "Angelfuck" I got
from a song by the band Misfits,
664
00:31:54,910 --> 00:31:57,410
and I thought it would
make a good zine title.
665
00:31:57,410 --> 00:32:02,203
Even my first comics had a dark
side to them, macabre side.
666
00:32:03,370 --> 00:32:07,440
I seemed to like drawing comics
that I had not seen before.
667
00:32:07,440 --> 00:32:11,943
I liked to draw
mutilation, nudity, murder.
668
00:32:12,465 --> 00:32:15,440
Things that most people
felt were unsavoury
669
00:32:15,440 --> 00:32:18,140
were the subject
I liked the most.
670
00:32:18,140 --> 00:32:21,720
I felt like there's a lot
of humour in my comics,
671
00:32:21,720 --> 00:32:23,725
not everyone finds
the humour in it.
672
00:32:23,750 --> 00:32:24,943
I thought they were funny.
673
00:32:24,986 --> 00:32:26,593
- [Woman] It's not funny.
674
00:32:26,618 --> 00:32:28,228
I'm not laughing, Mike.
675
00:32:28,253 --> 00:32:29,703
Look at me, I'm not laughing.
676
00:32:30,517 --> 00:32:32,960
This is dead
serious stuff here.
677
00:32:32,960 --> 00:32:34,828
- It was just
like, wow, everyone
678
00:32:34,853 --> 00:32:36,820
else is trying to offend,
679
00:32:36,820 --> 00:32:40,310
but this one is so
fucking offending.
680
00:32:40,310 --> 00:32:43,950
I mean, I can't, you know,
it's like I want to hide it
681
00:32:43,950 --> 00:32:48,070
and only see it in a dirty
bathroom on 42nd Street,
682
00:32:48,070 --> 00:32:51,360
and it was just amazing to
see someone who, you know,
683
00:32:51,360 --> 00:32:53,720
it's like, "Oh, you really
have pushed the envelope."
684
00:32:53,720 --> 00:32:57,667
I'm sorry, envelope
pushing winner right here.
685
00:32:57,667 --> 00:33:01,497
- And then in 1989,
I did "Boiled Angel."
686
00:33:02,902 --> 00:33:06,292
♪ Gonna save you, save you ♪
687
00:33:06,292 --> 00:33:07,745
♪ What do I do ♪
688
00:33:07,745 --> 00:33:10,817
♪ I'm gonna do you, do you ♪
689
00:33:10,817 --> 00:33:13,044
♪ And if you sit beside me ♪
690
00:33:13,044 --> 00:33:14,558
♪ Then you don't
want to get up ♪
691
00:33:14,558 --> 00:33:15,974
♪ When I wanna talk ♪
692
00:33:15,974 --> 00:33:18,345
♪ I'll talk I love
you, love you ♪
693
00:33:18,345 --> 00:33:20,490
♪ When I wanna walk, I walk ♪
694
00:33:20,490 --> 00:33:22,890
♪ I love you, love you ♪
695
00:33:22,890 --> 00:33:26,863
♪ And if I had to try to
keep you screaming I will ♪
696
00:33:26,863 --> 00:33:27,970
♪ What I wanna do ♪
697
00:33:27,970 --> 00:33:29,376
♪ What I wanna do ♪
698
00:33:29,376 --> 00:33:34,376
♪ I wanna strangle you
tonight, tonight ♪
699
00:33:35,801 --> 00:33:40,220
- [Mike] I felt like
this was the year 1988
700
00:33:40,220 --> 00:33:43,280
and things should
be a step above
701
00:33:43,280 --> 00:33:46,630
the underground comics that
I had seen in the past,
702
00:33:46,630 --> 00:33:47,850
that this was the future.
703
00:33:47,850 --> 00:33:50,459
- I mean, there's a part of it
that's just like, look at me.
704
00:33:50,774 --> 00:33:53,377
It's like,
I'm putting out a zine,
705
00:33:53,402 --> 00:33:55,970
25 people are gonna see it,
706
00:33:55,970 --> 00:34:00,970
but by pushing the
material to the nth degree,
707
00:34:01,480 --> 00:34:04,940
it's like it's sort of almost
like compensating for it.
708
00:34:04,940 --> 00:34:07,860
It's like, you push and you
push against a certain thing,
709
00:34:07,860 --> 00:34:09,940
and I think what you're
pushing against ultimately
710
00:34:09,940 --> 00:34:14,940
is this kind of bland,
suburban middle class world,
711
00:34:15,120 --> 00:34:17,610
and that's what
punk music is.
712
00:34:17,610 --> 00:34:21,190
- My goal was to make the
most offensive zine ever made,
713
00:34:21,190 --> 00:34:23,838
and it should be
offensive as possible,
714
00:34:23,863 --> 00:34:26,139
almost to the point
where your average person
715
00:34:26,164 --> 00:34:28,042
would not want
anything to do with it,
716
00:34:28,067 --> 00:34:30,089
wouldn't even want
to own a copy of it.
717
00:34:30,698 --> 00:34:33,698
(explosion rumbles)
718
00:34:35,870 --> 00:34:39,670
- [Jello] The state of
Florida was not amused.
719
00:34:39,670 --> 00:34:42,430
- At the time,
I was the lead trial attorney
720
00:34:42,430 --> 00:34:45,670
of Division E of the
State Attorney's office
721
00:34:45,670 --> 00:34:48,530
at the sixth judicial
circuit of Florida,
722
00:34:48,530 --> 00:34:51,010
which sits in
Clearwater, Florida.
723
00:34:51,010 --> 00:34:55,890
What ended up happening was
that the "Boiled Angel" volumes
724
00:34:55,890 --> 00:35:00,090
that preceded or I believe it
was "Boiled Angel" number six,
725
00:35:00,090 --> 00:35:03,160
fell into the hands of
some law enforcement,
726
00:35:03,160 --> 00:35:05,030
who then sent it
727
00:35:05,030 --> 00:35:09,237
to the Florida Department
of Law Enforcement saying,
728
00:35:09,237 --> 00:35:10,966
"You might want to
look into this."
729
00:35:10,991 --> 00:35:15,914
This was during the summer of
1990, I guess it was or '91.
730
00:35:16,530 --> 00:35:19,110
When at the time,
the student murders
731
00:35:19,110 --> 00:35:22,110
were occurring at the University
of Florida in Gainesville.
732
00:35:22,110 --> 00:35:24,600
- [Reporter] Five college
students, four women and one man
733
00:35:24,600 --> 00:35:27,140
were found dead in their
Gainesville apartments.
734
00:35:27,140 --> 00:35:29,130
Two of the victims were
reportedly mutilated,
735
00:35:29,130 --> 00:35:30,950
their bodies left on display.
736
00:35:30,950 --> 00:35:32,490
Another was beheaded.
737
00:35:32,490 --> 00:35:34,218
- A law enforcement
officer who came
738
00:35:34,243 --> 00:35:35,760
across "Boiled
Angel" number six
739
00:35:35,760 --> 00:35:37,370
in the course of
a traffic stop
740
00:35:37,370 --> 00:35:40,310
that resulted in an arrest
741
00:35:40,310 --> 00:35:43,363
for something like possession of
marijuana, he flipped through it
742
00:35:43,363 --> 00:35:47,940
and he saw something that
looked to him strikingly similar
743
00:35:47,940 --> 00:35:51,270
to what had gone out on
the law enforcement wire
744
00:35:51,270 --> 00:35:54,150
as being the appearance of
some of the murder scenes.
745
00:35:54,150 --> 00:35:55,970
It was an officer I believe,
746
00:35:55,970 --> 00:35:58,460
with the California
Highway Patrol
747
00:35:58,460 --> 00:36:01,820
had sent it to the Florida
Department of Law Enforcement,
748
00:36:01,820 --> 00:36:04,640
and they look at
it and sure enough,
749
00:36:04,640 --> 00:36:07,290
this stuff comes from
Largo, Florida.
750
00:36:07,290 --> 00:36:12,113
Somebody in the same state,
so let's take a look.
751
00:36:12,138 --> 00:36:14,860
- One day Mike and I
were in my front yard,
752
00:36:14,860 --> 00:36:17,960
and a police car drove up
753
00:36:17,960 --> 00:36:21,610
and two officers got
out, a male and a female.
754
00:36:21,610 --> 00:36:24,037
They said they came to
ask Mike some questions,
755
00:36:24,037 --> 00:36:28,600
and it had to do with the
Gainesville serial murders.
756
00:36:28,600 --> 00:36:31,290
They asked if they could
get some blood taken,
757
00:36:31,290 --> 00:36:35,760
and Mike said no at first,
but I said, I said yes.
758
00:36:35,760 --> 00:36:38,946
Yeah, if you're innocent, then
you will have your blood taken.
759
00:36:38,971 --> 00:36:40,840
Who cares, you know?
760
00:36:40,840 --> 00:36:43,624
At least it'll shut
them up for a minute.
761
00:36:44,252 --> 00:36:47,210
- I was not the
Gainesville serial killer.
762
00:36:47,210 --> 00:36:50,380
- They ended up taking body
samples from Michael Diana,
763
00:36:50,380 --> 00:36:53,460
eliminated him as a suspect,
764
00:36:53,460 --> 00:36:55,830
but in the course
of investigating
765
00:36:55,830 --> 00:37:00,126
some of the most gruesome
murders in Florida,
766
00:37:00,126 --> 00:37:02,587
they were still so shocked
767
00:37:02,612 --> 00:37:05,700
by what they saw in
the material itself
768
00:37:05,725 --> 00:37:08,950
that they decided we shouldn't
just let it go with that
769
00:37:08,950 --> 00:37:10,267
and they handed it off to the
770
00:37:10,292 --> 00:37:12,010
Pinellas County
Sheriff's Office,
771
00:37:12,010 --> 00:37:17,010
which then undertook an
investigation for obscenity.
772
00:37:17,180 --> 00:37:19,780
- Michael Diana has been
cleared of any involvement
773
00:37:19,780 --> 00:37:21,684
in the Gainesville murders,
774
00:37:21,872 --> 00:37:25,750
but his visions of sex and
masochism, and child abuse,
775
00:37:25,750 --> 00:37:27,930
well, they seem to be
getting him in trouble.
776
00:37:27,930 --> 00:37:32,133
- I know that the case
had been sitting in
777
00:37:32,133 --> 00:37:37,133
going through the works inside
the state attorney's office.
778
00:37:38,520 --> 00:37:41,010
Folks kinda wondering
what to do with it,
779
00:37:41,010 --> 00:37:43,920
because everybody knew that
something should be done,
780
00:37:43,920 --> 00:37:46,573
but wasn't exactly sure
how to go about it.
781
00:37:47,590 --> 00:37:51,360
I was young and relatively
fresh from law school
782
00:37:51,360 --> 00:37:54,730
and had taken First
Amendment as a class,
783
00:37:54,730 --> 00:37:56,580
and remembered very clearly
784
00:37:56,580 --> 00:37:58,540
all the law that
applied in the case,
785
00:37:58,540 --> 00:38:02,540
and was interested in
going forward with it
786
00:38:02,540 --> 00:38:04,630
and had a good idea
for how to go about it,
787
00:38:04,630 --> 00:38:06,553
so the case was
assigned to me.
788
00:38:07,335 --> 00:38:10,892
- I went on the publish
"Boiled Angel" seven and eight.
789
00:38:10,892 --> 00:38:13,559
(ominous music)
790
00:38:26,770 --> 00:38:29,080
Unknown to me at the time,
791
00:38:29,080 --> 00:38:31,940
one of the detectives that went
after me for the Gainesville
792
00:38:31,940 --> 00:38:35,685
student murders bought them
from me under a fake name.
793
00:38:35,710 --> 00:38:39,526
- An undercover detective,
his name was Mike Tessas,
794
00:38:39,620 --> 00:38:44,050
he struck up a correspondence
relationship with Mike Diana,
795
00:38:44,050 --> 00:38:48,630
and ended up ordering
"Boiled Angel" seven
796
00:38:48,630 --> 00:38:50,209
and "Boiled Angel" eight.
797
00:38:50,209 --> 00:38:52,117
- [Undercover Detective]
"Mike, I'm tired of people
798
00:38:52,142 --> 00:38:53,880
"fucking around with
what I believe in.
799
00:38:53,905 --> 00:38:55,542
"I saw your "Boiled
Angel" at a friend's
800
00:38:55,567 --> 00:38:57,394
"and it's everything I
think of and believe.
801
00:38:57,419 --> 00:38:59,187
"Please send me a
copy of "Boiled Angel"
802
00:38:59,187 --> 00:39:01,112
"and other flyers you can.
803
00:39:01,137 --> 00:39:02,614
"It's hard to find
things to read
804
00:39:02,639 --> 00:39:04,545
"because of people
fucking with us.
805
00:39:04,570 --> 00:39:05,697
"Here's a three
dollar money order
806
00:39:05,697 --> 00:39:08,424
"like the copy
said to cover cost.
807
00:39:08,449 --> 00:39:10,395
"Thanks, Mike Fiore."
808
00:39:10,420 --> 00:39:12,270
- So, we told him we
can't build a case
809
00:39:12,270 --> 00:39:15,640
on "Boiled Angel" number six
because that was something
810
00:39:15,640 --> 00:39:18,810
that was discovered
out in California.
811
00:39:18,810 --> 00:39:20,800
We don't know if this
thing was published
812
00:39:20,800 --> 00:39:22,510
from Pinellas
County, Florida.
813
00:39:22,510 --> 00:39:27,510
It said inside Largo, Florida,
but we didn't know for sure.
814
00:39:27,570 --> 00:39:30,107
We didn't have anybody to
say, "Yes, I ordered it.
815
00:39:30,107 --> 00:39:33,200
"I received it in Florida."
816
00:39:33,200 --> 00:39:37,100
We told him, you've got to
start from scratch with this,
817
00:39:37,100 --> 00:39:39,233
and if you order
and receive them
818
00:39:39,233 --> 00:39:41,277
here in Pinellas County,
we're good to go.
819
00:39:41,277 --> 00:39:42,427
- [Mike] "Dear Mike F.
820
00:39:42,427 --> 00:39:44,317
"You are the first
person from Largo
821
00:39:44,317 --> 00:39:48,427
"to ask for Boiled Angel, so
I hope you find it to be cool.
822
00:39:48,427 --> 00:39:50,267
"Let me know what
you think of them.
823
00:39:50,267 --> 00:39:52,800
"Sincerely, Mike Diana."
824
00:39:52,800 --> 00:39:57,370
- It wasn't entrapment because
entrapment only applies
825
00:39:57,370 --> 00:39:59,854
if the person
allegedly entrapped
826
00:39:59,854 --> 00:40:02,980
is not predisposed to
commit the offence.
827
00:40:02,980 --> 00:40:05,200
The fact that this was
something that Mike Diana
828
00:40:05,200 --> 00:40:08,150
had gone into and
published on his own,
829
00:40:08,150 --> 00:40:10,290
and was already into
volume number seven
830
00:40:10,290 --> 00:40:14,520
and then volume number eight
shows he was predisposed.
831
00:40:14,520 --> 00:40:17,800
He just didn't know that
the guy he was selling to
832
00:40:17,800 --> 00:40:22,139
was somebody other than
he held himself out to be.
833
00:40:22,139 --> 00:40:25,584
We were unpleasantly
surprised
834
00:40:25,584 --> 00:40:28,950
that they exceeded
"Boiled Angel" six.
835
00:40:28,950 --> 00:40:31,180
You know,
seven was worse than six,
836
00:40:31,180 --> 00:40:33,383
and then eight was
worse than seven.
