Memin Pinguin. -Contributed

Retail giant Wal-Mart, which owns Asda, has removed a comic which features a black boy with the face of a monkey from its shelves after angry complaints.

Memin Pinguin, the lead character in Mexico's popular and long-running comic book series, is to be taken from the Spanish language sections of American Wal-Mart stores after a shocked black customer, Shawnedria McGinty, and others complained.

McGinty voiced her objections after spotting the latest book in the series, called Memin para Presidente, on sale at a local Wal-Mart store in Texas. "I said, wait a minute: Is this a monkey or a little black boy? I was so upset. This is 2008," she told local reporters.

Wal-Mart spokesperson, Lorenzo Lopez, told The Los Angeles Times: "We understand that Memin is a popular figure in Mexico. However, given the sensitivities to the negative image Memin can convey to some, we felt that it was best to no longer carry the item in our stores."

Black Americans feel Memin's exaggerated lips and ape-like characteristics are negative stereotypes which hail back to a racist period in history.