THE classic comic book
Tintin in the Congo has been removed from the children's section of Borders stores in Australia because some customers may consider it "offensive", the bookseller says.
The move is in line with action by Borders stores in the US and UK, sparked by complaints that the book was racist.
"We are committed to acting responsibly as a retailer and with sensitivity to all of the communities we serve," Borders said today.
"Therefore, with respect to the specific title
Tintin in the Congo, which could be considered offensive by some of our customers, we have decided to place this title in a section of our store intended primarily for adults."
Tintin in the Congo would remain in the adults graphic novels section because "we believe adults have the capacity to evaluate this work within historical context," Borders said.
Borders Australia did not respond when asked if there had been any complaints here.
David Enright, a London-based human-rights lawyer, was shopping recently at Borders with his family when he came upon the book, first published in 1931, and opened it to find what he characterised as racist abuse.
"The material suggests to (children) that Africans are subhuman, that they are imbeciles, that they're half savage," Mr Enright said.
In Britain, the book also will be stocked with graphic novels and it is receiving similar treatment in the US.
The move comes as the world marks the centennial of author-cartoonist Herge, the pen name of Georges Remi who created the Tintin series.
The book is the second in a series of 23 tracing the adventures of Tintin, an intrepid reporter, and his dog, Snowy. The series has sold 220 million copies worldwide and been translated in 77 languages.
But
Tintin in the Congo has been widely criticised as racist by fans and critics alike.
In it, Remi depicts the white hero's adventures in the Congo against the backdrop of an idiotic, chimpanzee-like native population that eventually comes to worship Tintin – and his dog – as gods.
Remi later said he was embarrassed by the book, and some editions have had the more objectionable content removed.
When an unexpurgated edition was brought out in Britain in 2005, it came wrapped with a warning and was written with a forward explaining the work's colonial context.
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