837
00:40:33,383 --> 00:40:35,290
(disorienting music)
838
00:40:35,290 --> 00:40:37,830
- [Woman] Well, Mr. Donner,
everything checks out okay.
839
00:40:37,830 --> 00:40:39,581
We'll send Scott
out right now!
840
00:40:39,581 --> 00:40:42,060
- [Scott] Wow,
is it really true?
841
00:40:42,060 --> 00:40:45,160
I've been adopted!
- Yes, it's true my new son.
842
00:40:45,160 --> 00:40:47,274
- [Woman] Here's your
copies of the papers, sir.
843
00:40:47,274 --> 00:40:49,840
- [Scott] Boy,
I finally got adopted!
844
00:40:49,840 --> 00:40:52,071
Someone to love me
and to hold and--
845
00:40:52,071 --> 00:40:54,240
- [Father] Shut the
fuckin' hell up, you fuck!
846
00:40:54,240 --> 00:40:56,796
I only adopted you to
use you as my slave!
847
00:40:56,821 --> 00:40:57,865
(dramatic music)
848
00:40:57,865 --> 00:41:00,620
You didn't think I adopted
you outta love, did you?
849
00:41:00,620 --> 00:41:02,060
How could I even think
850
00:41:02,060 --> 00:41:05,267
of loving a fuckin'
misfit orphan like you?
851
00:41:05,267 --> 00:41:07,180
The only thing I'm gonna love
852
00:41:07,180 --> 00:41:09,017
is fucking your
hot little ass!
853
00:41:09,017 --> 00:41:10,764
- [Scott] Sob, sob.
854
00:41:10,764 --> 00:41:12,050
- [Father] This is your room.
855
00:41:12,050 --> 00:41:13,830
You will sleep here.
856
00:41:13,830 --> 00:41:16,140
Now,
get undressed and bend over!
857
00:41:16,140 --> 00:41:17,880
- [Scott] Sob, sob.
858
00:41:17,880 --> 00:41:19,080
Please don't!
859
00:41:19,080 --> 00:41:22,749
- Shut up, dumb fuck!
- Throb, throb.
860
00:41:22,749 --> 00:41:24,989
(groaning) (splattering)
861
00:41:24,989 --> 00:41:28,000
- [Scott] Ah, oh, sob, sob!
862
00:41:28,000 --> 00:41:31,530
- [Narrator] Next morning,
Scott woke with a sore asshole.
863
00:41:31,530 --> 00:41:34,490
He was forced to eat
dog food for breakfast.
864
00:41:34,490 --> 00:41:36,950
- Eat it, ugly!
- Blah.
865
00:41:36,950 --> 00:41:39,760
- [Father] This is
my dog food factory.
866
00:41:39,760 --> 00:41:41,180
Watch and learn!
867
00:41:41,180 --> 00:41:44,028
- Yes sir.
- Ga ga, goo, goo.
868
00:41:44,028 --> 00:41:46,300
- First I take one
of these infants
869
00:41:46,300 --> 00:41:48,706
the whores downtown sold me.
870
00:41:48,706 --> 00:41:50,510
(baby crying)
871
00:41:50,510 --> 00:41:53,978
Then I fuck it inside out.
872
00:41:53,978 --> 00:41:56,298
- Gasp!
- Whaak, splork.
873
00:41:56,298 --> 00:41:57,658
(splattering)
874
00:41:57,658 --> 00:42:00,030
- [Father] See,
I fucked it inside out,
875
00:42:00,030 --> 00:42:03,498
and I really shot
a big wad also!
876
00:42:03,498 --> 00:42:07,901
Then I toss the messy remains
in the infant shredder.
877
00:42:07,901 --> 00:42:10,428
It goes through the grinders.
878
00:42:10,428 --> 00:42:12,965
(metallic grinding)
879
00:42:12,965 --> 00:42:14,670
And then it's
canned as dog food
880
00:42:14,670 --> 00:42:17,750
so I can sell 'em
to the A&P store.
881
00:42:17,750 --> 00:42:19,730
Your job is to
make sure the cans
882
00:42:19,730 --> 00:42:22,380
go into the boxes,
understand, fuck?
883
00:42:22,380 --> 00:42:23,556
- [Scott] Yes, sir!
884
00:42:23,556 --> 00:42:26,780
- [Father] This is
Max, my watch dog.
885
00:42:26,780 --> 00:42:28,401
Be careful, he bites.
886
00:42:28,401 --> 00:42:29,640
(dog growling)
887
00:42:29,640 --> 00:42:31,532
Now I gotta get to work.
888
00:42:31,532 --> 00:42:32,889
(baby crying)
889
00:42:32,889 --> 00:42:34,430
(sloshing)
890
00:42:34,430 --> 00:42:36,360
Uh, climax!
891
00:42:36,360 --> 00:42:38,006
That was a good one.
892
00:42:38,006 --> 00:42:41,557
(grinding) (splattering)
893
00:42:41,582 --> 00:42:43,210
- [Narrator] Over
the next work week,
894
00:42:43,210 --> 00:42:45,550
Scott made a good
friend in Spot.
895
00:42:45,550 --> 00:42:46,770
- [Scott] I wanna be friends.
896
00:42:46,770 --> 00:42:50,200
See,
I got you a big juicy steak!
897
00:42:50,200 --> 00:42:53,500
My new dad is a very
sick and evil man.
898
00:42:53,500 --> 00:42:55,355
We are both his slaves.
899
00:42:55,355 --> 00:42:58,450
Will you help me kill
him, please?
900
00:42:58,450 --> 00:42:59,693
No one loves me!
901
00:42:59,693 --> 00:43:02,160
Will you please
be my best friend?
902
00:43:02,160 --> 00:43:03,430
Will you love me?
903
00:43:03,430 --> 00:43:04,955
Sob, sob, sob.
904
00:43:04,955 --> 00:43:06,430
(dog whining)
905
00:43:06,430 --> 00:43:07,652
I'll set you free.
906
00:43:07,652 --> 00:43:09,640
(metallic squeaking)
907
00:43:09,640 --> 00:43:10,800
- [Father] What the fuck?
908
00:43:10,800 --> 00:43:12,987
Put that chain
back on that dog!
909
00:43:12,987 --> 00:43:14,031
(dog growling)
910
00:43:14,056 --> 00:43:16,370
- Kill him!
- Shit!
911
00:43:16,960 --> 00:43:18,161
Gasp!
912
00:43:18,161 --> 00:43:20,830
(splattering) (groaning)
913
00:43:20,830 --> 00:43:22,260
- [Scott] I'm so happy now.
914
00:43:22,260 --> 00:43:24,540
He is finally
dead and lifeless.
915
00:43:24,540 --> 00:43:26,720
It's just you and me
now, Spot.
916
00:43:26,720 --> 00:43:28,650
I love you so very much.
917
00:43:28,650 --> 00:43:30,692
Do you love me, Spot?
918
00:43:30,692 --> 00:43:33,610
No, not you too, Spot!
919
00:43:33,610 --> 00:43:35,431
Sob, sob, sob.
920
00:43:35,431 --> 00:43:36,697
(dog barking)
921
00:43:36,697 --> 00:43:38,574
(dog howling)
922
00:43:38,574 --> 00:43:41,490
(dramatic music)
923
00:43:41,650 --> 00:43:44,320
- I got a look at it
and I knew right away
924
00:43:44,320 --> 00:43:46,860
that what I was looking
at was obscenity.
925
00:43:46,860 --> 00:43:49,388
- [Reporter] Prosecutor
Stuart Baggish says
926
00:43:49,413 --> 00:43:52,260
Michael Diana's art violates
community standards.
927
00:43:52,260 --> 00:43:55,760
- I've seen gross
stuff before,
928
00:43:55,760 --> 00:44:00,760
and it's not made me want to
lose my lunch or anything,
929
00:44:00,760 --> 00:44:03,130
but this stuff when I
saw it the first time,
930
00:44:03,130 --> 00:44:05,942
I just thought, this is vile.
931
00:44:05,942 --> 00:44:08,890
It felt like a
punch in the gut.
932
00:44:08,890 --> 00:44:10,750
You know,
that may have been his purpose
933
00:44:10,750 --> 00:44:12,190
in publishing the material.
934
00:44:12,190 --> 00:44:14,410
He certainly wanted to
get people's attention
935
00:44:14,410 --> 00:44:17,730
for no reason other than
shock, the question is,
936
00:44:17,730 --> 00:44:19,746
was he doing it in a way
937
00:44:19,771 --> 00:44:26,077
that actually constitutes
speech or was it obscenity?
938
00:44:26,760 --> 00:44:28,920
- It's worthy of prosecution.
939
00:44:28,920 --> 00:44:30,770
- [Interviewer] And jail
time and everything, huh?
940
00:44:30,770 --> 00:44:32,990
- That's what
we're shooting for
941
00:44:32,990 --> 00:44:35,387
and we think that
this publication
942
00:44:35,387 --> 00:44:37,900
requires that
type of penalty.
943
00:44:37,900 --> 00:44:42,290
I look at it as obscene from
the minute I opened it up.
944
00:44:42,290 --> 00:44:46,170
It was in our office,
it had not been prosecuted yet.
945
00:44:46,170 --> 00:44:50,640
When I looked at it,
there was no question in my mind
946
00:44:50,640 --> 00:44:54,290
that it was obscene,
I was repulsed by it.
947
00:44:54,290 --> 00:44:57,880
There was even spending
more time with it,
948
00:44:57,880 --> 00:45:00,440
I found nothing
redeeming about it.
949
00:45:00,440 --> 00:45:03,873
I only found it more
and more repulsive.
950
00:45:03,873 --> 00:45:06,540
(ominous music)
951
00:45:09,900 --> 00:45:11,400
- [Mike] I got a
summons in the mail
952
00:45:11,400 --> 00:45:14,140
charging me with three
counts of obscenity.
953
00:45:14,140 --> 00:45:17,593
Publishing, distributing, and
advertising obscene material.
954
00:45:18,460 --> 00:45:23,043
(crunching) (slurping)
955
00:45:26,450 --> 00:45:28,430
- I teach at the Centre
for Cartoon Studies.
956
00:45:28,430 --> 00:45:30,730
I've been there since
we opened our doors.
957
00:45:30,730 --> 00:45:34,550
A class that is called
"Survey of the Drawn Story,"
958
00:45:34,550 --> 00:45:35,630
because in academia,
959
00:45:35,630 --> 00:45:37,420
you can't call it
"Comics History Class."
960
00:45:37,420 --> 00:45:39,050
The Mike Diana case history
961
00:45:39,050 --> 00:45:42,460
is incredibly important
to the history of comics.
962
00:45:42,460 --> 00:45:43,910
It's important on
a number of levels.
963
00:45:43,910 --> 00:45:51,002
It's important as a real
benchmark of the legal backlash
964
00:45:51,027 --> 00:45:54,760
against the growing
freedom of expression
965
00:45:54,760 --> 00:45:57,860
that was happening across
the board in comics
966
00:45:57,860 --> 00:46:02,830
from the mid '80s to,
well, where we are today.
967
00:46:02,830 --> 00:46:05,250
Another thing that happened
as part of that continuity
968
00:46:05,250 --> 00:46:09,430
is another 18 year old
cartoonist named Mark Laliberte,
969
00:46:09,430 --> 00:46:13,470
he was doing a zine as well,
very small circulation zine,
970
00:46:13,470 --> 00:46:16,610
and he got popped by
the Canadian police.
971
00:46:16,610 --> 00:46:18,456
Mounties showed
up at his door,
972
00:46:18,456 --> 00:46:22,330
crashed into the house,
confiscated material,
973
00:46:22,330 --> 00:46:25,880
and there was a strip that
Mark had done in his zine.
974
00:46:25,880 --> 00:46:27,140
It was a parody of Peanuts,
975
00:46:27,140 --> 00:46:31,265
but it had a panel where
Snoopy was sodomising Sally,
976
00:46:31,265 --> 00:46:33,300
Charlie Brown's little
sister, right?
977
00:46:33,300 --> 00:46:35,860
And the Canadian
legal authorities
978
00:46:35,860 --> 00:46:40,600
not only go after Mark
Laliberte on obscenity charges,
979
00:46:40,600 --> 00:46:44,220
they bring him up on
bestiality charges, okay?
980
00:46:44,220 --> 00:46:45,984
This is what they go
into the courtroom with.
981
00:46:46,009 --> 00:46:47,337
- There was a kind of,
I'm trying
982
00:46:47,362 --> 00:46:48,430
to think of the exact name.
983
00:46:48,430 --> 00:46:49,931
I think it was
Project Pornography
984
00:46:49,956 --> 00:46:50,960
or something like that,
985
00:46:50,960 --> 00:46:53,270
and there was this
kind of group of police
986
00:46:53,270 --> 00:46:57,506
that were sort of moved from
kind of like the drug squads
987
00:46:57,506 --> 00:47:01,950
to dealing with obscenity in
Canada for this short period.
988
00:47:01,950 --> 00:47:04,320
And so they really actually
had no sort of sense
989
00:47:04,320 --> 00:47:09,177
of what would be
considered truly obscene.
990
00:47:09,177 --> 00:47:11,380
It was all guesswork.
991
00:47:11,380 --> 00:47:14,980
- I was friends with
a Canadian retailer
992
00:47:14,980 --> 00:47:17,700
and comics creator
named Mark Asquith.
993
00:47:17,700 --> 00:47:19,320
Mark was one of the experts
994
00:47:19,320 --> 00:47:21,440
brought into the
courtroom in this trial,
995
00:47:21,440 --> 00:47:26,440
and Mark Asquith was
incredibly smart on the stand.
996
00:47:26,600 --> 00:47:30,550
Mark broke down for the
judge and for the court,
997
00:47:30,550 --> 00:47:33,623
that the only act
that had taken place
998
00:47:33,623 --> 00:47:37,250
was that an 18 year old boy
was sitting down at a desk
999
00:47:37,250 --> 00:47:41,160
with a pencil and a piece of
paper making marks on paper.
1000
00:47:41,160 --> 00:47:44,410
That was the only physical
act that had ever taken place
1001
00:47:44,410 --> 00:47:46,193
to create this
two page strip.
1002
00:47:47,100 --> 00:47:50,740
No human being was sodomised.
(laughs)
1003
00:47:50,740 --> 00:47:53,530
No dog had sodomised
a human being,
1004
00:47:53,530 --> 00:47:54,940
and the judge threw it out,
1005
00:47:54,940 --> 00:47:58,780
because it just didn't
meet any standard,
1006
00:47:58,780 --> 00:48:01,030
and had nothing to
do with the charges
1007
00:48:01,030 --> 00:48:03,670
that Mark Laliberte
had been busted for.
1008
00:48:03,670 --> 00:48:06,280
This becomes important
because Mark himself told me
1009
00:48:06,280 --> 00:48:10,567
that he and Mike Diana had
traded zines in the mail.
1010
00:48:10,567 --> 00:48:15,480
"Boiled Angel" had gone
from Florida up to Canada,
1011
00:48:15,480 --> 00:48:20,010
and Mark's zine had gone
from Canada down to Florida.
1012
00:48:20,010 --> 00:48:21,710
- The officers who
were trying my case
1013
00:48:21,710 --> 00:48:24,650
really hated Mike's work
and really hated that zine,
1014
00:48:24,650 --> 00:48:27,420
and really hated his
presence in my publication,
1015
00:48:27,420 --> 00:48:29,880
and tried to focus actually
a lot of my obscenity trial
1016
00:48:29,880 --> 00:48:33,473
on the fact that I was
a publisher of his work.
