Dirty Pictures

Scott McCloud, nationally known author of Understanding Comics, a social guide and history of comic books, also testified. He maintained that the series, taken as a whole, had artistic merit and contains a thematic thread. His testimony was aimed at deflating Reynerson's contention that "the comic book depicts nothing but a sequential representation of explicit sexual acts...The comic book shows but isolated acts of sexual conduct and has no plot and development of characters except as it relates to connecting one sex scene to another."

McCloud maintained that the book indeed has characters who have emotions deeper than horniness. He brought up an example: After two demonized women have Sapphic sex, one says to the other: "I still feel hollow." The book also has a story arc, an arc in which the good guys ultimately defeat the demons (until the next series). McCloud also maintained that it was impossible to judge the work as a whole, as required by law, by only examining the most graphic book of the series.

"You can't pull out chapters of a book, you have to judge the book as a whole," says Shunatona. "Obviously the jury didn't buy it."

Indeed. Castillo was found guilty and sentenced to 180 days in jail, given probation, and fined $4,000. An appeal is under way, and Shunatona advised him to not speak to the press while the case was pending.

While preparing for the second case, Shunatona subpoenaed Mayor Ron Kirk, as well as Poss and her staff, for information describing their involvement in directing the police to Keith's Comics. Days before the trial was to commence in September, the district attorney called and asked to dismiss the case. Shunatona agreed without question.

Asked whether the politicians had the case spiked, Shunatona says, "Anything's possible." Poss could not be reached for comment, but a staff member says Poss' involvement was limited to forwarding the comic to police. Shunatona makes it clear that there is no evidence that the first bust, the one that got the conviction, was set in motion by anyone at City Hall. But he's also sure that now that Keith's Comics has been targeted, more trouble lurks like Demon Beasts.

"I don't doubt for a second that they sent people [into the store] looking for stuff and they haven't found anything," he says. "Keith's takes special orders, and if the person who orders it says, 'I don't want this' then the buyer is stuck with it. Our best determination is that's what happened here with that book. They're not stocking and selling it."

Still, Castillo waits for his appeal to be heard. He has no prior arrests, and told court officers he "was very diligent" in keeping children out of the adult section of Keith's Comics. He obviously enjoys working there: He started during his senior year of high school and worked his way up to manager. He still lives with his parents in East Dallas. Yet he waits, labeled a purveyor of obscenity in the eyes of the law and the PTA.

"This guy's not a troublemaker, he's not a criminal," says Shunatona. "He's just the wrong guy in the wrong place at the wrong time."