In the abstract, most people in free societies would probably agree that no one should be fined or thrown in jail simply for possessing drawings of any sort. But when the drawings in question are certain varieties of manga, often…
Category: International
Indian Cartoonist Latest Victim of Facebook’s Content Policy
A cartoon by Kanika Mishra, drawn in response to a controversial statement made by Indian Minister Maneka Gandhi about the inability to criminalize marital rape, has been pulled from Facebook for not adhering to “community standards.” The award-winning cartoonist has…
New Malaysian Museum Dares to Exhibit Zunar Cartoons
There’s some rare good news for Zunar this week: despite the nine charges of sedition currently hanging over his head, the Malaysian political cartoonist’s work is now on display in a dedicated section of the brand-new Asia Comic Cultural Museum…
Tunisian Newspaper Nixes Comic Critical of U.S. Influence
The state-owned Tunisian newspaper La Presse last week rejected a cartoon that criticized the U.S. government’s involvement in Tunisian domestic affairs. According to cartoonist Lotfi Ben Sassi, someone at the newspaper said the strip he submitted for last Sunday’s paper…
Zunar Sedition Trial Delayed Yet Again to April 7
The sedition trial of Malaysian cartoonist Zunar has been delayed yet again to April 7, he reported via Twitter this week. After multiple delays while a separate challenge to the country’s Sedition Act is pending, the trial had been set…
Batman v. Superman Censored in India
Last month, it was Deadpool. This month, it’s Batman v Superman. Fans in India will be seeing an edited version of the film after the country’s censor board determined that one scene showing “a fleeting nude figure” was too much…
Turkish Government Seizes Opposition Newspaper Zaman
The Turkish government on Friday seized control of the opposition-aligned Feza Media Group, which includes the newspaper Zaman, its English-language sister publication Today’s Zaman, and the Cihan news agency. Employees locked themselves inside the Feza building on Friday as supporters…
International Release of The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye Breaks Singapore’s Silent History
This week marks the international release of comics creator Sonny Liew’s controversial-in-Singapore graphic novel The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye, and it’s already garnering praise and acclaim, furthering Liew’s goal to tell the story of Singapore’s silenced, secret — and what…
Protect Yourself When Traveling With Manga
If there’s one thing we know about North American Customs officials, it’s that they are not, by and large, aficionados of manga. Art that’s fairly commonplace in Japan can easily be labeled as child porn at U.S. and Canadian ports…
Discriminatory Complaint Against Ecuadorian Cartoonist Declared “Baseless”
Ecuadorian communications agency Cordicom has put to rest a complaint made to governmental censorship agency Supercom earlier this year, determining that a recent cartoon by Javier Bonilla (aka Bonil) is in fact not promoting a discriminatory message against the LGBTQ community. In…