1017
00:48:36,640 --> 00:48:38,870
The officer was quite angry,
1018
00:48:38,870 --> 00:48:41,100
I think,
when he lost the case here.
1019
00:48:41,100 --> 00:48:45,490
- When the Canadian authorities
had the case thrown out
1020
00:48:45,490 --> 00:48:48,053
in their prosecution
of Mark Laliberte,
1021
00:48:48,940 --> 00:48:52,270
apparently a call was made
from Canada to Florida,
1022
00:48:52,270 --> 00:48:54,477
and it was like,
"We didn't get our guy,
1023
00:48:54,477 --> 00:48:59,130
"but (laughs) we have this
copy of Boiled Angel."
1024
00:48:59,130 --> 00:49:03,130
You know, and this according
to two accounts I've heard,
1025
00:49:03,130 --> 00:49:05,630
was what led to the
prosecuting amping up,
1026
00:49:05,630 --> 00:49:07,500
prosecution amping up.
1027
00:49:07,500 --> 00:49:09,200
They're going
after Mike Diana.
1028
00:49:09,200 --> 00:49:13,060
I have to say, it was always
suspect to me that a zine,
1029
00:49:13,060 --> 00:49:15,240
you know, Mike Diana printed,
1030
00:49:15,240 --> 00:49:18,610
I think like 60 copies of
"Boiled Angel" number one,
1031
00:49:18,610 --> 00:49:20,350
and the highest
circulation he had
1032
00:49:20,350 --> 00:49:22,562
was between 200
and 300 copies.
1033
00:49:22,562 --> 00:49:27,896
That's a little drop of piss
in all the oceans of the world,
1034
00:49:27,921 --> 00:49:31,690
and that the police would
happen to come across this zine
1035
00:49:31,690 --> 00:49:33,790
just is complete
fantasy to me.
1036
00:49:33,790 --> 00:49:36,390
It made perfect cause
and effect sense to me
1037
00:49:36,390 --> 00:49:38,830
when Mark Laliberte
told me his story.
1038
00:49:38,830 --> 00:49:40,510
I mean, my understanding
is at some point
1039
00:49:40,535 --> 00:49:42,030
they went, "Oh,
he's not the killer."
1040
00:49:42,030 --> 00:49:45,123
He's not the Gainesville
killer, why go back after him?
1041
00:49:47,697 --> 00:49:52,070
And this whole thing with
Mark's zine being busted,
1042
00:49:52,070 --> 00:49:56,310
going to trial, and the trial
failing and then within weeks,
1043
00:49:56,310 --> 00:49:58,780
everything starts heating
up for Mike Diana.
1044
00:49:58,780 --> 00:50:01,100
Boy, I mean,
it seems very credible to me.
1045
00:50:01,125 --> 00:50:03,640
- A one time suspect in
the Gainesville murders
1046
00:50:03,640 --> 00:50:06,440
faces obscenity charges in
Pinellas County tonight.
1047
00:50:06,440 --> 00:50:08,760
This all involves
a comic book.
1048
00:50:08,760 --> 00:50:10,460
- I didn't realise
how serious it was
1049
00:50:10,460 --> 00:50:13,090
until I got to the courthouse
and saw the newspaper
1050
00:50:13,090 --> 00:50:16,958
and TV reporters and
protest groups against me.
1051
00:50:16,958 --> 00:50:20,010
Even worse, I was facing
three years in prison.
1052
00:50:20,010 --> 00:50:21,520
- [Evan] Michael
Diana emerged
1053
00:50:21,520 --> 00:50:23,650
from a Pinellas County
courtroom this afternoon
1054
00:50:23,650 --> 00:50:27,282
prepared as he says,
to fight the state of Florida.
1055
00:50:27,282 --> 00:50:31,010
The 23 year old could
face two years in prison.
1056
00:50:31,010 --> 00:50:33,000
- First of all,
there are three types of pleas.
1057
00:50:33,000 --> 00:50:34,930
- [Evan] He was arraigned
today on three charges
1058
00:50:34,930 --> 00:50:38,240
of publishing, and
advertising obscene material.
1059
00:50:38,410 --> 00:50:40,407
It's called "Boiled Angel."
1060
00:50:40,407 --> 00:50:43,404
- How to kill our children
and put 'em in barbecue sauce.
1061
00:50:43,404 --> 00:50:44,614
Showing these books out
1062
00:50:44,614 --> 00:50:47,939
on people murdering our
infants and children.
1063
00:50:47,964 --> 00:50:49,625
- So,
where do you draw the line
1064
00:50:49,625 --> 00:50:51,820
on what's obscene
and what's not?
1065
00:50:51,820 --> 00:50:54,450
It normally depends on
community standards,
1066
00:50:54,450 --> 00:50:57,050
and the Mike Diana case
may have Pinellas County
1067
00:50:57,050 --> 00:50:58,810
reevaluating its standards
1068
00:50:58,810 --> 00:51:00,830
right here in the
next couple months.
1069
00:51:00,830 --> 00:51:04,850
Well, in the newsroom, we were
talking about it at the time,
1070
00:51:04,850 --> 00:51:10,717
and I remember wondering how
someone could be prosecuted
1071
00:51:10,742 --> 00:51:15,410
for their art, for their
beliefs, for their comics.
1072
00:51:15,410 --> 00:51:18,970
In the news business,
you get a call or you get a tip
1073
00:51:18,970 --> 00:51:21,000
from the community
about a story like this
1074
00:51:21,000 --> 00:51:22,880
and it goes through
the assignment desk.
1075
00:51:22,880 --> 00:51:25,410
I got assigned the
story and out the door
1076
00:51:25,410 --> 00:51:28,600
to meet Michael Diana and
see what this was all about.
1077
00:51:28,600 --> 00:51:30,440
I thought it was kind of odd
1078
00:51:30,440 --> 00:51:32,590
to see that one
woman in my story,
1079
00:51:32,590 --> 00:51:34,550
her eyes would
well with tears
1080
00:51:34,550 --> 00:51:37,030
in the second before
she would talk to me,
1081
00:51:37,030 --> 00:51:39,130
and then when we were done,
1082
00:51:39,130 --> 00:51:41,180
she'd go back to doing
what she was doing.
1083
00:51:41,180 --> 00:51:43,560
That happens with a lot of
stories in the news business.
1084
00:51:43,560 --> 00:51:46,630
When the camera comes
on, the drama begins.
1085
00:51:46,630 --> 00:51:49,060
I was struck by the severity
1086
00:51:49,060 --> 00:51:51,893
of the events surrounding
him a little bit,
1087
00:51:53,140 --> 00:51:57,040
and I remember
picking up a book
1088
00:51:57,040 --> 00:51:59,390
containing these
drawings of his,
1089
00:51:59,390 --> 00:52:05,325
and I'm looking through them
and of course they were gross.
1090
00:52:05,350 --> 00:52:09,230
They were odd,
but they were cartoons.
1091
00:52:09,230 --> 00:52:10,880
They didn't really upset me.
1092
00:52:10,880 --> 00:52:13,810
I kinda chuckled and
wondered at the time,
1093
00:52:13,810 --> 00:52:15,670
is this what this
is all about?
1094
00:52:15,670 --> 00:52:19,650
Judge Mary Jean McAllister set
a pretrial date for June 7th.
1095
00:52:19,650 --> 00:52:21,780
Diana says he doesn't
have an attorney yet,
1096
00:52:21,780 --> 00:52:23,730
but he does say that
he has contacted
1097
00:52:23,730 --> 00:52:25,880
the Comic Book
Legal Defence Fund
1098
00:52:25,880 --> 00:52:27,230
and they may represent him,
1099
00:52:27,230 --> 00:52:29,133
but we were not able
to confirm that.
1100
00:52:30,000 --> 00:52:35,000
(alarm blaring) (dog barking)
1101
00:52:38,460 --> 00:52:41,790
- I was going to art school
in the 1970s in New York City,
1102
00:52:41,790 --> 00:52:45,210
and while I was there,
I went to a record store,
1103
00:52:45,210 --> 00:52:48,840
and they had a spin rack that
was all underground comics.
1104
00:52:48,840 --> 00:52:50,610
When I saw that,
that was when I knew
1105
00:52:50,610 --> 00:52:51,820
I wanted to be a cartoonist,
1106
00:52:51,820 --> 00:52:54,030
and that I wanted to be
an underground cartoonist.
1107
00:52:54,030 --> 00:52:56,504
I also mistakenly thought those
guys were all millionaires.
1108
00:52:56,504 --> 00:52:59,390
I found out the hard
way that that was not the case.
1109
00:52:59,390 --> 00:53:01,501
Throughout the 1980s,
there was as
1110
00:53:01,526 --> 00:53:03,937
comics are becoming
more popular again,
1111
00:53:04,776 --> 00:53:08,200
and with the rise
of undergrounds
1112
00:53:08,200 --> 00:53:11,290
morphing into
alternative comics,
1113
00:53:11,290 --> 00:53:15,140
comics were no longer clearly
about just being for kids,
1114
00:53:15,140 --> 00:53:17,127
which a lot of people
in the country had a
1115
00:53:17,152 --> 00:53:19,160
really hard time getting
their head around,
1116
00:53:19,160 --> 00:53:20,685
so when they'd see a comic book
1117
00:53:20,710 --> 00:53:22,210
that had adult content in it,
1118
00:53:22,210 --> 00:53:23,530
they just assumed
that somebody
1119
00:53:23,530 --> 00:53:26,023
was trying to subvert
their children.
1120
00:53:26,870 --> 00:53:28,580
At that time,
there was something
1121
00:53:28,580 --> 00:53:30,130
that was really
dominating the news
1122
00:53:30,130 --> 00:53:34,230
and reached the point of
hysteria was child sexual abuse,
1123
00:53:34,230 --> 00:53:35,860
and his comics
touched into that,
1124
00:53:35,860 --> 00:53:39,500
so it was bad timing that his
comics were dealing somewhat,
1125
00:53:39,500 --> 00:53:40,560
not entirely of course,
1126
00:53:40,560 --> 00:53:44,585
but somewhat with sex
with underaged people.
1127
00:53:44,585 --> 00:53:47,668
(trippy synth music)
1128
00:53:52,987 --> 00:53:54,310
There was a lot
of controversy
1129
00:53:54,310 --> 00:53:55,940
about his work
amongst artists
1130
00:53:55,940 --> 00:53:59,160
just because a lot of
people thought it was bad.
1131
00:53:59,160 --> 00:54:01,454
You know, a lot of people
in the comic book industry
1132
00:54:01,454 --> 00:54:03,115
just thought this
guy can't draw
1133
00:54:03,115 --> 00:54:06,990
or they saw no beauty
in the way he drew.
1134
00:54:06,990 --> 00:54:09,010
They saw no artistic
value in it,
1135
00:54:09,010 --> 00:54:11,230
and also a lot of people
in the comic industry
1136
00:54:11,230 --> 00:54:13,590
were just as offended
as everybody else
1137
00:54:13,590 --> 00:54:16,050
by the content of it.
1138
00:54:16,050 --> 00:54:19,020
So even though he was
in very serious trouble,
1139
00:54:19,020 --> 00:54:23,990
and his First Amendment rights
were clearly being violated,
1140
00:54:23,990 --> 00:54:26,080
or a government
agency was attempting
1141
00:54:26,080 --> 00:54:28,583
to violate his First
Amendment rights,
1142
00:54:29,700 --> 00:54:32,180
it was still a bit of a
controversy in the industry
1143
00:54:32,180 --> 00:54:34,300
as to whether we should
use our resources
1144
00:54:34,300 --> 00:54:37,310
through the Comic Defence
Fund to help this guy.
1145
00:54:37,310 --> 00:54:39,530
So, I was a little
bit taken aback
1146
00:54:39,530 --> 00:54:42,370
by some people in the
industry who didn't think
1147
00:54:42,370 --> 00:54:44,570
that money should be spent
to help this guy out.
1148
00:54:44,570 --> 00:54:47,270
They just figured,
just let him hang, you know?
1149
00:54:47,270 --> 00:54:50,195
And it's to their
eternal disgrace.
1150
00:54:52,110 --> 00:54:54,020
- [Mike] The Comic
Book Legal Defence Fund
1151
00:54:54,020 --> 00:54:57,760
hired Luke Lirot as
my defence attorney.
1152
00:54:57,850 --> 00:55:00,090
- When I first saw
Mr. Diana's work,
1153
00:55:00,090 --> 00:55:01,970
I was personally
troubled by it.
1154
00:55:01,970 --> 00:55:03,650
I found it somewhat
unsettling.
1155
00:55:03,650 --> 00:55:04,856
- [Kathy] Sure.
1156
00:55:04,856 --> 00:55:07,740
- But to me, it posed a
much greater issues because
1157
00:55:07,740 --> 00:55:10,150
it's not just his comic book
that we're talking about.
1158
00:55:10,150 --> 00:55:13,860
We're talking about the entire
gamut of First Amendment rights,
1159
00:55:13,860 --> 00:55:18,330
and if you cannot be secure
in protecting his imagery,
1160
00:55:18,330 --> 00:55:20,230
no matter how
offensive it may be,
1161
00:55:20,230 --> 00:55:21,650
then you can have no security
1162
00:55:21,650 --> 00:55:24,470
that any ideas
will be protected.
1163
00:55:24,470 --> 00:55:27,870
I actually went to Catholic
school in the early '60s,
1164
00:55:27,870 --> 00:55:31,010
and we were given an
assignment to create a collage.
1165
00:55:31,010 --> 00:55:32,330
My parents were divorced.
1166
00:55:32,330 --> 00:55:34,420
My mother worked
in a dress shop,
1167
00:55:34,420 --> 00:55:36,050
and to create this collage
1168
00:55:36,050 --> 00:55:37,970
that was given to me as
a homework assignment,
1169
00:55:37,970 --> 00:55:40,420
the only magazines
I had access to
1170
00:55:40,420 --> 00:55:43,200
were fashion magazines,
women's magazines,
1171
00:55:43,200 --> 00:55:47,460
and they had women in bras and
legs sticking out of bathtubs
1172
00:55:47,460 --> 00:55:48,740
and I think it was Vogue,
1173
00:55:48,740 --> 00:55:51,080
Harper's Bazaar,
Women's Wear Daily,
1174
00:55:51,080 --> 00:55:52,480
and when handing
it to the nun,
1175
00:55:52,480 --> 00:55:55,280
she was so shocked about
the content of my work.
1176
00:55:55,280 --> 00:55:57,010
She tore it up right
in front of me,
1177
00:55:57,010 --> 00:55:58,720
which was an
absolute shock to me.
1178
00:55:58,720 --> 00:56:00,270
I thought she'd be impressed
1179
00:56:00,270 --> 00:56:02,630
at how much time and
effort I put into it,
1180
00:56:02,630 --> 00:56:05,020
and I got expelled
after that.
1181
00:56:05,020 --> 00:56:06,820
I got kicked out
of second grade
1182
00:56:06,820 --> 00:56:09,390
because I essentially
had turned in something
1183
00:56:09,390 --> 00:56:12,960
that a person in authority
found to be unacceptable.
1184
00:56:12,960 --> 00:56:16,930
So, if there's a
defining point in my life
1185
00:56:16,930 --> 00:56:18,620
that has made me a big fan,
1186
00:56:18,620 --> 00:56:22,030
and basically what I consider
to be a valiant patriot
1187
00:56:22,030 --> 00:56:24,320
in the service of
the First Amendment,
1188
00:56:24,320 --> 00:56:26,743
I think I can track that
back to second grade.
1189
00:56:27,840 --> 00:56:30,700
- 20 years ago,
this used to be the courthouse.
1190
00:56:30,700 --> 00:56:32,700
I don't know
what it is today.
