Do they make inoculations for comic books?

I thought moving and planning a wedding were enough problems in my life. Now I have this. Thanks to David from 11 O'Clock Comics, I am now aware of the fact that my quarter bin addiction may be LETHAL! (Cue dramatic music.)

Nanny State Law Gets Books Burned

The latest round of nanny state legislation finds Congress protecting your children from daily exposure to dangerous chemicals commonly found in items not usually considered dangerous, such as books. Everyone is aTwitter about it, and Laurie Sutton wrote me to let me know about the article in City Journal.

“…under a law Congress passed last year aimed at regulating hazards in children’s products, the federal government has now advised that children’s books published before 1985 should not be considered safe and may in many cases be unlawful to sell or distribute. Merchants, thrift stores, and booksellers may be at risk if they sell older volumes, or even give them away, without first subjecting them to testing—at prohibitive expense. Many used-book sellers, consignment stores, Goodwill outlets, and the like have accordingly begun to refuse new donations of pre-1985 volumes, yank existing ones off their shelves, and in some cases discard them en masse.”

The fine for selling a pre-1985 children’s book to a child or for “children’s use”? $100,000 in fines, and prison. The law covers ANY item sold to children or for children which does not meet draconian testing standards, including handmade crafts and goods.

Can you knit junior a sweater? No, he might eat it and ingest lead. Or something.

Oh my goodness.

Go read and see if you think this law is as dumb as I think it is.

Now when I say "They will have to pry the comics from my COLD DEAD HAND," I actually mean it. Seriously though, this is insane. I say fight back and give a kid an issue of X-Men from the 80's. I am sure the only "symptom" they will have is something called "reading."