Days after BL author, JAXX, issued an apology for their newest series, Song of the Wasteland, publisher platform Manta Comics followed suit. Shortly after JAXX’s statement and social media posts, Manta Comics took down any online promotions for the series. This included the trailer preview as well as the campaign setup for Song of the Wasteland‘s full release, which would have been on June 30th, 2026.
Although the work has been taken down and both the publisher and author having issued an apology, responses on social media have been heavily divided. One group pushing that the work should’ve never never been made in the first place, while the other telling fans that the matter is resolved.
Others have decided to start a Change.org petition in an attempt to bring back the series. Though, often with many online petitions, the signatures on this particular subject is unlikely to create any change for fans, the author, Manta Comics, and RIDI Corporation. As of writing this post, the petition only garnered 1,686 verified signatures.
But an absurd request from this petition is for the publisher, Ridibooks (RIDI Corporation), release the series “with territorial restrictions (geoblocking) for sensitive regions, rather than completely shutting down a project.” This belittles the lived experiences and concerns over offensive portrayals of colonialism and racism that led to the decision to cancel the work in the first place. It’s an example of fans who care more about smut than the legitimate concerns by readers.
Manta Comics’ full statement from the platform’s website is transcribed below:
Dear readers,
After announcing the upcoming release of <Song of the Wasteland>, we heard concerns from many members of our community about the series and our decision to publish it.
We’ve taken the time to reflect on your feedback, and we’d like to address it directly.
The concerns you raised about this series,
including its treatment of slavery, its portrayal of Indigenous peoples, and the romanticization of a history that has caused, and continues to cause, pain that still echoes today, are serious and legitimate. We’re deeply sorry to everyone who was hurt or disappointed.Whenever we choose to translate and publish a series, we have a responsibility as a platform to carefully evaluate whether it is appropriate for our audience. In the case of <Song of the Wasteland>, we fell short of that responsibility.
We also recognize that the way we presented the series, including its promotional messaging, did not reflect the level of care that this subject matter required.
We heard your concerns and took the time to reevaluate our decision. As a result, we’ve decided not to move forward with releasing <Song of the Wasteland> on Manta. We’ll also be removing the series page from our platform.
We’re also aware that this situation has been deeply distressing, particularly for members of our community with personal connections to this history.
We regret the distress that resulted from our decision, and we’re deeply sorry to everyone who was affected.
We’ll use what we’ve learned to strengthen our review process and apply greater care when evaluating series involving sensitive historical and cultural contexts.
We know an apology cannot undo the hurt this caused. Regaining your trust will require consistent action. We’re committed to that.
We’re deeply sorry.
Source: Manta Comics