1191
00:56:32,700 --> 00:56:35,560
In a way, I was like
an instant celebrity.
1192
00:56:35,560 --> 00:56:37,390
People had seen
me on the news.
1193
00:56:37,390 --> 00:56:39,717
They came up to me
and they would say,
1194
00:56:39,717 --> 00:56:41,157
"Oh, so they let you out?
1195
00:56:41,157 --> 00:56:43,638
"Even though you
killed those people."
1196
00:56:43,638 --> 00:56:46,460
They were talking
about seeing footage
1197
00:56:46,460 --> 00:56:50,330
and images of the
Gainesville student murders,
1198
00:56:50,330 --> 00:56:52,500
the bodies being actually
led out of the dorms
1199
00:56:52,500 --> 00:56:54,370
with white sheets over them,
1200
00:56:54,370 --> 00:56:55,600
interspliced with footage
1201
00:56:55,600 --> 00:56:58,930
talking about me and my
"Boiled Angel" fanzine.
1202
00:56:58,930 --> 00:57:01,860
But then there was the
other side of the coin,
1203
00:57:01,860 --> 00:57:05,110
the religious fanatic people
that would approach me.
1204
00:57:05,110 --> 00:57:09,080
I would be just pumping gas
into my car at a gas station,
1205
00:57:09,080 --> 00:57:11,450
and there'd be a few religious
people would recognise me,
1206
00:57:11,450 --> 00:57:13,585
and come over and
start praying for me,
1207
00:57:13,585 --> 00:57:18,022
giving me religious pamphlets,
telling me to change my ways.
1208
00:57:18,022 --> 00:57:21,330
This was very
unpleasant sometimes.
1209
00:57:21,330 --> 00:57:23,997
What is this, police?
- I don't know, bro.
1210
00:57:27,409 --> 00:57:28,760
- Detectives.
1211
00:57:28,785 --> 00:57:30,182
- [Producer] Are you
scared of the police?
1212
00:57:30,207 --> 00:57:32,319
- Hmm?
- Are you scared of the police?
1213
00:57:32,319 --> 00:57:34,657
- Oh yeah.
- Why, what reason?
1214
00:57:34,657 --> 00:57:36,140
- They'll rape you
with a nightstick.
1215
00:57:36,140 --> 00:57:38,010
- Eyewitness News reporter
Steve Nichols joins us
1216
00:57:38,010 --> 00:57:40,510
from our St. Petersburg newsroom
with the very latest twist
1217
00:57:40,510 --> 00:57:44,419
in what's known as the
"Boiled Angels" case, Steve?
1218
00:57:44,419 --> 00:57:46,069
- Kelly,
as that very name suggests,
1219
00:57:46,094 --> 00:57:47,630
this is not a
mainstream magazine.
1220
00:57:47,630 --> 00:57:50,710
Its publisher says he only
prints about 300 copies
1221
00:57:50,710 --> 00:57:53,200
of each issue but if
he had any doubts,
1222
00:57:53,200 --> 00:57:56,170
Michael Diana now knows
for sure his tiny mag
1223
00:57:56,170 --> 00:57:58,200
will attract all
kinds of forces,
1224
00:57:58,200 --> 00:57:59,990
and not all of them friendly.
1225
00:57:59,990 --> 00:58:03,790
Outside the courtroom,
one protestor in Diana's corner.
1226
00:58:03,790 --> 00:58:05,139
- I'm here today
because I believe in
1227
00:58:05,164 --> 00:58:06,700
America, and I believe
in the Constitution,
1228
00:58:06,700 --> 00:58:08,330
and I believe in
the First Amendment.
1229
00:58:08,330 --> 00:58:10,220
- [Reporter] But there
were far more protestors
1230
00:58:10,220 --> 00:58:13,223
against the defendant, including
one offering forgiveness.
1231
00:58:14,098 --> 00:58:16,393
- But we are concerned
for you as a person,
1232
00:58:16,393 --> 00:58:20,360
and I know, I know you need
a heart and mind renewed.
1233
00:58:20,360 --> 00:58:21,750
- [Reporter] And
outside the courthouse,
1234
00:58:21,750 --> 00:58:23,540
a sample of the
debate to come.
1235
00:58:23,540 --> 00:58:25,272
- He can't be tied up!
- Brutalization
1236
00:58:25,297 --> 00:58:26,465
and victimisation
of children.
1237
00:58:26,490 --> 00:58:27,875
- Should these hands be tied?
1238
00:58:27,900 --> 00:58:28,928
I think not.
1239
00:58:28,953 --> 00:58:30,170
- Citizens Opposing
Pornography
1240
00:58:30,170 --> 00:58:31,880
and Concerned
Women of America,
1241
00:58:31,880 --> 00:58:34,230
promised to keep the
pressure on prosecutors
1242
00:58:34,230 --> 00:58:37,030
and judges in the
"Boiled Angels" case.
1243
00:58:37,030 --> 00:58:38,440
- By his looks here,
1244
00:58:38,440 --> 00:58:41,277
Diana is just cluing
in to what lays ahead.
1245
00:58:42,360 --> 00:58:45,540
- I strongly associated
with national
1246
00:58:45,540 --> 00:58:48,180
and local organisations,
1247
00:58:48,180 --> 00:58:51,010
the particular one was
Concerned Women for America.
1248
00:58:51,010 --> 00:58:54,830
That's how I found out about
the Michael Diana case.
1249
00:58:54,830 --> 00:58:57,380
My heart was
particularly touched
1250
00:58:57,380 --> 00:59:02,380
by somebody this young
drawing such graphic material.
1251
00:59:03,960 --> 00:59:08,960
What I felt was under the
guise of the First Amendment,
1252
00:59:09,660 --> 00:59:12,990
because the First Amendment
was meant to redress issues
1253
00:59:12,990 --> 00:59:17,930
of religious and political
problems and ideas
1254
00:59:17,930 --> 00:59:22,490
on both sides of the
fence, not obscenity.
1255
00:59:22,490 --> 00:59:26,310
So, my heart kind of went
out to this young man.
1256
00:59:26,310 --> 00:59:28,970
I did not read
all of his book,
1257
00:59:28,970 --> 00:59:32,386
but I saw enough of
the graphic material,
1258
00:59:32,386 --> 00:59:35,510
and what disturbed
me the most
1259
00:59:36,420 --> 00:59:39,100
was the fact that
it used children.
1260
00:59:39,100 --> 00:59:43,130
Michael Diana, have you been
sexually abused as a child?
1261
00:59:43,130 --> 00:59:45,050
- No, and it isn't any
of your business anyways.
1262
00:59:45,050 --> 00:59:46,250
- You're lying, Michael.
1263
00:59:47,390 --> 00:59:52,090
Even though Michael
said to me he wasn't,
1264
00:59:52,090 --> 00:59:54,120
he prefaced it
with he wasn't,
1265
00:59:54,120 --> 00:59:56,420
and then said, "But it's none
of your business anyway."
1266
00:59:56,420 --> 00:59:59,290
Which seemed to shout
to me loud and clear,
1267
00:59:59,290 --> 01:00:01,800
there is a lot of
pain in his life.
1268
01:00:01,800 --> 01:00:04,310
Where is your pain coming
from then, Michael,
1269
01:00:04,310 --> 01:00:06,460
if it wasn't sexual abuse?
1270
01:00:06,460 --> 01:00:11,460
Why all this
prolific, graphic,
1271
01:00:11,480 --> 01:00:17,305
psychopathic sexual distortion
of what should be beautiful?
1272
01:00:17,330 --> 01:00:19,510
So, am I saying he lied?
1273
01:00:19,510 --> 01:00:23,030
I'm saying there's a very good
possibility because of shame,
1274
01:00:23,030 --> 01:00:26,027
people hide it in
different ways,
1275
01:00:26,226 --> 01:00:28,581
and they don't always
want to admit it.
1276
01:00:28,640 --> 01:00:30,220
- Was there something
in your life,
1277
01:00:30,220 --> 01:00:32,060
maybe I'm looking a
little too deep into this,
1278
01:00:32,060 --> 01:00:33,660
but just let me
ask the question.
1279
01:00:33,660 --> 01:00:35,750
Because sometimes
art helps us work out
1280
01:00:35,750 --> 01:00:38,710
some very big
nightmares in our lives.
1281
01:00:38,710 --> 01:00:40,600
Is there anything that
happened in your life
1282
01:00:40,600 --> 01:00:41,993
that's inspired your art?
1283
01:00:42,876 --> 01:00:44,190
- Well, I was never abused.
1284
01:00:44,190 --> 01:00:46,000
I had a pretty
good childhood.
1285
01:00:46,000 --> 01:00:50,140
I had been taking art classes
ever since I could remember,
1286
01:00:50,140 --> 01:00:53,098
and I just want to draw
what I want to draw.
1287
01:00:53,098 --> 01:00:55,525
(suspenseful music)
1288
01:00:55,525 --> 01:00:57,992
(snoring)
1289
01:00:57,992 --> 01:00:58,825
(bottle shatters)
1290
01:00:58,825 --> 01:01:01,310
- [Father] Wake up,
you ugly piece of dog shit!
1291
01:01:01,310 --> 01:01:02,880
I told you to
have my breakfast
1292
01:01:02,880 --> 01:01:04,980
cooked for me
before I got up!
1293
01:01:04,980 --> 01:01:08,340
The way you disobey me, you
must like this clothes hanger.
1294
01:01:08,340 --> 01:01:11,763
And don't come back till you
catch me a rabbit for my lunch!
1295
01:01:11,763 --> 01:01:13,052
- [Stan] Sob, sob!
1296
01:01:13,965 --> 01:01:15,783
Hi, little grasshopper.
1297
01:01:15,783 --> 01:01:17,820
Will you be my friend?
1298
01:01:17,820 --> 01:01:20,051
My father is so mean to me!
1299
01:01:20,051 --> 01:01:21,280
He's a hardcore alcoholic
1300
01:01:21,280 --> 01:01:23,903
and he sexually
assaults me every night.
1301
01:01:24,800 --> 01:01:28,080
He puts his lit
cigarettes out on my arms!
1302
01:01:28,080 --> 01:01:29,090
I wish I could just live here
1303
01:01:29,090 --> 01:01:31,293
in these woods the
rest of my little life.
1304
01:01:31,293 --> 01:01:32,530
(birds chirping)
1305
01:01:32,530 --> 01:01:34,780
You almost look like
you understand me!
1306
01:01:34,780 --> 01:01:37,210
- [Grasshopper] It does
understand you, Stan.
1307
01:01:37,210 --> 01:01:38,481
- [Stan] What the hell?
1308
01:01:38,481 --> 01:01:39,481
Who are you?
1309
01:01:40,725 --> 01:01:41,830
You know my name?
1310
01:01:41,830 --> 01:01:45,470
- [Grasshopper] The grasshoppers
told me about you, Stan.
1311
01:01:45,470 --> 01:01:49,760
I come from a far
faraway, exotic land.
1312
01:01:49,760 --> 01:01:51,496
Can you dig it?
1313
01:01:51,496 --> 01:01:52,329
(rubber band springing)
1314
01:01:52,329 --> 01:01:56,780
I came to help you,
Stan, to set you free!
1315
01:01:56,780 --> 01:01:59,580
Your dad fucks you
up your little hot,
1316
01:01:59,580 --> 01:02:02,310
young, tight ass,
doesn't he, Stan, huh?
1317
01:02:03,751 --> 01:02:05,750
- [Stan] Yes,
he does all the time!
1318
01:02:05,750 --> 01:02:09,161
- Don't cry,
take my hand, pal.
1319
01:02:09,161 --> 01:02:11,950
(rumbling) (birds chirping)
1320
01:02:11,950 --> 01:02:14,470
- [Stan] This is so cool!
1321
01:02:14,470 --> 01:02:16,040
We're flying so high!
1322
01:02:16,040 --> 01:02:17,628
How do you do it?
1323
01:02:17,628 --> 01:02:20,900
- [Grasshopper] I can make
you into a grasshopper, Stan.
1324
01:02:20,900 --> 01:02:25,660
Only you have to pass
one little test for me.
1325
01:02:25,660 --> 01:02:26,740
- [Stan] It's my house!
1326
01:02:26,740 --> 01:02:28,450
Why are we here?
1327
01:02:28,450 --> 01:02:29,478
Dad?
1328
01:02:29,478 --> 01:02:30,700
- [Father] Where
the hell ya been?
1329
01:02:30,700 --> 01:02:32,180
I don't see my lunch!
1330
01:02:32,180 --> 01:02:34,427
Time to pull out
the clothes hanger.
1331
01:02:35,134 --> 01:02:36,171
(crunching) (groaning)
1332
01:02:36,171 --> 01:02:37,312
Son, my arm.
1333
01:02:37,312 --> 01:02:39,562
(groaning)
1334
01:02:41,290 --> 01:02:44,633
- [Stan] Mm,
you taste good, daddy!
1335
01:02:44,633 --> 01:02:46,370
- [Grasshopper]
How did you do?
1336
01:02:46,370 --> 01:02:49,850
- [Stan] I ate him just like a
grasshopper eats a juicy leaf.
1337
01:02:49,850 --> 01:02:52,822
- [Grasshopper] You must now
take off your pants, Stan.
1338
01:02:52,822 --> 01:02:55,640
(spring boings)
1339
01:02:55,640 --> 01:02:59,200
Now I strip some
flesh off your legs.
1340
01:02:59,200 --> 01:03:02,823
And off your cigarette
scarred arms also.
1341
01:03:02,823 --> 01:03:05,470
Then stick a couple
clothes hangers
1342
01:03:05,470 --> 01:03:08,806
into your head to be
real working antennas.
1343
01:03:08,806 --> 01:03:09,880
(Stan groaning)
1344
01:03:09,880 --> 01:03:13,514
And finally we cram this
piece of sheet metal
1345
01:03:13,514 --> 01:03:16,310
into your back as a wing.
1346
01:03:16,310 --> 01:03:18,940
I must now leave you, Stan.
1347
01:03:18,940 --> 01:03:22,920
Fly and be happy and free.
1348
01:03:22,920 --> 01:03:26,107
- [Stan] Goodbye,
friend, and thank you.
1349
01:03:28,020 --> 01:03:31,965
I fly in the cool
breeze of the night sky.
1350
01:03:31,965 --> 01:03:36,313
Now I am truly happy and
satisfied with myself.
1351
01:03:37,290 --> 01:03:39,310
I fly over small towns
1352
01:03:39,310 --> 01:03:43,194
and listen for the cries
of little abused children.
1353
01:03:43,194 --> 01:03:48,194
I swoop down and eat their
parents like fresh green leaves.
1354
01:03:49,350 --> 01:03:52,630
I am and always will be
1355
01:03:54,032 --> 01:03:55,217
the grasshopper boy.
1356
01:03:57,956 --> 01:04:00,240
(wind howling)
1357
01:04:00,240 --> 01:04:04,163
- When he got charged
with obscenities,
1358
01:04:07,532 --> 01:04:10,970
all this stuff was done
without my knowledge.
1359
01:04:10,970 --> 01:04:12,815
I had bought a
little convenience
1360
01:04:12,840 --> 01:04:14,087
store down in Florida,
1361
01:04:15,594 --> 01:04:17,780
and there was a
luncheonette next door,
1362
01:04:17,780 --> 01:04:20,020
and I'd go over to
the luncheonette
1363
01:04:20,020 --> 01:04:23,870
and I took the St.
Petersburg Times,
1364
01:04:23,870 --> 01:04:26,160
that's a big newspaper
in the county.
