Singapore Bans 'Archie' Comics Over Same-Sex Wedding

The very progressive and legendary comic book series "Archie" has gained notoriety over the last few years for exploring controversial issues, like gun control and same-sex marriage. But it's the latter hot-button topic that sparked leaders in Singapore to ban the series in the Southeast Asian island country.

Jezebel points to a report by P. Nash Jenkins of Time magazine, who said the ban is a result of a crackdown on publications that highlight homosexuality. The country's Media Development Authority guidelines do not allow material containing "alternative lifestyles or deviant sexual practices," including homosexually, group sex and sadomasochism.

The team behind "Archie" comics created the spinoff series "Archie: The Married Life" and the series' first openly gay character, Kevin Keller, in 2010. Writer Dan Parent even earned a GLAAD Media Award last year for his work on the comic books. But that didn't do anything to please Singapore officials.

"[We]... found its content to be in breach of guidelines because of its depiction of the same sex marriage of two characters in the comic," an MDA spokesperson said in a statement to TIME. "We thus informed the local distributor not to import or distribute the comic in retail outlets."

Jezebel notes the MDA censored the comic earlier this year but news of the ban is just surfacing.

Archie made headlines earlier this week when it was revealed that Riverdale's main character would die in an upcoming issue after taking a bullet for Keller, his best friend.