BY GABRIELLE RODRIGUEZ ’22
Last week, the mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Marcelo Crivella, called for the removal of the Marvel comic book “Avengers: The Children’s Crusade” from the city’s biennial book fair. The book features male superheroes Wiccan and Hulkling, who are in a committed relationship, kissing. When officials arrived to confiscate copies, the book had already sold out.
According to Out Magazine, “Government leaders have sought to ban [the comic book] over accusations it will ‘spread homosexuality to children.’”
Alexandre Isquierdo, a councilman in Rio, said that the comic is a “cowardly attempt to propagate homosexuality amongst our children.” Isquierdo reportedly brought a copy into a council meeting the week of Sept. 7. Crivella intervened, claiming the comic book violated the city’s Child and Adolescent Statute. This statute claims all content containing “pornographic images” should be marked as unsafe for youth.
Crivella ordered the copies of the book to be taken from vendors at Bienal do Livro and stated on Twitter that those who did not comply would lose their licensure and be removed from the fair.
The book was first released in 2012 and the volume for sale at the fair was a special hardcover edition released in 2016. Booksellers noticed increased interest in the comic after the officials’ statement. Brazilian YouTuber Felipe Neto even paid for 14,000 books on LGBTQ+ themes to be distributed for free to those at the book fair.
On Sept. 9, the Supreme Court of Brazil overturned the decision made by a lower court that permitted the ban, ruling that officials cannot target LGBTQ+ publications for censorship, as it violates the constitution’s guarantee of equal protection for all.
This is a rare win for LGBTQ+ Brazilian communities, who have been attacked by the new far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro. According to Out Magazine, Bolsonaro has claimed that he would physically attack a same-sex couple if he saw them kissing in the street. President Bolsonaro has also moved to defund media with LGBTQ+ themes.