Parents, always be sure to check your children’s candy on Halloween, you never know when they might be hiding a comic book for adults. Or, less glibly, a comic book retailer has been arrested and charged with a felony for giving away a copy of Grendel Tales: Devil’s Hammer #1 to a kid on Halloween.
First reported by WECT, and followed by the Raleigh News and Observer, Kathleen Lincoln, the owner of Marvelous Issues Comic Shop in North Carolina, was giving away comics at the Sunset Beach Police Department’s annual Trunk or Treat event — a Halloween trail with giveaways for kids on October 30, when according to the Department she handed out the copy of Grendel Tales.
However, once parents reported the copy of the comic to police, Lincoln was arrested on charges of “obscene literature and exhibitions” which is a Class G Felony. While Lincoln has not released a statement about the arrest, the store did post a picture of Abraham Lincoln mourning, drawn by cartoonist Bill Maudlin, on Instagram, with the caption, “We’re gonna be closed for a little while.”
The book in question was published in 1994 by Dark Horse, and written and drawn by Rob Walton based in the world of Grendel created by Matt Wagner. The cover is clearly marked as “Not for Children,” and in the pages, at least in the Grendel Omnibus Volume 5 which collected the three issue series among other Grendel stories in 2024, the issue does contain images of male and female genital mutilation, full-frontal male nudity both seen from afar and in close-up, and a pants-less character urinating on a decapitated corpse.
We’ll put a content warning here, particularly for children given the circumstances, but below are the three likely offending pages from the book, via screenshots from the Omnibus:
As ICv2 notes, this case on the surface seems very similar to the case of Gordon Lee from 2005, where Lee accidentally distributed a copy of Alternative Comics #2, an adults-only book, during a Halloween event. The case was picked up by the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF), and while charges were initially dropped, the case went to trial, ending in a mistrial, with charges refiled, ending with Lee agreeing to an apology. As we don’t know any details about Lincoln’s case, it’s unclear how analogous this is, though it’s likely Lincoln was giving out more books than one copy of Grendel Tales.
While Lincoln could not discuss the case until it was dismissed, over email she told Comic Book Club that, “Comics are protected by the 1st amendment… They are artists creations… Art like statue of david. Already law set by Supreme Court.”
Matt Wagner, meanwhile, posted a statement on the matter on Facebook:
Hey gang…I’ve heard from several sources and many readers about the recent incident on Halloween wherein a comic shop in Sunset Beach, NC, was handing out comics to Trick-or-Treaters and somehow a copy of GRENDEL TALES made its way into that mix. The shop’s owner was subsequently arrested and charged with a felony for distribution and exhibition of obscene literature. I have no connection with the shop in question but, seeing as how this seems to have been the only adult-themed comic involved in said transaction, I’m going to give these vendors the benefit of the doubt and assume that this was an unintentional mistake. GRENDEL has always been aimed at a mature audience and, for a while (including on the issue in question) was clearly labeled as such; “NOT FOR CHILDREN.” I can understand both the parents and community involved being upset with this regrettable screwup. However, I certainly find a physical arrest and a felony charge to be a pretty over-zealous reaction to this level of infraction. It seems to me that on-site inquiry could’ve determined if there was any dubious intent or whether this was, as I said, merely a human error. In which case, a simple citation might’ve been a more reasonable alternative rather than a felony charge, which is usually reserved for extreme criminal acts. But, admittedly, I don’t know enough about the whole affair to be second-guessing anyone involved.
We’ve also reached out to Dark Horse but did not receive a response as of publication time.
You can read the statement from the Sunset Beach Police Department posted on Facebook below:
“This morning, Sunset Beach Police Detectives presented evidence obtained from parents to a North Carolina Magistrate regarding an incident at our annual Trunk or Treat. Probable cause was found to charge Kathleen Lincoln, Carolina Shores, NC with a violation of North Carolina General Statute § 14-190.1 Obscene literature and exhibitions, a Class G Felony.
The charges come after the department received multiple reports that inappropriate comic-style materials were handed out during the 2025 Sunset Beach Police Trunk or Treat event, held in Sunset Beach Town Park, on Thursday, October 30th, 2025.
Our investigation quickly identified Ms. Lincoln, leading to the felony charge filed this morning. We want to be clear, the safety and wellbeing of every child and family who attends our community events will always come first.
Trunk or Treat has been one of our favorite community traditions for many years. It’s supposed to be a safe, fun night for families and we are deeply disturbed by this incident. We have always trusted that the registered participants would respect the safety and well-being of our children.
If your child received something that seemed off, inappropriate, disturbing, or not consistent with a typical Sunset Beach Trunk or Treat event, please contact the Sunset Beach Police Department. No further details will be released at this time due to the ongoing nature of the investigation.”
This article has been updated to include Wagner’s statement on the matter.
Comic Book Club Live Info:
Discover more from Comic Book Club
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.