In a major goof-up by Comic Con group, children who attended their event in Bengaluru were mistakenly handed a novel containing pornographic content. Children who attended Comic Con Bengaluru were given pornographic graphic novel ‘Saga’ as one of the gifts in their goodie bags. Reacting on the same, parents of the children took to social media to criticise and seek answers from Comic Con.
Milli Venkatesh, mother of two children who were handed out the comics, told The Quint, “There are very few spaces or very few books out there that keep children engaged in a constructed fashion. I definitely don’t want the kids to see such explicit images because one doesn’t know what impact it can have on the kid. Even if it is in a cartoon form, it does not mean that it is consumable for the kids.”
Another parent Vaishali Sood said, “One has barely spoken about sex or private parts with 7-9 year olds. And for them to encounter such graphic content at a seemingly ‘safe’ space is appalling. I’m sure the kids won’t understand anything but the imagery can sustain in their minds and have an impact in the long run.” Saga comic is an epic space fantasy comic book series, which is influenced by Hollywood movie series ‘Star Wars’. Due to presence of adult content, the novel is not recommended for people below age of 17.
Apologising over the incident, Comic Con said that they do not support such content for underage audience. We sincerely apologise for the inadvertent mix up that has occurred at Bengaluru Comic Con 2018. In almost 7 years of our show, we have never had such a thing happen. We as an organisation neither support nor promote such content for underage audience.