1365
01:04:26,160 --> 01:04:28,470
Right on the front page
in the centre section,
1366
01:04:28,470 --> 01:04:33,182
I started reading and it
said, "Michael Diana,
1367
01:04:33,182 --> 01:04:38,182
"Gainesville murder suspect
being charged with obscenities."
1368
01:04:39,400 --> 01:04:41,790
And I didn't know
what I was reading.
1369
01:04:41,790 --> 01:04:44,260
I started to get dizzy
and my head was spinning.
1370
01:04:44,260 --> 01:04:46,150
What is this?
1371
01:04:46,150 --> 01:04:48,470
And I tell you,
it just devastated me.
1372
01:04:48,470 --> 01:04:50,580
Now, I love Mike and
I've always loved him,
1373
01:04:50,580 --> 01:04:52,068
and I support him,
1374
01:04:52,068 --> 01:04:57,068
I just didn't like some
of these drawings myself,
1375
01:04:57,689 --> 01:05:02,030
but to want to put somebody
in jail for three years
1376
01:05:02,030 --> 01:05:04,723
for drawing
pictures is crazy.
1377
01:05:04,723 --> 01:05:07,390
(ominous music)
1378
01:05:10,840 --> 01:05:13,340
(owl hooting)
1379
01:05:14,340 --> 01:05:16,790
- When I discovered
the world of comics,
1380
01:05:16,790 --> 01:05:21,030
the world of people who made
comics, it was about 1983.
1381
01:05:21,030 --> 01:05:23,920
I was a 22 year
old journalist,
1382
01:05:23,920 --> 01:05:28,720
and I'd read and loved
underground comics
1383
01:05:29,830 --> 01:05:32,920
as a kid, as a teenager,
1384
01:05:32,920 --> 01:05:37,760
so I was very,
I was very buoyed up.
1385
01:05:37,760 --> 01:05:41,520
I was excited, I was
thrilled to come to America
1386
01:05:41,520 --> 01:05:44,590
where they had this First
Amendment where things,
1387
01:05:44,590 --> 01:05:46,770
this material was
actually produced
1388
01:05:46,770 --> 01:05:49,770
where it seemed like
artists could create art
1389
01:05:49,770 --> 01:05:52,570
without risking
customs' wrath,
1390
01:05:52,570 --> 01:05:54,540
without risking police wrath,
1391
01:05:54,540 --> 01:05:57,530
without sending
people to prison.
1392
01:05:57,530 --> 01:05:59,960
A chief of police who
walked into a comic shop
1393
01:05:59,960 --> 01:06:04,480
in Jacksonville,
Florida pointed to a sequence
1394
01:06:05,308 --> 01:06:07,435
in "Death: The High
Cost of Living,"
1395
01:06:07,460 --> 01:06:12,370
where we had a six page public
service announcement comic
1396
01:06:12,370 --> 01:06:15,660
in which a character
puts a condom on a banana
1397
01:06:16,680 --> 01:06:21,680
while explaining how not
to get AIDS, and said,
1398
01:06:21,857 --> 01:06:24,987
"If this is still on your
shelves a week from now,
1399
01:06:24,987 --> 01:06:26,707
"I'm shutting you
down forever."
1400
01:06:28,501 --> 01:06:30,500
And because there was a Comic
Book Legal Defence Fund,
1401
01:06:30,500 --> 01:06:34,490
because they had a fantastic
attorney, Burton Joseph,
1402
01:06:34,490 --> 01:06:37,154
who could fire off a letter
1403
01:06:37,154 --> 01:06:39,320
to the Jacksonville
Police Department
1404
01:06:39,320 --> 01:06:43,140
explaining the concept of the
First Amendment, it went away.
1405
01:06:43,140 --> 01:06:46,380
I remember I was at the,
1406
01:06:46,380 --> 01:06:50,690
I think it was the launch
of the Cartoon Art Museum
1407
01:06:50,690 --> 01:06:55,183
in Boca Raton,
somewhere in the early '90s,
1408
01:06:57,512 --> 01:06:59,110
and Mike's case was
already happening.
1409
01:06:59,110 --> 01:07:01,380
He hadn't yet gone to trial.
1410
01:07:01,380 --> 01:07:05,250
I remember meeting some
rich important people
1411
01:07:05,250 --> 01:07:07,890
in the Florida
comics business.
1412
01:07:07,890 --> 01:07:11,450
These were,
I think they were the wives
1413
01:07:11,450 --> 01:07:13,503
of eminent cartoonists
and such,
1414
01:07:15,677 --> 01:07:18,130
and talking with
upset and outrage
1415
01:07:18,130 --> 01:07:21,497
about what had happened
to Mike at that point,
1416
01:07:21,497 --> 01:07:26,497
and being told by them that I
didn't have the full picture,
1417
01:07:26,920 --> 01:07:30,790
that really there were
evil, terrible things
1418
01:07:30,790 --> 01:07:33,244
that would all come
out in the trial.
1419
01:07:33,244 --> 01:07:37,010
But it was obvious that
they had been sold a line,
1420
01:07:37,010 --> 01:07:39,810
and had bought that
line completely,
1421
01:07:39,810 --> 01:07:44,083
that Mike, this was just,
1422
01:07:44,083 --> 01:07:49,083
the obscenity charges were
merely the noxious froth
1423
01:07:49,310 --> 01:07:51,820
on the top of evil sewage
1424
01:07:51,820 --> 01:07:54,580
that went down a long way
and that there were bodies.
1425
01:07:54,580 --> 01:07:55,680
If you reached down,
1426
01:07:55,680 --> 01:07:59,613
you would come up with
rotting body parts and dirt.
1427
01:08:01,191 --> 01:08:04,024
- [Woman] He put
on a tie himself.
1428
01:08:09,961 --> 01:08:11,670
- Excuse me, ma'am,
would you like some cake?
1429
01:08:11,695 --> 01:08:13,004
- [Woman] No.
1430
01:08:13,029 --> 01:08:14,383
- What we're doing
here is we're, uh--
1431
01:08:14,408 --> 01:08:15,850
- They portrayed children
1432
01:08:15,850 --> 01:08:19,377
being molested and
in sexual activity.
1433
01:08:19,420 --> 01:08:20,480
- It's a First
Amendment case.
1434
01:08:20,480 --> 01:08:23,037
- They show young
children being raped.
1435
01:08:23,037 --> 01:08:27,473
- [Man] Yeah,
I had to hold back the lawyers.
1436
01:08:27,473 --> 01:08:32,473
- Did he tell you?
(people chattering)
1437
01:08:32,970 --> 01:08:38,484
- The day of the court date,
I had my own video camera,
1438
01:08:39,230 --> 01:08:41,810
and I took it to
the courthouse
1439
01:08:41,810 --> 01:08:46,650
and they told me not to turn
it on, but I had it on anyway,
1440
01:08:46,650 --> 01:08:51,650
and I had it on the entire time
through the metal detector,
1441
01:08:52,367 --> 01:08:54,083
and I had it to
the courthouse,
1442
01:08:55,206 --> 01:08:58,910
and I was videotaping
everybody.
1443
01:08:58,910 --> 01:09:00,810
I was interviewing
a few people there.
1444
01:09:01,833 --> 01:09:04,340
One lady was pretty crazy,
1445
01:09:04,340 --> 01:09:08,840
telling me Mike is
damned for good,
1446
01:09:08,840 --> 01:09:13,040
and I'm sure that's
on video somewhere.
1447
01:09:13,040 --> 01:09:14,190
- All I can feel
is compassion
1448
01:09:14,190 --> 01:09:15,690
for him because
he's deceived.
1449
01:09:15,690 --> 01:09:17,824
He's deceived, Hell is real.
1450
01:09:17,849 --> 01:09:18,885
Hell is real.
1451
01:09:18,910 --> 01:09:22,240
Hell is real, you're serving
Satan, and he'll kill you.
1452
01:09:22,240 --> 01:09:23,950
He'll take you to
Hell eternally.
1453
01:09:23,950 --> 01:09:27,020
- I got to sit in on the jury
selection with my lawyer.
1454
01:09:27,020 --> 01:09:30,840
There were two younger
people in the group of 30,
1455
01:09:30,840 --> 01:09:33,520
which said, "It's okay
for art to be shocking."
1456
01:09:33,520 --> 01:09:36,850
They were struck my the
prosecution immediately.
1457
01:09:36,850 --> 01:09:38,080
- Was this a jury
of your peers?
1458
01:09:38,080 --> 01:09:39,427
Was anybody under
35 on the jury?
1459
01:09:39,452 --> 01:09:40,465
- No.
1460
01:09:40,465 --> 01:09:41,571
- You knew you
were in trouble
1461
01:09:41,596 --> 01:09:43,150
when they all had
swastikas on their shirts.
1462
01:09:43,150 --> 01:09:44,350
- Yeah.
1463
01:09:44,350 --> 01:09:45,650
- And they all had
rednecks, right?
1464
01:09:45,675 --> 01:09:46,680
- Yep.
1465
01:09:46,705 --> 01:09:48,340
- Had they ever read a book?
1466
01:09:48,340 --> 01:09:49,860
- Well, one of the
old ladies in the jury
1467
01:09:49,860 --> 01:09:51,616
said her only contact with
1468
01:09:51,641 --> 01:09:53,980
pornography was
a copy of Playboy
1469
01:09:53,980 --> 01:09:56,040
she found in her grandson's
underwear drawer.
1470
01:09:56,040 --> 01:09:57,060
- Isn't that pathetic?
1471
01:09:57,060 --> 01:09:59,025
You're lucky,
they were gonna lynch you.
1472
01:09:59,050 --> 01:10:00,546
If you were black,
they would've hung you up.
1473
01:10:00,571 --> 01:10:01,640
- [Jello] Although
"Boiled Angel"
1474
01:10:01,640 --> 01:10:04,340
printed the works of
numerous artists and writers,
1475
01:10:04,340 --> 01:10:08,870
it was Mike Diana as publisher
and Diana's art in particular
1476
01:10:08,870 --> 01:10:11,760
that became the
focus of the trial.
1477
01:10:11,760 --> 01:10:13,540
- This isn't the usual charge
1478
01:10:13,540 --> 01:10:17,450
that the DA's office
or in Florida,
1479
01:10:17,450 --> 01:10:20,003
the State Attorney's
office typically brings,
1480
01:10:21,550 --> 01:10:25,930
and because it typically
evokes strong public reaction.
1481
01:10:25,930 --> 01:10:27,650
You know, this is America.
1482
01:10:27,650 --> 01:10:29,902
We don't have
censorship here.
1483
01:10:29,902 --> 01:10:30,930
What are you trying to do?
1484
01:10:30,930 --> 01:10:33,390
So, we wanted to make
sure that in fact,
1485
01:10:33,390 --> 01:10:34,790
all of our ducks
were in a row,
1486
01:10:34,790 --> 01:10:38,580
that all of the elements of
obscenity were gonna be provable
1487
01:10:38,580 --> 01:10:40,530
and the standard for gauging
1488
01:10:40,530 --> 01:10:43,345
whether in fact
something is obscene
1489
01:10:43,345 --> 01:10:47,470
is really a very,
very difficult standard to meet.
1490
01:10:47,470 --> 01:10:49,310
It's established by
the US Supreme Court
1491
01:10:49,310 --> 01:10:51,540
in the case of Miller
versus California,
1492
01:10:51,540 --> 01:10:53,420
and it's a three part test.
1493
01:10:53,420 --> 01:10:56,030
You know, the first one of
course is that you have to prove
1494
01:10:56,030 --> 01:10:57,390
that it is patently offensive
1495
01:10:57,390 --> 01:11:00,110
according to contemporary
community standards.
1496
01:11:00,110 --> 01:11:03,820
Pinellas County does not have
to accept what is acceptable,
1497
01:11:03,820 --> 01:11:05,820
in the bath houses
of San Francisco,
1498
01:11:05,820 --> 01:11:07,870
and the crack
alleys in New York.
1499
01:11:07,870 --> 01:11:10,360
- In this instance,
Mike had made it clear
1500
01:11:10,360 --> 01:11:13,220
that his zine was
only being distributed
1501
01:11:13,220 --> 01:11:15,020
to various individuals
that shared
1502
01:11:15,020 --> 01:11:17,502
the same avant
garde, very creative,
1503
01:11:17,502 --> 01:11:20,210
very cutting edge
artistic views,
1504
01:11:20,210 --> 01:11:22,640
and it wasn't for
sale at any bookstand.
1505
01:11:22,640 --> 01:11:24,900
It wasn't available
to children.
1506
01:11:24,900 --> 01:11:26,100
The only people
that were ever
1507
01:11:26,100 --> 01:11:28,860
forced to view it
were the jurors.
1508
01:11:28,860 --> 01:11:29,930
They were the first people
1509
01:11:29,930 --> 01:11:34,080
that had this shoved down
their throat by the state
1510
01:11:34,080 --> 01:11:36,540
when the very first thing they
did in their opening argument
1511
01:11:36,540 --> 01:11:38,130
was hand out these zines
1512
01:11:38,130 --> 01:11:41,158
to the people sitting on
the jury just to shock them.
1513
01:11:41,158 --> 01:11:42,680
(woman screams)
1514
01:11:42,680 --> 01:11:43,757
That's almost like saying,
1515
01:11:43,757 --> 01:11:46,461
"Hey, come on into my
house for a sandwich,"
1516
01:11:46,461 --> 01:11:48,420
and walking into
the dining room
1517
01:11:48,420 --> 01:11:50,160
and somebody's having
an appendectomy
1518
01:11:50,160 --> 01:11:51,830
on your dining room table.
1519
01:11:51,830 --> 01:11:54,740
- The second element
of the Miller Standard
1520
01:11:54,740 --> 01:11:56,550
is that it has to
appeal primarily
1521
01:11:56,550 --> 01:11:58,940
to a prurient
interest in sex.
1522
01:11:58,940 --> 01:12:00,170
Now, prurient is not a word
1523
01:12:00,170 --> 01:12:02,983
that we use in our
everyday conversation,
1524
01:12:04,000 --> 01:12:07,600
it means a shameful, lustful,
or morbid interest in sex.
1525
01:12:07,600 --> 01:12:09,870
Something that's gonna
make you ashamed.
1526
01:12:09,870 --> 01:12:12,530
- None of it appealed to a
prurient interest in sex.
1527
01:12:12,530 --> 01:12:14,500
There's nothing
sexual about it.
1528
01:12:14,500 --> 01:12:16,830
It does have sexual themes,
1529
01:12:16,830 --> 01:12:18,970
but it's not there
to scintillate
1530
01:12:18,970 --> 01:12:21,040
or appeal to the
prurient interest.
1531
01:12:21,040 --> 01:12:22,350
It's there quite honestly,
1532
01:12:22,350 --> 01:12:24,330
to be shocking and
confrontational.
1533
01:12:24,330 --> 01:12:26,230
- The third element
of the Miller Test
1534
01:12:26,230 --> 01:12:28,550
is that it has to lack
any and all serious
1535
01:12:28,550 --> 01:12:31,370
literary, artistic, political,
and scientific value.
1536
01:12:31,370 --> 01:12:34,136
What that's there
to do is to ensure
1537
01:12:34,136 --> 01:12:38,770
that we don't have a knee
jerk response to stuff,
1538
01:12:38,770 --> 01:12:41,850
and start calling things
obscene that truly aren't,
1539
01:12:41,850 --> 01:12:43,560
just because we
missed the point.
