Update September 9, 2019:
The AFP reports the Brazilian Supreme Court has made the final decision to overturn Crivella’s ban, ruling it was illegal because the mayor targeted only LGBT content, violating the constitutional guarantee of equality for all. Original story is as follows:
In the latest twist involving Rio de Janeiro’s mayor Marcelo Crivella (PRB) and his attempt to prohibit the sale of comic books featuring LGBTQ+ characters and depictions from the local Rio Book Biennial festival, Court of Justice honor Cláudio de Mell Tavares has overruled a previous judicial decision that now allows Crivella’s plan to censor and ban the collection to move forward.
On Thursday, Crivella announced on Twitter that he ordered the Biennial organizers not to collect books with content he purported to be “unsuitable for minors,” referencing specifically a scene from Marvel’s “Avengers: The Children’s Crusade.” Crivella continued saying “books like this need to be wrapped in black sealed plastic with a content warning on the outside.”
The comic book features Hulkling and Wiccan, two male characters in a romantic relationship, kissing. Following Crivella’s announcement, law-enforcement agents were sent to the international festival to identify, cover, mark, and requisition any comic books that contained LGBTQ+ characters or depictions.
The following day, after a backlash from publishers, festival organizers, and readers, Judge Heleno Ribeiro Pereira Nunes sided with Brazil’s National Union of Book Publishers, and filed an emergency injunction blocking Crivella’s ban and allowed the sale of the comic books to continue. This decision was subsequently reversed by Tavares.
Comic book artist Jim Cheung, who illustrated “Avengers: The Children’s Crusade,” posted a statement on Instagram saying “The fact that [“Avengers: The Children’s Crusade”], from almost a decade ago, is now being drawn into the spotlight by [Crivella] perhaps only highlights how out of touch he might be with the current times. The LGBTQ community is here to stay, and I have nothing but love and support for those who continue to struggle for validity and a voice to be heard.”
