PronstahIt seems that a copy of HOW TO MAKE MONEY LIKE A PORN STAR, the controversial graphic novel by Neil Strass and Bernard Chang, has caused some problems in Singapore when it was found racked with some kids books at a book fair:

A comic book, imported from the US and laden with adult content, was sold at the World Book Fair held at the Suntec Convention Centre last weekend.

Displayed among other children’s books at the fair, the comics caught the attention of teenagers and grown-ups.

Rachel Chan said: “I was really shocked. There are suggestively drawn frontal nudity graphics, showing women’s breasts and men’s private parts. The book shows how kids could make money by producing their own porn.”


A news video included in th elink, shows the book lying under a stack of Simpsons graphic novels, a kid magnet waiting to happen.

The book is also sold in other stores, but shrink wrapped. In Singapore, strict government-sponsored censorship or sexual, violent or racially insensitive material is the norm.

[Via Tom]

1 COMMENT

  1. It’s not shrink wrapped at the B&N by my house, but it is racked with Batman, Superman, and the X-men. I’m thinking that the title alone should be a tip off, but I’ll say it anyway. Comic shop owners: Please keep this book where only adults can get at it. To the makers of Porn Star: Maybe you should point out to the people who sell your comic, that some comics arn’t for kids. How many feet do we have left to shoot?

  3. Strict control in Singapore? Tell me about it. I have to show my ID to the cashier at Takashimaya before I could buy anything with yaoi on it….all of it shrinkwrapped, of course.

  4. The comic store owners should really know better, isn’t that their job? Anyway, I’ve read this book, it’s great! Very realistic! Any 12 year old how reads this is gonna be put off of women for a long time….lying, thieving, cheating gender…..

  6. If that is a problem in Singapore then a shitstorm is ready to hit the rest of South East Asia when parents find that in almost every DVD shop from Hong Kong to Jakarta puts TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE in the kids section next to Pixar movies.

    I’m already groaning at the Asian media who will no doubt use headlines like “Comics Aren’t For Kids Anymore” even in Asia where they haven’t been for years. At least Dark Knight and Watchmen are tame compared to some of the new stuff coming out these days.

  7. Point One: Barnes & Noble classifies it as a general graphic novel, which means at the larger stores it gets shelved in with the black and white American graphic novels (Dark Horse, Fantagraphics, Norton…) Of course, it’s the smaller stores where there will be complaints, but those stores know how to handle this sort of thing. (Lost Girls was only initially ordered for about fifty stores, and those stores (NYC included) were instructed to display it behind the Information Desk.) The only complaint I have had at my store (employed since 1999) was when an Assistant Store Manager displayed one of the Tom of Finland comics in a window display for Gay Pride Month.

    Point Two: Children and Teens will find (and steal) stuff if they look hard enough for it. The stuff I sell in GN is nothing compared to the stuff we have up in the Art and Photography sections. (Google “Jock Sturges” or Taschen)

    Point Three: I enjoy GNs for adults. This title is something I might give an “R” rating to. It’s not something I’d show a child, but a high school student has probably seen most of what is depicted in this title on cable television. According to WorldCat, only ten public libraries (of twenty total) stock this title, while Fun Home can be found in 878 libraries.

    Point Four: Singapore? Land of the Free compared to Indonesia, right next door. 222 million people, 88% of which are (mostly moderate) Muslims.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playboy_Indonesia

    Point Five: Both the Simpsons and Porn Star are published by HarperCollins, a division of News Corporation. Ironically, Collins was originally a publisher of Bibles. Harper’s cartoon links go all the way back to Thomas Nast (Santa Claus, Republican Elephant, Democratic Donkey). Their humor DNA goes back to Mark Twain.

    Point Six: Mr Chang will be illustrating covers for Marvel. This will probably not surprize many people.