1540
01:12:43,560 --> 01:12:44,820
- So, he wanted to make sure
1541
01:12:44,820 --> 01:12:47,490
that there was nothing
artistic about it,
1542
01:12:47,490 --> 01:12:49,850
and he went to great lengths
1543
01:12:49,850 --> 01:12:51,707
bringing experts into
the trial to say,
1544
01:12:51,707 --> 01:12:54,450
"Well,
this isn't life affirming,"
1545
01:12:54,450 --> 01:12:57,250
or "This isn't the
Grapes of Wrath."
1546
01:12:57,250 --> 01:12:59,320
Obviously,
it has no artistic value,
1547
01:12:59,320 --> 01:13:00,730
therefore, it's obscene,
1548
01:13:00,730 --> 01:13:02,550
and I think that that was
one of the real issues
1549
01:13:02,550 --> 01:13:04,410
that we were trying to
fight is that there is
1550
01:13:04,410 --> 01:13:07,700
no good taste exception
to the First Amendment.
1551
01:13:07,700 --> 01:13:10,900
There's no bad taste exception
to the First Amendment.
1552
01:13:10,900 --> 01:13:12,310
It's just one of
those things that
1553
01:13:12,310 --> 01:13:15,590
if it doesn't work all the way
for all forms of expression,
1554
01:13:15,590 --> 01:13:17,440
it's really absolutely
meaningless.
1555
01:13:17,440 --> 01:13:20,430
- Really, if you satisfy all
of the elements of Miller,
1556
01:13:20,430 --> 01:13:23,150
you're not talking about
what is actually speech.
1557
01:13:23,150 --> 01:13:24,910
You're talking about an act
1558
01:13:24,910 --> 01:13:27,811
that takes the form
of pictures and words,
1559
01:13:27,811 --> 01:13:30,180
but it is patently offensive.
1560
01:13:30,180 --> 01:13:34,300
It appeals to a prurient
interest in sex,
1561
01:13:34,300 --> 01:13:36,810
which is a shameful, lustful,
morbid interest in sex,
1562
01:13:36,810 --> 01:13:38,740
and it lacks any
and all serious
1563
01:13:38,740 --> 01:13:42,140
literary, artistic, political,
and scientific value,
1564
01:13:42,140 --> 01:13:44,910
and Mike Diana had the
unfortunate circumstance
1565
01:13:44,910 --> 01:13:49,583
of having satisfied all of the
standards, which is unusual.
1566
01:13:50,668 --> 01:13:53,501
(surf punk music)
1567
01:14:45,920 --> 01:14:47,870
- The Comic Book Legal
Defence Fund asked me
1568
01:14:47,870 --> 01:14:50,361
if I would be a
defence witness
1569
01:14:50,361 --> 01:14:54,980
for the trial
of Mike in 1994,
1570
01:14:54,980 --> 01:14:57,920
and I was sent a package
of "Boiled Angel,"
1571
01:14:57,920 --> 01:15:01,970
and I opened it up and
I was fairly disturbed,
1572
01:15:01,970 --> 01:15:04,800
and semi-horrified
and nauseated.
1573
01:15:04,800 --> 01:15:07,057
You know, as I was going
through this is was like,
1574
01:15:07,057 --> 01:15:11,170
"Wow, I don't know exactly
if I can defend all this,"
1575
01:15:11,170 --> 01:15:13,440
because it was
just so extreme.
1576
01:15:13,440 --> 01:15:16,090
Then literally,
the phone rang,
1577
01:15:16,090 --> 01:15:18,470
and it was Chris Malone
and Stuart Baggish,
1578
01:15:18,470 --> 01:15:22,537
who were the prosecutors,
and they said,
1579
01:15:22,537 --> 01:15:24,338
"We're calling you to
take your deposition."
1580
01:15:24,338 --> 01:15:27,671
(high-pitched babbling)
1581
01:15:31,792 --> 01:15:33,140
When they started
asking me questions,
1582
01:15:33,140 --> 01:15:35,710
I was so offended by
their line of questioning,
1583
01:15:35,710 --> 01:15:38,830
because they were basically
saying that this wasn't art,
1584
01:15:38,830 --> 01:15:40,600
and that wasn't a question
in my mind at all.
1585
01:15:40,600 --> 01:15:42,190
Of course it was art,
1586
01:15:42,190 --> 01:15:46,290
it was just a matter of
not being sort of my taste.
1587
01:15:46,290 --> 01:15:48,310
So, as soon as they started
talking about those things
1588
01:15:48,310 --> 01:15:50,580
and questioning
whether it was art
1589
01:15:50,580 --> 01:15:53,760
and throwing out what was
obscene and what wasn't,
1590
01:15:53,760 --> 01:15:57,000
I found myself defending
the work quite easily,
1591
01:15:57,000 --> 01:16:01,833
and then I was like, "I'll
see you in Florida!" (laughs)
1592
01:16:01,858 --> 01:16:02,900
Slam.
1593
01:16:02,900 --> 01:16:03,956
I think that might've been
1594
01:16:03,981 --> 01:16:06,332
my first time in
Florida, actually,
1595
01:16:06,332 --> 01:16:09,550
and I went back to my hotel
room and I turned on the TV,
1596
01:16:09,550 --> 01:16:14,190
and I felt like I was in
a little Mike Diana comic.
1597
01:16:14,190 --> 01:16:15,260
There was a serial killer
1598
01:16:15,260 --> 01:16:18,050
that they had just caught
named Danny Rollings,
1599
01:16:18,050 --> 01:16:21,370
so every station had all this
gruesome detail about all of,
1600
01:16:21,370 --> 01:16:23,100
you know,
one station's got Oprah
1601
01:16:23,100 --> 01:16:25,380
with people talking
about rape and incest,
1602
01:16:25,380 --> 01:16:27,650
and then there's the
news on another station
1603
01:16:27,650 --> 01:16:31,220
where there's some priest
who's molesting some child.
1604
01:16:31,220 --> 01:16:33,940
It gave me more
ammo in terms of,
1605
01:16:33,940 --> 01:16:37,600
gee, is it possible
that Mike is responding
1606
01:16:37,600 --> 01:16:39,950
to the environment that
we live in, per chance?
1607
01:16:39,950 --> 01:16:43,518
And he's doing that
through art and comics?
1608
01:16:43,518 --> 01:16:46,185
(ominous music)
1609
01:17:10,189 --> 01:17:11,050
I met Mike Diana
for the first time
1610
01:17:11,050 --> 01:17:12,770
when I was down on the trial,
1611
01:17:12,770 --> 01:17:14,490
and he just had
almost nothing to say.
1612
01:17:14,490 --> 01:17:17,860
You know, he was just like
a very shy, quiet guy,
1613
01:17:17,860 --> 01:17:19,510
and then the hilarious
part was that
1614
01:17:19,510 --> 01:17:22,590
he had this extremely
attractive girlfriend,
1615
01:17:22,590 --> 01:17:27,590
and she was like the energy
behind Mike in that moment.
1616
01:17:28,510 --> 01:17:30,087
She was like, "You have
the wrong person on trial.
1617
01:17:30,087 --> 01:17:31,307
"I'm the deviant here."
1618
01:17:32,250 --> 01:17:35,581
- Nothing.
- Mike Diana is God.
1619
01:17:35,581 --> 01:17:38,498
- What we could do--
- Mm, mm, yeah.
1620
01:17:40,350 --> 01:17:42,517
(moaning)
1621
01:17:44,730 --> 01:17:48,960
I was reading a "Creative
Loafing" magazine
1622
01:17:48,960 --> 01:17:52,560
that was like the local
magazine around back then,
1623
01:17:52,560 --> 01:17:55,490
and I saw an article
about Mike saying
1624
01:17:55,490 --> 01:17:59,930
that he had gotten into
trouble with his artwork,
1625
01:17:59,930 --> 01:18:02,000
and there was a
picture of him,
1626
01:18:02,000 --> 01:18:07,000
and he looked really
sad, like scared,
1627
01:18:07,450 --> 01:18:10,330
and I felt like he
could use a friend.
1628
01:18:10,330 --> 01:18:12,517
So, I reached out
to him and I said,
1629
01:18:12,517 --> 01:18:14,010
"Hey, come over."
1630
01:18:14,010 --> 01:18:18,710
And that's, and then
we hit it off. (laughs)
1631
01:18:18,710 --> 01:18:21,780
The first time when
Mike came to my house,
1632
01:18:21,780 --> 01:18:25,847
my dad pulled me
aside and he said,
1633
01:18:25,847 --> 01:18:28,357
"That's the
Gainesville murderer!
1634
01:18:28,357 --> 01:18:30,649
"I saw him on TV!
1635
01:18:30,649 --> 01:18:34,080
"How dare you bring
a murderer here!"
1636
01:18:34,080 --> 01:18:37,120
Like, he's not a murderer.
(laughs)
1637
01:18:37,120 --> 01:18:39,690
Yeah, that made me
really, really mad
1638
01:18:39,690 --> 01:18:43,585
about how the news
demonised him.
1639
01:18:43,585 --> 01:18:45,439
(audience shouting)
1640
01:18:45,810 --> 01:18:47,225
- Let me ask you something.
1641
01:18:47,250 --> 01:18:49,264
Would you like
to get beat up?
1642
01:18:49,355 --> 01:18:50,951
- No, he doesn't--
- [Audience Member] Are you
1643
01:18:50,976 --> 01:18:52,216
planning on having
kids with this guy?
1644
01:18:52,241 --> 01:18:53,259
With this clown?
1645
01:18:53,284 --> 01:18:54,298
- With this clown?
1646
01:18:54,323 --> 01:18:56,299
He's the nicest man I've ever
known. He would never, ever--
1647
01:18:56,324 --> 01:18:58,830
- Yeah, I can tell by pictures
how nice he is. He's demented.
1648
01:18:58,830 --> 01:19:00,410
- You know, things like that,
1649
01:19:00,410 --> 01:19:04,164
of course it's gonna take
its toll on a relationship.
1650
01:19:05,819 --> 01:19:09,082
- The trial was a very
difficult time, very stressful.
1651
01:19:10,000 --> 01:19:12,410
Very hard to deal
with at times.
1652
01:19:12,410 --> 01:19:14,220
I had given my
lawyer my collection
1653
01:19:14,220 --> 01:19:16,780
of underground comic
books to show the jury
1654
01:19:16,780 --> 01:19:19,910
that this kind of artwork
was really nothing new.
1655
01:19:19,910 --> 01:19:22,740
However, the judge
said it was irrelevant,
1656
01:19:22,740 --> 01:19:25,360
and wouldn't let us
show it as evidence.
1657
01:19:25,360 --> 01:19:28,940
The prosecution also had an
art expert from Eckerd College,
1658
01:19:28,940 --> 01:19:30,860
which was a
Christian college.
1659
01:19:30,860 --> 01:19:34,500
He was pointing to the blowups
of "Baby Fuck Dog Food,"
1660
01:19:34,500 --> 01:19:35,970
and at one point
he was saying,
1661
01:19:35,970 --> 01:19:37,880
look at the way he
drew these lines,
1662
01:19:37,880 --> 01:19:40,850
so powerful and such emotion,
1663
01:19:40,850 --> 01:19:43,457
and then Stuart Baggish
would interrupt him and say,
1664
01:19:43,457 --> 01:19:46,072
"But wait a second,
it's not art, right?"
1665
01:19:46,072 --> 01:19:47,927
And the art expert would say,
1666
01:19:47,927 --> 01:19:50,260
"Oh, no, no, no,
it's definitely not art."
1667
01:19:50,260 --> 01:19:54,325
Their whole defence was based
on the fact that it wasn't art
1668
01:19:54,325 --> 01:19:55,158
and that it was art
1669
01:19:55,158 --> 01:19:57,983
that would turn people
into serial killers.
1670
01:19:58,970 --> 01:20:01,080
It didn't seem to
make much sense to me.
1671
01:20:01,080 --> 01:20:04,320
- [Jello] In 1954,
a psychologist testified
1672
01:20:04,320 --> 01:20:06,544
that reading comics
would turn children
1673
01:20:06,544 --> 01:20:08,934
into juvenile delinquents.
1674
01:20:08,934 --> 01:20:12,091
In 1994,
a psychologist testified
1675
01:20:12,091 --> 01:20:14,730
that reading "Boiled Angel"
1676
01:20:14,730 --> 01:20:18,070
would turn adults
into serial killers.
1677
01:20:18,070 --> 01:20:21,460
- I mean, that was one of the
big ways that the prosecutor
1678
01:20:21,460 --> 01:20:25,390
was able to frame Mike
as a threat to society
1679
01:20:25,390 --> 01:20:29,480
was because there was this
serial killer in the news,
1680
01:20:29,480 --> 01:20:32,735
and that people were
in a frenzy about like,
1681
01:20:32,735 --> 01:20:35,420
that Mike was a serial
killer in the making,
1682
01:20:35,420 --> 01:20:38,030
that this art
represented somebody
1683
01:20:38,030 --> 01:20:41,290
who was one step away
from serial killer.
1684
01:20:41,290 --> 01:20:44,020
First you do it on paper,
then you do it in reality.
1685
01:20:44,020 --> 01:20:48,790
- I was talking about the
testimony of Sidney Merin,
1686
01:20:48,790 --> 01:20:53,790
who had testified that this
stuff was designed to appeal
1687
01:20:53,890 --> 01:20:56,250
primarily to a prurient
interest in sex
1688
01:20:56,250 --> 01:21:01,250
of members of a deviant class,
which is sexual sadists,
1689
01:21:01,480 --> 01:21:04,930
and Sidney Merin
treats sexual sadists,
1690
01:21:04,930 --> 01:21:07,290
that's what his
practise consists of.
1691
01:21:07,290 --> 01:21:10,530
He said this is the kind of
thing that they start with,
1692
01:21:10,530 --> 01:21:14,150
and then when it no
longer stimulates them,
1693
01:21:14,150 --> 01:21:18,360
they move on to printed
material with photographs
1694
01:21:18,360 --> 01:21:19,630
depicting the sort of things
1695
01:21:19,630 --> 01:21:24,190
that were depicted in
drawings in "Boiled Angel,"
1696
01:21:24,190 --> 01:21:26,790
and when that no longer
excites them anymore,
1697
01:21:26,790 --> 01:21:28,670
they become
desensitised to it,
1698
01:21:28,670 --> 01:21:33,450
and that works itself
along a spectrum.
1699
01:21:33,450 --> 01:21:35,840
I'm not saying and I
didn't say at the time,
1700
01:21:35,840 --> 01:21:40,030
but it's something that
happens inevitably.
1701
01:21:40,030 --> 01:21:42,140
It's just that
when you read about
1702
01:21:42,140 --> 01:21:44,590
somebody doing
something horrible,
1703
01:21:44,590 --> 01:21:45,980
oftentimes there's
a reaction,
1704
01:21:45,980 --> 01:21:48,260
why didn't somebody
do something about it?
1705
01:21:48,260 --> 01:21:49,870
I mean,
it happened with Adam Lanza
1706
01:21:49,870 --> 01:21:54,870
when he shot up the
school in Connecticut.
1707
01:21:55,479 --> 01:21:56,820
People are wondering,
1708
01:21:56,820 --> 01:21:59,443
why didn't anybody do
anything about this kid?
1709
01:22:00,290 --> 01:22:04,040
What I wanted to point
out to the jurors
1710
01:22:04,040 --> 01:22:07,270
is in Mike Diana's case,
somebody did something about it.
1711
01:22:07,270 --> 01:22:09,250
We did something about
it while it was still
1712
01:22:09,250 --> 01:22:12,840
within the jurisdiction of
the misdemeanour courts,
1713
01:22:12,840 --> 01:22:17,183
and hadn't become a
capital felony, you know?
