Zero limestone ended up at the center of controversy again but this time the issue took on an international dimension. It all started from a photo that the cartoonist took at Lucca Comics with the Japanese man Hideo Kojimawho video game fans will know as the creator of the Metal Gear saga. Zerocalcare said in a video that he was a fan of Kojima and so, as soon as he had the opportunity, the photo was taken with the Japanese.
All beautiful and all normal, except that Kojima, in the photo, is holding the Japanese version of the comic Kobane Calling, written and illustrated by Zerocalcare, focused on the resistance of Kurdish defenders (Ypg and Ypj) of Rojava in Kobane. It was 2015 and at that time a ferocious war was being fought on the border with Syria against ISIS. It seems like an innocent image, so much so that it is shared lightly by both in their respective profiles, with the usual courtesy phrases. Nothing special, nothing excessive. Yet, that photo from the Japanese man’s profile disappears in a few hours. What happened? That image also ended up in Turkey where Kojima has a large following and there he was accused of publishing images in support of terrorism precisely because of the volume of Zerocalcare comics he holds in his hands. In fact, by the government parties, Zerocalcare’s work was considered close to “Pkk“, a Kurdish organization classified as “terrorist” by the Turkish government.
Kojima’s post is considered an insult to Turkey and before the diplomatic case can explode the designer not only deletes the photo but also takes care to relaunch a statement in which he distances himself from the cartoonist, declaring that “there is no personal or professional relationship between the two. The photo was taken at the Lucca Comics & Games headquarters, after a brief presentation through a mutual acquaintance. Neither Mr. Kojima nor Kojima Productions were aware of Mr. Zerocalcare’s works or political positions, nor was there any intent to express support for any position or opinion. In light of some misunderstandings that have emerged in some news reported by the media and on social networks, we would like to take this opportunity to accurately report the facts“.
The political crisis that threatened to trigger between Japan and Turkey seems to have subsided, given that the two countries are allies and in all this the position of Zerocalcare remains, whose heart perhaps broke its idol. “Never meet your heroes,” goes the old adage.