The artist of an Avengers comic targeted by the mayor of Rio de Janeiro for featuring a gay kiss has called on the people of Brazil to focus on “ways to unite, rather than help sow the seeds of conflict and division”.

Rio de Janeiro’s evangelical mayor, Marcelo Crivella, initially ordered the Brazilian book fair Bienal do Livro to wrap copies of Avengers: The Children’s Crusade in black plastic, then sent city hall inspectors to the event to seize copies of the book, along with others containing LGBTQ content. The Marvel comic, which was published in 2010, includes a kiss between two male characters, Wiccan and Hulkling, who are in a committed relationship.

Crivella said the move was intended to “defend the family”, adding on Twitter yesterday: “It is not censorship or homophobia as many people think … We just want to protect our children, fight in defence of Brazilian families, and comply with the law.”

But as demonstrators marched on the event, copies of LGBTQ books at the fair sold out. YouTuber Felipe Neto also gave away thousands of copies of books with LGBTQ themes at the fair, wrapped in plastic with the warning: “Book inappropriate for backward … and prejudiced people.” He told the Guardian on Sunday that although Brazil’s far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, leads “the most frightening government in terms of repression since the dictatorship, this time we have a united and engaged people who will not permit that censorship, the imposition of others’ moral values.”

On Sunday, Brazil’s supreme court subsequently ruled that Avengers: The Children’s Crusade could be sold, after a previous court decision had permitted the ban.

Jim Cheung, who illustrated the comic, said he was surprised to learn that a work that is almost a decade old had been sought out by the mayor for “alleged inappropriate material”.

The scene, he said, “merely depicts a tender moment between two characters who are in an established relationship”, and the fact the book “is now being drawn into the spotlight by the mayor perhaps only highlights how out of touch he might be with the current times”.

“I hope the beautiful people of Brazil, the wonderfully diverse and proud nation, will see through this political ‘noise’ and place their focus on the light, and on ways to unite, rather than help sow the seeds of conflict and division,” Cheung wrote on Instagram.

“As an artist, my passion is to tell stories; stories of great heroism, compassion and love, with as authentic and diverse characters as possible. Characters that depict every walk of life and colour, whether they be black or white, brown, yellow or green … 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.”