The popular United Kingdom comic book convention, Thought Bubble, recently announced that Frank Miller will no longer be part of the upcoming convention following a great deal of social media criticism of the decision to have Miller be a featured guest. The criticism ramped up when ShortBox publisher Zainab Akhtar announced that she would be pulling out of the show due to Miller's presence, as Akhtar felt that the show did not address her concerns about what she found to be Islamophobic rhetoric in Miller's work, particularly the controversial 2011 graphic novel Holy Terror, a reaction to 9/11 that most critics find highly Islamophobic.The pressure introduced following Akhtar's decision to not attend the show eventually led to an announcement that Miller would no longer be a guest.RELATED: Frank Miller’s Sin City Gets Deluxe 30th Anniversary CollectionsMiller's involvement was first announced in early June, with a new poster for the November 2021 convention...Akhtar immediately expressed her concerns about Miller's inclusion, and allegedly other exhibitors did the same, but nothing had changed by July 27th, which is when Akhtar announced on social media that she was pulling out of the show due to Miller's involvement, stating:

Hello everyone,

I am sorry to inform you that ShortBox and I will no longer be attending Thought Bubble festival this November. I was invited as a guest in 2020 which rolled over to this year. I have been excited to attend, represent my authors, and share our books with readers after almost 2 years of no conventions. However, as a proud Muslim woman, I cannot in good conscience attend a festival that deems it appropriate to invite and platform Frank Miller, a person who is responsible for the propagation of abhorrent anti-Muslim hate, particularly via his work. Anti-Muslim bigotry is repugnant and condemnable yet has become so deeply rooted, so widely accepted in society that it is not even given a cursory consideration, as evidenced once again in this situation. I cannot comprehend how time and time again, festivals and communities within comics espouse values regarding inclusivity, diversity, ‘comics being for everyone’, zero tolerance of hate, but all that lip-service evaporates when they are asked to enact those same values.

Once Akhtar pulled out of the show, more comic book creators started to express similar viewpoints.

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Thought Bubble then announced a day later that Miller would not be a guest at the convention.

It is worth noting that nothing was actually done until Akhbar pulled out of the show, a fact that did not escape her notice, stating " “I was used to do TB’s dirty work for them, and as an acceptable sacrifice in order for them to garner and provide ‘proof’ to Miller’s team and extract themselves from the situation.”

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Source: Thought Bubble, via The Beat