1714
01:22:18,490 --> 01:22:20,550
- I had not met Sidney Merin
1715
01:22:20,550 --> 01:22:22,765
when other defence attorneys
1716
01:22:22,765 --> 01:22:25,140
had referred to him
as "Sid the Squid,"
1717
01:22:25,140 --> 01:22:27,177
because anyone could hire him
1718
01:22:27,177 --> 01:22:29,550
and the theory was that
he could squirt ink
1719
01:22:29,550 --> 01:22:32,243
into the waters
of the courtroom
1720
01:22:32,243 --> 01:22:37,243
and create this murky,
kind of awkward scenario
1721
01:22:37,300 --> 01:22:40,100
that would benefit whoever
it was that was paying him.
1722
01:22:40,100 --> 01:22:43,570
I just thought his
entire line of testimony
1723
01:22:43,570 --> 01:22:46,450
should've been stricken,
should've been precluded.
1724
01:22:46,450 --> 01:22:48,360
Merin comes in
there and testifies
1725
01:22:48,360 --> 01:22:51,087
of who would look at this
kind of thing and I thought,
1726
01:22:51,087 --> 01:22:53,087
"How the hell
does this guy know
1727
01:22:53,087 --> 01:22:55,617
"who's gonna look
at this material?
1728
01:22:55,617 --> 01:22:57,750
"What could be
more speculative?"
1729
01:22:57,750 --> 01:22:59,650
Dr. Merin didn't test anyone.
1730
01:22:59,650 --> 01:23:01,410
He didn't evaluate anyone,
1731
01:23:01,410 --> 01:23:04,630
and he goes through this long
list of adverse adjectives
1732
01:23:04,630 --> 01:23:07,352
about people that
are sociopaths
1733
01:23:07,352 --> 01:23:09,740
and just on, and on, and on,
1734
01:23:09,740 --> 01:23:11,203
painting this
horrible picture
1735
01:23:11,203 --> 01:23:14,320
of not only what the
material represents,
1736
01:23:14,320 --> 01:23:17,370
but who would be reading
it, and even worse,
1737
01:23:17,370 --> 01:23:20,132
what would the
effect of that be
1738
01:23:20,132 --> 01:23:22,910
in looking at
Mike Diana's work?
1739
01:23:22,910 --> 01:23:24,954
What's it gonna
make somebody do?
1740
01:23:24,954 --> 01:23:27,704
(dramatic music)
1741
01:23:29,570 --> 01:23:31,770
The mind is much more complex
1742
01:23:31,770 --> 01:23:33,870
than this monkey
see, monkey do
1743
01:23:33,870 --> 01:23:35,760
sales pitch that
they try to make,
1744
01:23:35,760 --> 01:23:38,010
but the state got away
with it in this trial.
1745
01:23:38,850 --> 01:23:42,750
One of the subtle and perhaps
not so subtle undercurrents
1746
01:23:42,750 --> 01:23:45,270
of this whole trial
that Mike was not,
1747
01:23:45,270 --> 01:23:47,470
Mike Diana's art
wasn't on trial,
1748
01:23:47,470 --> 01:23:50,770
he was as being some
kind of psychopath,
1749
01:23:50,770 --> 01:23:53,170
as being some
kinda degenerate,
1750
01:23:53,170 --> 01:23:54,650
and that's just ridiculous.
1751
01:23:54,650 --> 01:23:56,490
I mean,
you just can't make that up,
1752
01:23:56,490 --> 01:23:58,701
because I'm sure
none of the people
1753
01:23:58,701 --> 01:24:00,990
that were actually in
this case prosecuting this
1754
01:24:00,990 --> 01:24:03,510
had any problem at all
with Mr. Diana's work.
1755
01:24:03,510 --> 01:24:06,840
I think that a lot of it was
motivated by their own desire
1756
01:24:06,840 --> 01:24:09,361
to perhaps become
more notable
1757
01:24:09,361 --> 01:24:11,580
or make a name
for themselves,
1758
01:24:11,580 --> 01:24:14,500
but we felt that
their ambitions
1759
01:24:14,500 --> 01:24:18,640
coupled with the judge's
dislike of the material,
1760
01:24:18,640 --> 01:24:22,100
and what we felt was
judicial interference
1761
01:24:22,100 --> 01:24:27,030
in our ability to make our
case on a level playing field,
1762
01:24:27,030 --> 01:24:29,460
it felt to us like
the fix was in.
1763
01:24:29,460 --> 01:24:31,090
When you make your
closing argument,
1764
01:24:31,090 --> 01:24:34,670
it's the most important,
absolutely critical phase
1765
01:24:34,670 --> 01:24:37,120
in any trial and what
makes it important
1766
01:24:37,120 --> 01:24:40,910
is that you get the opportunity
to tie up all the ideas
1767
01:24:40,910 --> 01:24:42,400
and persuade the jury
1768
01:24:42,400 --> 01:24:44,247
and explain to
them the important
1769
01:24:44,272 --> 01:24:45,660
rights that are at stake.
1770
01:24:45,660 --> 01:24:47,610
The minute I started
to make progress,
1771
01:24:47,610 --> 01:24:50,240
and I could see the
jury's faces change,
1772
01:24:50,240 --> 01:24:53,100
like lights going
on over their head,
1773
01:24:53,100 --> 01:24:55,727
and to have that flushed down
the toilet by somebody saying,
1774
01:24:55,727 --> 01:24:57,827
"Well, we took a break
five minutes ago.
1775
01:24:57,827 --> 01:24:59,700
"Let's take a
break right now."
1776
01:24:59,700 --> 01:25:00,826
- There was something
1777
01:25:00,826 --> 01:25:02,927
that we all thought
was really bizarre.
1778
01:25:02,927 --> 01:25:06,577
When it happened, I remember
looking at Chris and saying,
1779
01:25:06,577 --> 01:25:09,480
"What the hell was that?"
1780
01:25:09,480 --> 01:25:14,257
When Judge Fullerton just
put his hands on the bench,
1781
01:25:14,257 --> 01:25:15,720
"We're gonna take a break."
1782
01:25:15,720 --> 01:25:18,270
I thought, "Okay, I guess
we're taking a break." (laughs)
1783
01:25:18,270 --> 01:25:19,550
I thought it was peculiar.
1784
01:25:19,550 --> 01:25:22,120
- To take a recess in the
middle of my closing argument,
1785
01:25:22,120 --> 01:25:24,460
I felt was fatal
to our defence.
1786
01:25:24,460 --> 01:25:26,570
To this day,
I'm still unhappy about it,
1787
01:25:26,570 --> 01:25:29,800
and I often speculate
what would've happened
1788
01:25:29,800 --> 01:25:33,650
had that recess in my closing
argument not been taken.
1789
01:25:33,650 --> 01:25:36,317
(ominous music)
1790
01:25:39,240 --> 01:25:43,200
- I thought my lawyer Luke
put on an amazing defence.
1791
01:25:43,200 --> 01:25:46,320
Our expert witnesses
on our side,
1792
01:25:46,320 --> 01:25:48,237
we really shot down the
1793
01:25:48,262 --> 01:25:51,344
prosecution's experts,
I felt like,
1794
01:25:52,420 --> 01:25:56,282
and I really felt that
I was gonna win my case.
1795
01:25:56,282 --> 01:25:59,240
(gavel hammering)
1796
01:25:59,240 --> 01:26:00,970
- One thing you can
say about that material
1797
01:26:00,970 --> 01:26:04,720
is it is absolutely
worthless.
1798
01:26:04,720 --> 01:26:07,480
- [Reporter] The jury agreed
and took less than 90 minutes
1799
01:26:07,480 --> 01:26:10,960
to convict Michael Diana
for distributing obscenity.
1800
01:26:10,960 --> 01:26:12,020
- And I had always thought
1801
01:26:12,020 --> 01:26:17,020
I had the freedom to draw
whatever I wanted to.
1802
01:26:17,310 --> 01:26:19,420
There was a seventh
alternate jury member
1803
01:26:19,420 --> 01:26:21,610
who ended up not
being needed.
1804
01:26:21,610 --> 01:26:24,030
He was outside the
courthouse here
1805
01:26:24,030 --> 01:26:26,060
and he started talking to me,
1806
01:26:26,060 --> 01:26:30,420
and he said his feelings
being with the other jurors
1807
01:26:30,420 --> 01:26:34,300
was that the serial
killer slant on my trial
1808
01:26:34,300 --> 01:26:36,820
being told by the prosecution
1809
01:26:36,820 --> 01:26:40,390
that I may be a serial
killer myself, basically,
1810
01:26:40,390 --> 01:26:45,390
was what really turned them in
the direction to convict me.
1811
01:26:45,788 --> 01:26:48,585
(splattering)
1812
01:26:48,585 --> 01:26:50,740
- I think before
they said guilty,
1813
01:26:50,740 --> 01:26:54,660
I kind of had a little bit
of faith in the system,
1814
01:26:54,660 --> 01:26:59,660
and I thought for sure that
he wasn't gonna go to jail.
1815
01:26:59,780 --> 01:27:02,393
I saw them take him away.
1816
01:27:04,790 --> 01:27:07,110
I was in shock.
1817
01:27:07,110 --> 01:27:08,570
- I was led from
the courtroom,
1818
01:27:08,570 --> 01:27:10,616
handcuffed and taken
to a paddy waggon,
1819
01:27:10,616 --> 01:27:13,283
which took me across
the street to the jail.
1820
01:27:14,205 --> 01:27:16,800
I'm happy that there's no free
speech in Pinellas County.
1821
01:27:16,800 --> 01:27:18,190
- [Reporter] Okay,
will you still continue
1822
01:27:18,190 --> 01:27:19,620
to do your form of art?
1823
01:27:19,620 --> 01:27:21,380
- No, I'm gonna give up
1824
01:27:21,380 --> 01:27:23,300
till I move out of
the state some day.
1825
01:27:23,300 --> 01:27:25,613
Three years from now
when probation's over.
1826
01:27:26,470 --> 01:27:27,400
- [Reporter] After
his comments,
1827
01:27:27,400 --> 01:27:29,580
Diana was then loaded
into a sheriff's van
1828
01:27:29,580 --> 01:27:31,700
for the short ride
back to the county jail
1829
01:27:31,700 --> 01:27:34,490
where he'll spend
one more night.
1830
01:27:34,490 --> 01:27:36,362
- Well, I mean,
when you heard
1831
01:27:36,362 --> 01:27:41,362
that he actually was found
guilty, I mean, it was scary,
1832
01:27:41,450 --> 01:27:44,983
and from our perspective
here in New York,
1833
01:27:44,983 --> 01:27:49,983
I think that our attitude is
like, "Well, it's Florida."
1834
01:27:51,980 --> 01:27:54,300
I mean,
anything could happen.
1835
01:27:54,300 --> 01:27:58,100
- That famous line when
the prosecutor stands up
1836
01:27:58,100 --> 01:28:03,100
and dismisses the expert
witnesses who'd come in
1837
01:28:05,260 --> 01:28:08,910
with the statement that the
standards of Pensacola, Florida
1838
01:28:08,910 --> 01:28:11,040
are not the standards
at the gay bath houses
1839
01:28:11,040 --> 01:28:15,140
of San Francisco and the
crack alleys of New York City.
1840
01:28:15,140 --> 01:28:17,460
When I heard that,
I suddenly understood that,
1841
01:28:17,460 --> 01:28:22,460
no, this is a small town case,
and it's small town values,
1842
01:28:24,298 --> 01:28:27,240
and they got him.
1843
01:28:27,240 --> 01:28:29,240
- I was in the
maximum detention
1844
01:28:29,240 --> 01:28:31,943
for the first 48
hours in jail.
1845
01:28:33,610 --> 01:28:38,430
After that,
I moved to a less secure area,
1846
01:28:38,430 --> 01:28:41,510
mostly with DUI
repeat offenders.
1847
01:28:41,510 --> 01:28:44,343
My lawyer came to
visit me in jail.
1848
01:28:45,400 --> 01:28:48,680
He said that the judge didn't
have to put me in jail.
1849
01:28:48,680 --> 01:28:51,390
He just wanted to make
an example out of me.
1850
01:28:51,390 --> 01:28:54,570
After four days
and four nights,
1851
01:28:54,570 --> 01:28:57,780
I was returned to the
courthouse for sentencing.
1852
01:28:57,780 --> 01:28:59,240
- I worked every
day at the store,
1853
01:28:59,240 --> 01:29:02,620
so I wasn't able to go
to the five day trial.
1854
01:29:02,620 --> 01:29:06,990
I did go the last day
when people could go in,
1855
01:29:06,990 --> 01:29:09,204
relatives could go in
1856
01:29:09,204 --> 01:29:12,953
and talk about him to
influence the sentencing.
1857
01:29:14,502 --> 01:29:16,884
I remember I couldn't believe
1858
01:29:16,884 --> 01:29:20,260
what they were
making out of this.
1859
01:29:20,260 --> 01:29:22,840
I left the courtroom,
1860
01:29:22,840 --> 01:29:25,030
and there must've
been a dozen reporters
1861
01:29:25,030 --> 01:29:27,730
shoving microphones
in my face.
1862
01:29:27,730 --> 01:29:31,443
I didn't want to be on the
news, on TV, so I told 'em,
1863
01:29:32,680 --> 01:29:35,447
I said, "I'm going back to
my store the Cabbage Patch,
1864
01:29:35,447 --> 01:29:37,618
"and I've got some more
1865
01:29:37,618 --> 01:29:42,320
"of those $1.49 Marlboro
cigarettes to sell."
1866
01:29:42,320 --> 01:29:44,100
Because I thought,
if they put it on the news,
1867
01:29:44,100 --> 01:29:46,520
I'm gonna get some
free advertising.
1868
01:29:46,520 --> 01:29:47,670
But I said it because I knew
1869
01:29:47,670 --> 01:29:50,190
they would never
put it on the news.
1870
01:29:50,190 --> 01:29:54,150
- The prosecutor Baggish
was pushing for jail time.
1871
01:29:54,150 --> 01:29:57,190
He was telling the judge
that the only way you could
1872
01:29:57,190 --> 01:30:00,010
really be a punished man
was that if I did jail time,
1873
01:30:00,010 --> 01:30:02,260
because now the whole case
1874
01:30:02,260 --> 01:30:04,870
and publicity had made
me a famous artist.
1875
01:30:04,870 --> 01:30:06,780
- We felt that
incarcerative sentence,
1876
01:30:06,780 --> 01:30:08,610
meaning something
involving jail time
1877
01:30:08,610 --> 01:30:11,470
was certainly appropriate
given the gravity of it.
1878
01:30:11,470 --> 01:30:13,918
- Instead,
the judge sentenced me to,
1879
01:30:13,918 --> 01:30:15,300
(gavel hammers)
(birds chirping)
1880
01:30:15,300 --> 01:30:16,874
three years probation,
1881
01:30:16,874 --> 01:30:17,707
(gavel hammers)
1882
01:30:17,707 --> 01:30:20,219
ordered me to pay
a $3,000 fine,
1883
01:30:20,219 --> 01:30:21,070
(gavel hammers)
1884
01:30:21,070 --> 01:30:25,403
ordered me to pay $1,200 for
my own psychiatric evaluation,
1885
01:30:25,403 --> 01:30:26,560
(gavel hammers)
1886
01:30:26,560 --> 01:30:30,401
ordered me to complete 1,200
hours of community service,
1887
01:30:30,401 --> 01:30:31,590
(gavel hammers)
1888
01:30:31,590 --> 01:30:35,012
ordered me to work 40 hours
a week at a full-time job,
1889
01:30:35,012 --> 01:30:36,080
(gavel hammers)
1890
01:30:36,080 --> 01:30:39,312
ordered me to take and pass
a journalism ethics course,
1891
01:30:39,312 --> 01:30:40,410
(gavel hammers)
1892
01:30:40,410 --> 01:30:42,490
ordered me to stay
at least 10 feet away
1893
01:30:42,490 --> 01:30:44,345
from anyone under
the age of 18,
1894
01:30:44,345 --> 01:30:45,629
(gavel hammers)
1895
01:30:45,629 --> 01:30:47,076
and I was forbidden
to draw anything
1896
01:30:47,076 --> 01:30:49,410
that might be
considered obscene,
1897
01:30:49,410 --> 01:30:53,655
even for my own personal use
in the privacy of my own home,
1898
01:30:53,655 --> 01:30:54,763
(siren wailing)
1899
01:30:54,763 --> 01:30:55,980
and I was subject to
warrantless searches
1900
01:30:55,980 --> 01:30:58,303
by the police to see
that this was enforced.
