Some people just want to see the world burn. Even if it’s just to rebuild it on the ashes of its blatant injustice. One of these people who always seem to be out to make trouble, who just can’t stay away from controversy is indie publisher Karl Andersson. Not too long ago he pointed out the hypocrisy & utter hysteria within the modern queer culture when it comes to teenage boys with his infamous Destroyer Journal (and using Comic Sans in its blog’s header wasn’t the only controversy about it ;)
But now that Destroyer is (queer) history, Karl couldn’t keep his feet still. In-between several trips to Japan he found the time to not only bring something to Europe’s bookshops that was hardly ever seen there before, he’s also making a point in a political & cultural debate that is dividing (not only) Europe’s gay culture, art scene and literary circles. It’s the debate about not only a legal issue but a matter that will be a crucial part in forming our future; a matter of free speech & common sense.
He is publishing what is, as far as I can tell, the first commercially distributed shota manga in Europe: Entartete Shota 01 by Japanese manga artist Tsukumo Gou, translated to English by Karl and, unlike in Japan, uncensored. As he explains on his blog “Shotacon (shota) comics are drawings of young boys having sex. The genre is popular among male as well as female readers in Japan, and the artists too are of both sexes. The girl equivalent is called lolicon (loli).”
Even though no real boys are involved at any point in the the production of shota manga, they are illegal in many countries. The Supreme Court of Sweden, Karl’s homeland, is about to decide if these laws, which you could just as well use to ban thousands of years old depictions of boy sex in classical art, are constitutional. A decision that could become a precedent for the world.
If you want to become a part of this little piece of queer history you can order one of the 500 available issues at I <3 Mags or win one right here. Just leave a comment under this post and let us know if you think shota should be legal or not and explain why you think so. We’ll pick a random winner tomorrow!
