Last week, Rio de Janeiro’s mayor Marcelo Crivella took it upon himself to become outraged at a 9-year-old Marvel comic titled Avengers: Children’s Crusade. The Bienial Do Livro book fair, a local literary event, was selling copies of the Avengers comic, and the mayor (an evangelical) suddenly demanded that LGBTQ children’s media shouldn’t be seen in public. Crivella claimed that such literature should be “packaged in black plastic and sealed.” (I’d like to also acknowledge that the characters portrayed in the series are teenagers, so calling this “children’s literature” seems a bit untrue.)
The issue immediately went to a local court, where a judge initially said the festival had the right to sell the product, and that it was protected under the umbrella of free expression. However, it was quickly brought to a second judge who sided with the mayor, stating that LGBTQ content for children shouldn’t be publicly displayed.
The mayor’s victory was short-lived however. The issue rose up Brazil’s courts until finally, Brazil’s Supreme Court ruled in favor of free speech, blocking any attempt by Crivella to further influence the sale of LGBTQ media.
And the court system isn’t the only issue the mayor is facing. Comedians all around Brazil are mocking the mayor, publishers at the book fair have deliberately increased stocks of LGBTQ literature, and a Brazilian newspaper even did a full, front-page image of a gay kiss from the Marvel series in protest.
Esta é capa da #Folha deste sábado (7). Acesse https://t.co/OUrEFevL3e para ler mais. #folha #folhadespaulo #fsp pic.twitter.com/wru197Gpzi
— Folha de S.Paulo (@folha) September 7, 2019
The illustrator of the Marvel comic has even stepped forward. He took to social media to call for solidarity amongst the LGBTQ community. He stated on his Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B2FPJfen2ux/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
