17-18 November 2018 - Comic Con India (Bangalore), Comic Con India handed out a goody bag to the visitors who bought the super fan pass. Goody bag included an explicit graphic novel to all superfan pass holders including many kids. One of the Parents filed an FIR against the organizers.
Debjani Aich (Parent of 8-year old girl) -
"*UPDATE - After being at the police station from 11.15 am till 4 pm, I was able to file a FIR against the organisers.
We talk about child safety in India and children, including my 8 year old daughter, at Comic Con Bengaluru 2018 on November 17-18, 2018 were handed out comics with graphic sex and violent content by the organisers Comic Con India. This was in the goodie bag my child got along with her ticket, the wrist band and a Batman poster. Shame on you. The covers (front or back) of the comic do not carry any disclaimer about graphic content, age restrictions or parental supervision. They only carry the authors names and the Comic Con India logo. The back cover states that it is an exclusive copy for Comic Con India pass bundles and is not for sale. I have shared photos of some objectionable material, certain images blurred by me due to the explicit sexual acts depicted.
Folks - please help escalate this terrible, shocking and scary matter. Absolutely negligent and illegal to give children obscene, age inappropriate, pornographic reading material."
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Similar Incident in 2015
In 2015, Comic con Bangalore hosted a tournament where star players were allowed to hurl abuses openly near stalls and in front of kids. They were not disqualified or escorted out of the event with a permanent ban. Instead, they were allowed to keep on playing and management even posted videos online as a cheap way to gain publicity stunt.
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Counter View
Sowmya Rajendran
I'm seeing a lot of outrage about this. Just some things I want to say:
1. In India, there's this idea that 'comics' means 'children's books' because we all grew up on Tinkle. No. Comics and graphic novels deal with a wide range of subjects - dark, violent, depressing, explicit, insightful. Just because the medium is more visual and less textual does not automatically make it a child-friendly one.
2. Graphic novels are NOT pornographic just because they depict sexual acts. This particular comic under fire is an award-winning one which is about an inter-galactic war. It's not naked-homemaker-meets-pizza-delivery-boy. I'm shocked to see people describing this as 'sex comics' and 'porn'.
3. There are several such graphic novels which contain nudity and explicit images, including the controversial The Book of Genesis by R Crumb which is based on the Bible. It was No. 1 on the NYT graphic novel bestseller list.
4. Comic Con isn't a children's only festival, just as graphic novels and comics aren't only for children. The most pioneering work in this field is being written for adults. If you take your child for it, it's your responsibility to keep watch on them and what they do. The goody bag was given to people who bought tickets online - not specifically to children. Isn't it your job to open the goody bag, examine the contents and decide what's appropriate for your child?
5. It may not have been the best idea for Comic Con to give this comic out in the goody bag, considering the general paranoia about sex and sexuality in the country. Perhaps it isn't age-appropriate for a 10-yr-old to read this (though I must say that we have allowed our daughter to look through The Book of Genesis when we first got it because she was curious to see it - we're all alive, thank you). But I wonder if these same parents would cover their children's eyes if they were to take them to a museum that has Renaissance art? Or an ancient Hindu temple where sculptures show everything, including group sex?
6. If a child views age inappropriate content, the fault lies with the adults who either gave the material to the child (if it was specifically given to the child) or were ignorant that the child had chanced upon it. Please don't insult the creators of the art for it.
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Conclusion
Art of all form should be allowed to exist and flourish. The issue is with it being handed out to kids without warning of explicit content. There is a very clear obligation on the organizers (not the creators of the comic) to ensure that age appropriate comics are handed out and not one with sexually explicit images. I am all for all kinds of art and sexual content when represented for a truly creative endeavor. But let's step back and understand that handing out this kind of material without age appropriate warning etc is unacceptable.
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