10 Most Controversial Banned Comics

The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund are an organisation which, among over things, campaigns against the banning of comic books on the grounds of sexual content, bad language or violence. Every day, books - including comics - are taken out of circulation in schools, libraries or shops for myriad reasons, by campaigners or even publishers themselves. Sometimes those reasons make a kind of sense, sometimes they're fuelled by fear or intolerance. Sometimes it's because somebody decided to take a pot shot at their old boss who was a "nasty S.O.B." and that's super libellous. Whilst the CBLDF do a lot of good work, they can't un-ban everything. Especially not in the cases where publishers are indulging in self-censorship, or where the bans happen outside of the US, or when they happened before the organisation even existed. Comic books have been banned, censored, recalled and pulped for all sorts of reasons, on all sorts of peoples' authority. It can be as simple as a misprint that needs correcting or as drastic as a politically controversial storyline that could land the company in hot water. Or it can just be because of boobs. Here are ten comic books that banned for all those reasons, and more!

10. Ultraman, The Ultra Power: Ultra Controversial

You might not know Ultraman, but in Japan he's kind of a big deal. In that he's 40 metres tall, sure, but also because he's phenomenally popular, appearing in endless TV shows, movies, videogames and comic books. That popularity has, naturally, spilled over to some of Japan's neighbouring nations, including Malaysia to the east. Unfortunately, it looks like the towering hero might not be so hot in Kuala Lumpur for much longer, having had an issue of his comic banned in the country earlier this year. The reason? "Irresponsible use of the word Allah", according to the Malaysian high authority's verdict. An edition of Ultraman, The Ultra Power fell foul of the state's censorship board for use of the word, saying it "undermine public security and societal morals". In 2013 a court ruled that banned non-Muslims from using the word Allah, despite the literal translation - "God" - being used by scores of Malaysian Catholics, as it was in the comic. Because Ultraman is idolised by so many, the ministry continued, invoking Allah in his comic might confuse young Muslim readers. The Catholic church is currently trying to challenge the court ruling, but this particular Ultraman comic remains banned in the country.