Marvel Will Discipline Artist Who Sneaked Political Messages Into X-Men
Marvel mentioned him in promotional materials for X-Men Gold before it debuted last week, and in an interview published on Marvel.com last month, Mr. Syaf said the job was "like a dream come true." Mr. Syaf did not respond to an email seeking comment on Sunday,
but he did address the controversy in a since-deleted Facebook post, according to ComicBook.com, a website that closely follows the comic book industry.
On Saturday, Marvel said that it would remove artwork from the first issue of X-Men Gold, part of a reboot of the X-Men franchise, after readers in Indonesia raised alarm bells on Reddit
and elsewhere on social media about what they said were anti-Christian and anti-Semitic messages in some panels of the comic.
"This artwork will be removed from subsequent printings, digital versions,
and trade paperbacks and disciplinary action is being taken." Marvel did not specify what disciplinary action it would take against Mr. Syaf, a freelance artist who has been penciling comics for Marvel and other companies since 2007, according to his personal website.
In a statement, the company said the artwork "was inserted without knowledge behind its reported meanings." "These implied references do not reflect the views of the writer, editors or anyone else at Marvel
and are in direct opposition of the inclusiveness of Marvel Comics and what the X-Men have stood for since their creation," the statement added.
By LIAM STACKAPRIL 10, 2017
The X-Men have battled evil mutants, killer robots and alien invaders,
but now one of the most venerable franchises in the Marvel universe has found itself embroiled in a new — and unexpected — conflict: the religious and political tensions in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation.
The messages that jumped out to readers in Indonesia appeared to refer to political frictions there over Basuki
Tjahaja Purnama, who is the first Christian governor of Jakarta, the capital, in more than 50 years.