Comic Book Legal Defense Fund Names Interim Director

Nonprofit organization the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund has a new leader, with Jeff Trexler taking the position of interim director effective immediately. The move comes after executive director Charles Brownstein resigned under pressure June 22 following a renewed focus on an alleged 2005 sexual assault. 

Trexler, a member of the ethics committee at Kering Americas, has served on the board of the Museum of Comics and Cartoon Art and, prior to his new position, was associate director of the Fashion Law Institute, where his work included giving advice on sexual harassment legal reform to government officials. He was selected unanimously to serve in the position as interim director after what the organization refers to as a “thorough interview process.”

As interim director, he will “oversee and update the organization’s operations to more effectively execute the CBLDF mission,” according to a release from the non-profit, which advocates for the First Amendment rights of comics creators.

Trexler’s appointment comes at a time when the organization is trying to rebuild itself in the wake of Brownstein’s resignation in June, a move prompted by the renewed discussion of his alleged sexual assault of creator Taki Soma in 2005. Further reports of assault and harassment followed his departure from the organization, including one of a former CBLDF employee who had been unable to speak publicly due to an NDA agreement.

In a statement accompanying the announcement, Trexler said, “The original mission of the CBLDF is one I passionately support as a longtime member of the comics community. This is a time of evolution for the organization and I am honored to be part of it. To quote from my favorite comic book sequence of all time, the last issue of Grant Morrison’s Doom Patrol: ‘There is another world. There is a better world. Well…there must be.’”

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