DC Comics deleted social media postings last week featuring a promotional image from the upcoming Dark Knight Returns: The Golden Child one-shot by Frank Miller and Rafael Grampa after receiving numerous complaints from Chinese commenters.
The comments said the image looked like it supported the pro-Democracy protests currently occurring in Hong Kong. The Global Times out of China said it “implied its support of Hong Kong’s rioters,” noting that many critics saw “Batman’s gesture as supportive of Hong Kong’s unrest and violence.”
Grampa, the artist of the piece, had a one-word response to the attention the piece received: “Surreal.” Here’s the image in question:
While DC deleted it from Twitter and Instagram, Grampa’s remained on his account:
The image uses artwork from one of the many variant covers for the one-shot; here’s what that cover looks like:
While DC has not commented on the controversy publicly, Bleeding Cool notes the cover has not been pulled by the publisher.
The issue arrives in comic shops Dec. 11.