HOUSTON -- A popular Mexican comic book seen by some as racist will no longer be available at Wal-Mart.

“ Memin Pinguin,” a comic book that has sold millions on newsstands in Mexico and Latin America, features a character that is meant to be Cuban.

But many feel the character plays to racist stereotypes.

“This is poking fun at the physical features of an entire people. Making them look buffoonish (and) portraying the young (black) kid as stupid,” said local activist Quanell X. “Whenever they are beating him, they are referring to him as Negro. Even here when he is being punched, slapped (he is called) Negro. This is a disgrace.”

Wal-Mart told 11 News Wednesday that they plan to take the comic book off their shelves immediately.

The retailer released a statement Wednesday about the decision to remove the comic.

“Wal-Mart received a customer complaint regarding the availability of the Memin book, based on a cartoon character popular in Mexico, and recently made available in Wal-Mart stores as part of a series of Spanish-language titles.  Because we take customer concerns seriously, we have decided to no longer distribute this product in our stores and are in the process of removing existing copies from store shelves.

“Wal-Mart carries a wide array of products that reflect the wants and needs of Hispanic customers.  And we understand that Memin is a popular figure in Mexico.  However, given the sensitivity to the negative image Memin can portray to some, we felt that it was best to no longer carry the item in our stores.  We apologize to those customers who may have been offended by the book’s images,” the statement read.

Wal-Mart says the re-releases of the 1960s comics of Memin fell into its national distribution system, with a group of Spanish language titles. Those titles would be placed according to the demographics of the stores all over the country.

The serial was originally published in the 1960s, but was recently re-issued and stocked at the retail chain.

This latest incident was not the first time the comic has stirred up controversy.

The character spurred debate in 2005 when the Mexican government issued a stamp commemorating Memin. At the time, many U.S. activists and political figures called the character racist.

The Mexican government protested the characterizations, asserting that Americans simply do not understand Memin’s cultural significance in Mexico.