Posted in: Comics | Tagged: black kiss, britain, Comics, customs, diamond, howard chaykin, image, uk

Diamond Comics Bans Black Kiss 2 In Britain Permanently For Fear Of Customs

Bleeding Cool first told you that Black Kiss 2 #1 by Howard Chaykin was going to be more sexually explicit than many had previously thought, then that it  had been held by UK Customs, while Diamond UK negotiated a release the week after, with a note to retailers reminding them of the adult nature of certain scenes in the comic book. We also reported on the book being released the following week, where it instantly sold out from most comic stores. A second print was released and was on the way.

Not any more. Nor any other issue of the series.

The following letter has been sent by Diamond UK to British comic retailers and reported exclusively here;

Retailers will be aware that the first issue of Howard Chaykin's Black Kiss II was rather explicit compared to other comics distributed by Diamond UK. We at Diamond have now had the opportunity to review the second issue and the explicitness has not diminished at all! In fact there are scenes depicted which may fall foul of UK Customs' regulations on the importing of indecent and obscene material. Consequently Diamond has taken the decision not to distribute any further issues of Black Kiss II in the UK.

Had Diamond UK continued to import this title and encountered problems with Customs, it could have had a knock-on effect on the timely distribution of all titles in the UK. A situation wanted by no one.

All orders for Black Kiss II #2  along with Black Kiss II #1, have been cancelled by Diamond UK. Black Kiss II #1 will be made returnable at a later date. Please look out for details in Discussions.

Retailers wishing to read more on Customs' regulations should check the HMRC website:

Black Kiss 2 is published by Image Comics, who have an exclusive distribution deal with Diamond, so they are unable to sell it to another distributor, who might be willing to take a chance. Image trade paperbacks are also distributed in the UK through Diamond, so it is unlikely the trade paperback will make it through that way.

As a result, the grey market will most likely take up the challenge, with certain US stores sub-distrubuting to UK stores, against Diamond's guidelines but not against the law. So copies will be available, but later, and at greater expense.

Or you could download it. Neither Diamond nor Customs would be able to stop that…

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