BRAZILIAN newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo published a same-sex couple kissing on the front of its weekend edition in defiance of “homophobic” Rio de Janeiro mayor Marcelo Crivella’s ban on LGBT-themed books.

It ran the picture along with the headline: “Crivella tries to censor comic with a gay kiss but is barred.”

Mr Crivella banned the sale of a comic book featuring a gay kiss at a book fair, claiming it was “unsuitable for minors.”

Brazil’s biggest-selling newspaper reproduced the cartoon depicting a kiss between two male superheroes from the popular Avengers comic-book series.

The Avengers: The Children’s Crusade comic by Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung was due to go on sale at the Rio International Book Biennial.

But Mr Crivella claimed the image would “spread homosexuality to children.” He claimed he would “protect our children” by removing the “books with content that is unsuitable for minors.”

But his move appeared to have backfired: all copies of the comic book sold out.

Marvel artist Mr Cheung hit out at the mayor. He said: “The LGBTQ community is here to stay, and I have nothing but love and support for those who continue to struggle for validity and a voice to be heard.”