A Brief History of Comic Book Censorship
Since the publication of Famous Funnies: a Carnival of Comics, the first modern comic, in 1933, comics have been linked to youth culture. As popularity grew into the late 40’s and early 50’s, so did the criticism and fears about their influence on adolescents.
Crime and horror genre comics drew much of the public’s criticism for their depictions of criminal behavior and excessive bloodshed.
Anti-comic groups all over the United States held public events collecting comics and in some cases burning them. At a comic burning in Binghamton, New York in 1948 over 2,000 comics were destroyed.
In 1953 the Senate Judiciary Committee announced that they would hold hearings about comic books and its connection to juvenile delinquency. Televised hearings were held in New York on April 21st & 22nd , 1954.
Child psychologist Fredric Wertham aided the argument linking comics and juvenile delinquency. From 1948-1953, Wertham wrote articles published in popular magazines that helped build the public’s criticism of comics. In 1954, Wertham’s book Seduction of the Innocent: the Influence of Comic Books on Today’s Youth was released.
The Senate Judiciary Committee concluded that more research was needed on the connection between comics & juvenile delinquency. However, the comic book industry had been pushed into action by forming its own regulatory group the Comic Code Authority.
Wertham’s claims were later proven false (see Documents in the Social Welfare History Archives help uncover the hidden history of comic book censorship in the United States for more information).
Highlights from the Comic Code of 1954
*If crime is depicted it shall be as a sordid and unpleasant activity.
*In every instance good shall triumph over evil and the criminal punished for his misdeeds.
*Scenes of excessive violence shall be prohibited.
*No comic magazine shall use the words “horror” or “terror” in its title.
*All scenes of horror, excessive bloodshed, gory or gruesome crimes, depravity, lust, sadism, masochism shall not be permitted.
*Scenes dealing with, or instruments associated with walking dead, torture, vampires and vampirism, ghouls, cannibalism, and werewolfism are prohibited.
*Females shall be drawn realistically without exaggeration of any physical qualities.
*Seduction and rape shall never be shown or suggested.
*Sex perversion or any inference to same is strictly
forbidden.
Selected Timeline of the Comic Code Authority
*In 1954 the Comic Magazine Association of America adopted the Comic Code as a way to regulate the content of comics
*Comics that were suitable for all ages were given the CCA seal to displayed on their covers
*The Comics Code was revised in 1971 after a Spiderman story arc about drug abuse was published without approval
*The 1971 revision also made it so comics could feature vampires, mummies, ghouls and werewolves. Zombies remained prohibited.
*The Comics Code was once again revised in 1989 allowing comics to have openly gay characters
*Marvel opted out of the Comics Code in 2001 and adopted an in-house rating system
*DC & Archie comics opted out of the Code in 2011, thus ending the Comics Code Authority
*In 2011, with the Comics Code Authority defunct, the rights to the CCA seal were given to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund
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