Apple apparently did not ban a Saga comic being published through the ComiXology iOS app over "two postage-stamp sized images of gay sex." Instead, it was the folks behind ComiXology itself who declined to publish the comic based on an assumption that Apple would frown on it, according to a new blog post published by ComiXology.

Allegations spread like wildfire on Tuesday that Apple had cracked down on illustrated depictions of gay sex while allowing similar depictions of heterosexual sex in the past. Saga creator Brian K. Vaughan wrote a blog post on the topic yesterday, claiming that Apple had decided to flat-out ban the publication of Saga issue #12—which is currently available through Apple's iBookstore—and explained where users could find the issue outside of Apple's app store. He also pushed his own digital comics site, "which remains 100% uncensored by corporate overlords."

Observers got swept up in the hubbub, largely because there was a simultaneous hubbub over another app called AppGratis that had been removed from the iOS App Store for violating several App Store guidelines (like pushing marketing from within the app, for example). But, as it turns out, the outrage over Saga was misplaced, as clarified by ComiXology's David Steinberger

"In the last 24 hours there has been a lot of chatter about Apple banning Saga #12 from our Comics App on the Apple App Store due to depictions of gay sex. This is simply not true, and we’d like to clarify," Steinberger wrote. "As a partner of Apple, we have an obligation to respect its policies for apps and the books offered in apps. Based on our understanding of those policies, we believed that Saga #12 could not be made available in our app, and so we did not release it today.

"We did not interpret the content in question as involving any particular sexual orientation, and frankly that would have been a completely irrelevant consideration under any circumstance," Steinberger continued. "Given this, it should be clear that Apple did not reject Saga #12. After hearing from Apple this morning, we can say that our interpretation of its policies was mistaken. You’ll be glad to know that Saga #12 will be available on our App Store app soon."

Apple did not comment on the Saga situation, but did point us to ComiXology's blog post on the matter. As for AppGratis, Apple has not commented publicly on that matter either, but sources claim the company plans to crack down harder on App Store rule violations.