Al_Naipo's Blog

Mexican comic book sold at Wal-Mart called 'racist'

11:46 AM CDT on Tuesday, July 8, 2008

By Jeremy Desel / KHOU-TV




KHOU-TV's Jeremy Desel reports
July 8, 2008
MORE: News 8 video
View larger E-mail Clip More Video HOUSTON -- Shawnedria McGinty was not sure what to think when she found a copy of the comic book series “Memin Pinguin” on the shelves at her local Wal-Mart. After flipping through the pages of the popular Mexican comic book, however, one word came to mind – racist.

“OK, is it a monkey or a boy? Curiosity. So, I opened the book up,” she said. “This is, you know, rude.

“To me it was an insult. Then I saw the cover of this one and thought, (was it) against (presidential contender Barack) Obama or what?”

Head south of the border though, and you get a different reaction to “Memin Pinguin.” Historically, the character has been hugely popular on newsstands in Mexico and Latin American nations, with sales in the millions.

Also Online



What do you think about Memin Pinguin?

It's racist. Wal-Mart should pull it from the shelves


It's a part of the Mexican culture. Let it be






Tell Us: More Surveys
It was originally published in the 1960s, but has recently been re-issued and available on the shelves in Wal-Marts north of the border.

“They are calling him names. They call him an animal in one section. His mom is spanking his butt and it looks like they are drowning him,” said McGinty, who went so far as to buy a Spanish to English dictionary to better understand what was being said in the serial.