Since Friday night’s coordinated terrorist attacks in Paris that killed 129 people and injured 352, the international community has joined with France and its capital in demonstrations of mourning and solidarity. With much of the memorialization taking place on social…
Author: Maren Williams
Top Malaysian Court Finds No Justification for Ban on Zunar Books
Malaysia’s highest court this week upheld a lower court’s lifting of a ban on two cartoon books by Zunar, Perak Darul Kartun and 1 Funny Malaysia. The five-judge panel of the Federal Court ruled that the Home Ministry had shown…
Russia Charges Librarian with “Inciting Ethnic Hatred” Through Books
Tensions between Russia and Ukraine manifested in particularly chilling fashion last month, as the director of a Ukrainian-language library in Moscow was detained by Russian authorities and charged with “inciting ethnic hatred” through books in the library’s collection. If convicted,…
UPDATED: Michigan Superintendent Notifies Parents of Gay Character in Captain Underpants Book
A few weeks after the Parent-Teacher Organization at an elementary school in Monroe, Michigan banned the latest Captain Underpants book from a school book fair because it reveals that one of the main characters is gay, a school district on…
Chinese Cartoonist Walks a Fine Line with Subversively Cute Art
Unsurprisingly, independent political cartoonists are few and far between in China. The country’s best-known cartoonist, Rebel Pepper, has been exiled in Japan for over a year due to implicit threats from his own government. But his experience has not deterred…
Zunar Launches Legal Challenge to Malaysia’s Sedition Act
The sedition trial of Malaysian cartoonist Zunar, which was set to begin today, has been delayed yet again as he and two other defendants launched another challenge to the country’s Sedition Act, a vestige of Malaysia’s colonial past. A court…
Lebanese Comics Collective Counters Government Censure with Crowdfunding Campaign
The Lebanese indie comics collective Samandal, financially crippled after three of its editors were fined a total of $60,000 for charges that include “inciting sectarian strife” and “denigrating religion” through comics, this week turned to crowdfunding in a last-ditch effort…
Suppressed 1978 Judge Dredd Stories to be Republished Next Year
Two legendary Judge Dredd storylines that were suppressed by their original publisher in 1978 amid concerns about copyright infringement will finally see the light of day again, after a recent change in UK law provided firmer protections for parody and…
UN Envoy Recommends Japanese Ban on Some Manga and Anime
A UN special envoy on child protection waded into the debate over manga and anime in Japan this week, urging the country to ban “particular, extreme child pornographic content” even if it does not involve any actual children. In a…
Human Rights Watch Report Skewers Malaysia’s “Culture of Fear”
A searing new 143-page report from Human Rights Watch is shining a spotlight on the Malaysian government’s selective use of vague laws to suppress speech it doesn’t like — notably from cartoonist Zunar, who next week faces trial on nine…