Brazil paper publishes gay kiss illustration in censorship row

Folha de S.Paulo aims dig at evangelical Rio mayor after he tried to ban a Marvel comic

Dom Phillips in Rio de Janeiro
Sun 8 Sep 2019 18.16 BSTLast modified on Sun 8 Sep 2019 18.38 BST

Brazil’s biggest newspaper has printed an illustration from a Marvel comic of two men kissing on its front page to attack an attempt at censorship by the evangelical mayor of Rio de Janeiro.

Marcelo Crivella attempted to ban copies of the graphic novel Avengers: The Children’s Crusade from appearing at a book fair on the grounds that it included content unsuitable for children.

Critics said his move was reminiscent of the censorship imposed during Brazil’s 21-year military dictatorship, which ended in 1985 and is often praised by the country’s far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro. On Sunday the president of Brazil’s supreme court overruled a court decision that had endorsed Crivella’s move.

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The controversy began on Thursday when Crivella ordered the biennial to wrap copies of the graphic novel in black plastic. “What we did was defend the family,” Crivella said in a video he tweeted on Friday after ordering city hall inspectors to seize copies of the book – which had apparently sold out by that point anyway.

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