Sex And Violence Is Fine... But A Swastika Is Too Far

[Rich Johnston]

Diamond's Previews has censored the appearance of a swastika on the solicitation for The Boys #34 from Dynamite. Previews is distributed to a number of German comic shops and German law forbids material featuring a swastika for promotional purposes. This extends even to works like Maus.

As a result, Diamond have confirmed that they won't be distributing this issue in Germany.

I wonder if this ever hapened with Captain America? Probably...

[Peter J Poole]

Very debatable policy...

"Never again" is one thing, "let's deliberately deny major references and reminders" is another.

I've spent some time as a mod on a board with a high percentage of German mods and members, and the general response to "the N word" over there is about 100 times stronger than the general response to "the other n word" on American boards.

It's an instant ban for coming even close to using it as an insult or descriptor of a person, but even saying that doesn't come close to how incendiary those topics, symbols and images can be.

Cheers.

[Cunty Bollocks]

Meanwhile, the Darick Robertson cover is a nice little homage (Swipe File?) to Frank Quitely's All-Star Superman # 1, don't ya think?

[_OM_]

Meanwhile, the Darick Robertson cover is a nice little homage (Swipe File?) to Frank Quitely's All-Star Superman # 1, don't ya think?

...Head of nail, meet hammer.

[Marc-Oliver Frisch]

"Never again" is one thing, "let's deliberately deny major references and reminders" is another.

Hardly. To make a long story short, Nazi symbols are largely reserved for educational purposes in Germany.

That said, it's true that copies of MAUS were once seized in one German state twenty years ago or so, but that was a misunderstanding. The book is freely sold everywhere.

THE BOYS (or CAPTAIN AMERICA, as it were) is obviously not MAUS, though, so it's probably sensible on Diamond's part to avoid themselves and their customers the potential hassle.

[Peter J Poole]

Hardly. To make a long story short, Nazi symbols are largely reserved for educational purposes in Germany.

Which is a debatable policy

But not one on which I feel qualified to choose a side.

Cheers.

[_OM_]

Hardly. To make a long story short, Nazi symbols are largely reserved for educational purposes in Germany.

...Similar issues occurred with Castle Wolfenstein, which is one of the reasons the SS guards wore orange uniforms. When the 3D version came out, there were similar attempts to ban the game even though it's pretty clear that the Nazis get wasted. I can understand the tendency of the German government wishing to disassociate their country from that particular phase of their past, but trying to blot it out as if it never happened doesn't help matters much either.

[Marc-Oliver Frisch]

Which is a debatable policy

Oh, it certainly is.

The part I took issue with was your characterization of the problem as "let's deliberately deny major references and reminders."

Because that's bollocks, frankly. Anyone who's spent any time at all in Germany -- certainly anyone who went to school in Germany -- knows that there is no shortage of "major references and reminders" of the country's Nazi past.

It's the careless or unreflected use of Nazi imagery that's discouraged, not references to history.

[Peter J Poole]

Oh, it certainly is.

The part I took issue with was your characterization of the problem as "let's deliberately deny major references and reminders."

My use of that phrase did come pre-quoted, so to speak, as an example of one extreme end of the argument...

It's not a position I'm promoting or defending.

If you have taken offense, please give it back, since I did not mean to give any... OK?

Cheers.

[Marc-Oliver Frisch]

If you have taken offense, please give it back, since I did not mean to give any... OK?

No offense taken.