2 US comic books banned in Canada as antireligious

October 27, 1981

Canada has banned two issues of comic books published in Los Angeles because of their virulent attacks on Roman Catholicism, the Customs and Excise Department reports. It was the first time foreign publications were banned on grounds of religious hatred. Pornography is the most common reason for seizures.

Customs department lawyers decided to ban the comics ''Double Cross'' and ''The Big Betrayal.'' They were judged antireligious and immoral because of the violence of their attacks on Roman Catholicism. A customs spokesman refused to give examples of the attacks.