Wal-Mart Drops Comic ‘Racist’ Comic

by Van Jensen on July 10th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
Posted In: News

A couple days ago ComicMix brought you the news that Wal-Mart stores in Texas were stocking the controversial comic book Memin Pinguin, and people were calling racism.

The retailer didn’t respond to the article, but now comes word that Wal-Mart will pull the controversial comics off their shelves. The company’s statement:

Wal-Mart carries a wide array of products that reflect the wants and needs of Hispanic customers. And we understand that Memin is a popular figure in Mexico. However, given the sensitivity to the negative image Memin can portray to some, we felt that it was best to no longer carry the item in our stores. We apologize to those customers who may have been offended by the book’s images.

There is plenty of disagreement over whether the comic is racist or not, with this mention from the character’s Wikipedia page giving some evidence to negate that view:

In one famous issue, Memín, having read that Cleopatra VII of Egypt took milk baths to lighten her skin, tries the same treatment. His mother weeps with sorrow that her son would want to change his skin color. A repentant Memín decides to be proud of his race and color to honor his good mother.