Simpsons comic suspended over beer

Vilnius - A Lithuanian company has said that it had frozen publication of the local version of The Simpsons comic after a fine for advertising Duff beer, the fictional favourite of anti-hero Homer Simpson.

"The fine led the company to take the decision to temporarily suspend publication," Indre Pavilonyte of Media Incognito told AFP.

Lithuania's advertising watchdog slapped a penalty of 10 000 litas ($4 100) on the company, she confirmed.

In both the original cartoon show and the comic, hapless Simpson family father Homer can rarely resist his beloved Duff.

Pavilonyte confirmed a report in the Lithuanian daily Verslo Zinios that the fine came after the watchdog ruled that actual Duff beer was sold in Argentina, Mexico, Spain, Portugal and Germany.

The spin-off Duff is reportedly not licensed by US cartoonist and Simpson creator, Matt Groening.

Media Incognito is seeking ways to resume publication without breaching Lithuanian laws banning advertisements for alcohol in the media.

However, US company Bongo Comics, which licenses local versions of the comic, does not allow content changes.

The monthly Lithuanian version, Simpsonai, had a circulation of 10 000 in the Baltic nation of 3.2 million.