1901
01:30:59,366 --> 01:31:02,033
(siren wailing)
1902
01:31:03,780 --> 01:31:06,783
- Not only couldn't
his comics be sold,
1903
01:31:08,000 --> 01:31:12,060
but the decision of
the court or the judge
1904
01:31:12,060 --> 01:31:16,880
was that he was not allowed
to draw at all. (laughs)
1905
01:31:16,880 --> 01:31:21,880
I think that's what it was,
and that's nuts! (laughs)
1906
01:31:22,100 --> 01:31:25,380
I mean, there's nothing,
there's no defence for that.
1907
01:31:25,380 --> 01:31:30,380
This is one step away from
cut off his hands, you know?
1908
01:31:30,640 --> 01:31:34,880
- My students gasp when they
hear he wasn't allowed to draw,
1909
01:31:34,880 --> 01:31:36,140
that at any point in time,
1910
01:31:36,140 --> 01:31:38,000
the police could
come into the home,
1911
01:31:38,000 --> 01:31:40,460
come into Mike's room,
and make sure he wasn't drawing.
1912
01:31:40,460 --> 01:31:42,850
That's just like,
"What the fuck?" (laughs)
1913
01:31:42,850 --> 01:31:44,480
That's just crazy!
1914
01:31:44,480 --> 01:31:46,300
That's just crazy.
1915
01:31:46,300 --> 01:31:49,930
- And I think he even limited
him in his artistic supplies.
1916
01:31:49,930 --> 01:31:52,000
You couldn't have all
kind of art supplies
1917
01:31:52,000 --> 01:31:54,423
in your house,
just crazy stuff.
1918
01:31:56,217 --> 01:31:57,220
(birds chirping)
1919
01:31:57,220 --> 01:31:58,753
- [Jello] Life goes on.
1920
01:32:00,700 --> 01:32:04,167
- This case was filed in
'93, tried in '94,
1921
01:32:04,167 --> 01:32:06,220
and that's a lot of
water under the bridge.
1922
01:32:06,220 --> 01:32:10,953
I mean, the internet didn't
exist when we filed this case,
1923
01:32:11,846 --> 01:32:12,960
and certainly internet porn
1924
01:32:12,960 --> 01:32:15,450
didn't exist when
we filed this case.
1925
01:32:15,450 --> 01:32:20,140
You know, nowadays, people
are exposed to lots of things
1926
01:32:20,140 --> 01:32:22,190
that they weren't
exposed to then.
1927
01:32:22,190 --> 01:32:25,510
That's one of the beautiful
things about the Miller Standard
1928
01:32:25,510 --> 01:32:29,290
is just because something is
found obscene in 1993, '94,
1929
01:32:29,290 --> 01:32:31,120
doesn't mean it's
obscene forever,
1930
01:32:31,120 --> 01:32:34,373
and it doesn't mean
it's obscene everywhere.
1931
01:32:34,373 --> 01:32:37,920
It just means it's obscene
right here, right now,
1932
01:32:37,920 --> 01:32:40,320
and that's really about it.
1933
01:32:40,320 --> 01:32:42,110
- Actually absolutely
no regrets.
1934
01:32:42,110 --> 01:32:45,860
We did the right thing,
we did our job, I'll say that.
1935
01:32:45,860 --> 01:32:50,680
We did our job and then
the jurors as citizens,
1936
01:32:50,680 --> 01:32:53,950
they were charged
with an obligation,
1937
01:32:53,950 --> 01:32:56,450
and the result
was what it was.
1938
01:32:56,450 --> 01:33:00,360
- The ultimate irony was that
Stuart Baggish and the law
1939
01:33:00,360 --> 01:33:03,330
exposed more of the
community to "Boiled Angel"
1940
01:33:03,330 --> 01:33:06,473
number seven and eight
than I ever could have.
1941
01:33:07,380 --> 01:33:11,380
Until then, nobody even knew
about me or "Boiled Angel."
1942
01:33:11,380 --> 01:33:13,900
It wasn't until it
was on the news,
1943
01:33:13,900 --> 01:33:17,560
the news cameras
actually took photographs
1944
01:33:17,560 --> 01:33:21,143
of the so-called
obscene artwork.
1945
01:33:22,710 --> 01:33:25,810
- Mike is the only artist,
the only American artist
1946
01:33:25,810 --> 01:33:28,437
ever found guilty on
obscenity charges.
1947
01:33:28,437 --> 01:33:31,330
Not the only cartoonist, the
only artist in American history
1948
01:33:31,330 --> 01:33:33,550
found guilty of
obscenity charges,
1949
01:33:33,550 --> 01:33:35,030
but they had a real
hard on for him.
1950
01:33:35,030 --> 01:33:36,180
This was personal.
1951
01:33:36,180 --> 01:33:38,210
This went beyond, you know,
1952
01:33:38,210 --> 01:33:41,780
a local authority running for
office wanting to amplify.
1953
01:33:41,780 --> 01:33:42,780
I mean, they, you know,
1954
01:33:42,780 --> 01:33:45,890
this was like they wanted
to take this kid out,
1955
01:33:45,890 --> 01:33:48,890
and even the very personal
nature of the attack.
1956
01:33:48,890 --> 01:33:50,020
But you know,
legal authorities
1957
01:33:50,020 --> 01:33:51,840
tend not to go
after millionaires,
1958
01:33:51,840 --> 01:33:53,580
because millionaires
got money
1959
01:33:53,580 --> 01:33:55,230
to defend themselves
in court.
1960
01:33:55,230 --> 01:33:59,230
A 17 year old, an 18 year
old, easy target.
1961
01:33:59,230 --> 01:34:00,900
What is this kid gonna do?
1962
01:34:00,900 --> 01:34:03,293
And that to me is a
real act of cowardice,
1963
01:34:04,129 --> 01:34:07,573
and just an incredible abuse
of authority and power.
1964
01:34:08,154 --> 01:34:09,685
- Now, what the name of
the local prosecutor?
1965
01:34:09,710 --> 01:34:10,720
What's his name?
1966
01:34:10,720 --> 01:34:11,930
- Stuart Baggish.
1967
01:34:11,930 --> 01:34:15,670
- Tell this DA that I live
in Pompano, come visit me.
1968
01:34:15,670 --> 01:34:18,283
Bust me, you scumbag!
Come and get me.
1969
01:34:18,283 --> 01:34:19,661
What's his name, Baggish?
1970
01:34:19,686 --> 01:34:20,759
- Baggish.
1971
01:34:20,791 --> 01:34:22,314
- That bag of
shit we call you.
1972
01:34:22,314 --> 01:34:24,029
(laughing)
Bag of shit.
1973
01:34:24,054 --> 01:34:26,340
Name's Al Goldstein,
I live in Pampano.
1974
01:34:26,340 --> 01:34:29,110
1500 North Ocean
Boulevard, bust me.
1975
01:34:29,135 --> 01:34:30,270
You turd!
1976
01:34:30,270 --> 01:34:32,320
Why don't you pick on
someone your own size.
1977
01:34:32,320 --> 01:34:35,510
You small dick
cocksucking turd!
1978
01:34:35,510 --> 01:34:38,510
- When I left Florida
and moved to New York,
1979
01:34:38,510 --> 01:34:41,213
it was right in the
middle of my appeal,
1980
01:34:42,720 --> 01:34:46,313
so I basically snuck
away to New York.
1981
01:34:48,674 --> 01:34:51,130
I didn't even tell my
lawyer at first that I left,
1982
01:34:51,130 --> 01:34:53,120
because I just needed
to get out of there.
1983
01:34:53,120 --> 01:34:55,643
After I found out
that I lost my appeal,
1984
01:34:56,670 --> 01:34:59,710
they wanted me back in
Florida to do probation.
1985
01:34:59,710 --> 01:35:03,996
They actually tried to
get the New York office
1986
01:35:03,996 --> 01:35:07,605
probation office
to take my case,
1987
01:35:07,605 --> 01:35:09,460
but New York didn't
seem to want to have
1988
01:35:09,460 --> 01:35:10,500
anything to do with it.
1989
01:35:10,500 --> 01:35:13,760
- The impression I get is
that the police of New York
1990
01:35:13,760 --> 01:35:17,600
are too busy to knock
down somebody's door
1991
01:35:17,600 --> 01:35:18,990
at four o'clock
in the morning
1992
01:35:18,990 --> 01:35:21,140
and make sure
they're not drawing.
1993
01:35:21,140 --> 01:35:22,500
- Well,
the probation officer,
1994
01:35:22,500 --> 01:35:24,460
this woman would call
me up on the phone
1995
01:35:24,460 --> 01:35:27,390
and remind me I wasn't
supposed to be drawing.
1996
01:35:27,390 --> 01:35:28,430
Of course, at that time,
1997
01:35:28,430 --> 01:35:31,293
I was drawing every day
since I wasn't in Florida.
1998
01:35:32,570 --> 01:35:35,230
She also reminded me I was
getting behind in my fine.
1999
01:35:35,230 --> 01:35:37,830
I was about $100 behind
2000
01:35:37,830 --> 01:35:40,970
and she ended up quitting
the probation office
2001
01:35:40,970 --> 01:35:43,693
and violated my probation
before she left.
2002
01:35:44,720 --> 01:35:49,720
So since 1998, I've been wanted
by the police in Florida,
2003
01:35:49,872 --> 01:35:53,110
and I haven't been
able to go to Florida
2004
01:35:53,110 --> 01:35:55,050
out of fear of
being arrested.
2005
01:35:55,050 --> 01:35:57,900
- I had mixed feelings
about a lot of things
2006
01:35:57,900 --> 01:36:01,090
regarding Mike
Diana in particular.
2007
01:36:01,090 --> 01:36:05,510
I kept getting this feeling
that he personally had
2008
01:36:05,510 --> 01:36:07,313
ambivalent feelings
about everything
2009
01:36:07,313 --> 01:36:10,140
that was happening to him and
I could be terribly wrong,
2010
01:36:10,140 --> 01:36:14,570
but I kept wondering, is he
as outraged as his defenders?
2011
01:36:14,570 --> 01:36:17,100
Just when I would
read quotes from him,
2012
01:36:17,100 --> 01:36:21,540
and even when I met him, there
was this benign acceptance.
2013
01:36:21,540 --> 01:36:24,047
It's almost like some
part of him was like,
2014
01:36:24,047 --> 01:36:26,290
"Well,
I asked for it and I got it."
2015
01:36:26,290 --> 01:36:28,350
You know? (laughs)
2016
01:36:28,350 --> 01:36:31,100
- At this moment today, well,
2017
01:36:31,100 --> 01:36:34,220
which is I'm sure just
randomly chosen the day
2018
01:36:34,220 --> 01:36:39,220
that a crew would come by to
chat with me about Mike Diana,
2019
01:36:39,580 --> 01:36:44,580
is the 60th anniversary of
senate subcommittee meeting
2020
01:36:44,680 --> 01:36:49,670
on juvenile delinquency,
which happened in 1954,
2021
01:36:49,670 --> 01:36:52,510
and this was when Bill Gaines
2022
01:36:52,510 --> 01:36:56,720
was actually interviewed
today 60 years ago
2023
01:36:56,720 --> 01:37:01,720
about what his evil influence
on children with EC Comics.
2024
01:37:03,170 --> 01:37:06,940
But it's still the
only person I know,
2025
01:37:06,940 --> 01:37:11,940
that's ever gone to jail for
doing a comic is Mike Diana,
2026
01:37:12,154 --> 01:37:17,154
so here's to you, Mike.
(chuckles)
2027
01:37:17,640 --> 01:37:19,830
- For me, the thing that's
most important right now
2028
01:37:19,830 --> 01:37:22,350
about Mike Diana's case
is nobody knows about it.
2029
01:37:22,350 --> 01:37:26,555
The idea that in the
history of America,
2030
01:37:26,555 --> 01:37:31,555
one American artist has been
found guilty of obscenity
2031
01:37:32,460 --> 01:37:36,203
for his own work and
what he was sentenced to,
2032
01:37:38,330 --> 01:37:40,260
should be taught
in every school.
2033
01:37:40,260 --> 01:37:44,740
What happened to him
was so profoundly wrong,
2034
01:37:44,740 --> 01:37:49,740
and so profoundly representative
of what can go wrong,
2035
01:37:50,960 --> 01:37:55,010
and why the First Amendment is
necessary, and what it means,
2036
01:37:55,010 --> 01:37:59,733
that I'm just so happy that
somebody's telling the story.
2037
01:38:01,683 --> 01:38:03,030
- I was saddened to know
2038
01:38:03,030 --> 01:38:06,180
that he still carries
many of these wounds
2039
01:38:09,253 --> 01:38:11,180
and I want to
apologise to Michael
2040
01:38:14,420 --> 01:38:17,113
if unnecessary wounds
were inflicted.
2041
01:38:19,230 --> 01:38:22,660
- They claimed he's gonna
end up killing people.
2042
01:38:22,660 --> 01:38:26,370
He's gonna be a serial killer,
and here how many years later
2043
01:38:26,370 --> 01:38:28,470
and I don't think he's
killed anybody yet.
2044
01:38:29,770 --> 01:38:32,370
- [Jello] Mike Diana has
never stopped drawing.
2045
01:38:32,370 --> 01:38:35,550
His art is still as
outrageous, raw, shocking,
2046
01:38:35,550 --> 01:38:38,100
funny, confrontational,
controversial,
2047
01:38:38,100 --> 01:38:41,020
but not obscene
as it always was.
2048
01:38:41,020 --> 01:38:44,140
The trial introduced
him to legions of fans.
2049
01:38:44,140 --> 01:38:48,700
Since 1994, he's had exhibitions
in New York, Chicago,
2050
01:38:48,700 --> 01:38:52,590
Baltimore, Miami,
London, Berlin, Prague,
2051
01:38:52,590 --> 01:38:56,550
Copenhagen, Stockholm,
Toulouse, and Los Angeles.
2052
01:38:56,550 --> 01:39:00,770
he has also published numerous
anthologies of his work.
2053
01:39:00,770 --> 01:39:05,010
- Yeah, it got him on
people's radar screens,
2054
01:39:05,010 --> 01:39:06,890
and he became a
cause celebre.
2055
01:39:08,362 --> 01:39:10,180
You know, that's unavoidable.
2056
01:39:10,180 --> 01:39:11,703
I hope he made
good use of it.
2057
01:39:13,480 --> 01:39:17,980
("Star Spangled
Banner" guitar music)
2058
01:40:18,595 --> 01:40:22,244
(laughing) - Oh,
that's crazy.
2059
01:40:22,244 --> 01:40:25,411
(bluesy guitar music)
2060
01:40:37,372 --> 01:40:40,289
(heavy punk music)
156039
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