Communist Era

Useful Tips About The Comic Book Code Authority

The comic code authority was formed in 1954 because people assumed the comic industry was becoming too graphic and violent. The content was deemed inappropriate for the populace. Some of the limitations included the falsification of the police, judges and government delegates. Additionally, the drawings of vampires and werewolves were taboo. Titles could not use terminology like “horror” or “terror”.

While the comic book authority had no legal jurisdiction over the comic book publishers, they yielded a large influence. Some comic book companies went out of business while others prospered. The restrictions placed were meant to help society deal with the comic book industry. Society started to loosen some of the taboos of that time, and the furor over the language advised the loosened marks wanted to be reined in. In such times, it becomes required to have a look at why the comic book code authority was set up. In 1954, McCarthyism was at the peak. Censorship abounded and the who, what, why, where and when all dealt with Communism. A natural branch with that scenario was the printed material. While there aren’t any direct links to such a statement, one must consider what was transpiring in the period. Stars were blacklisted if assumed outside of traditional standards. Comic books could have linked the publisher with Communist propaganda if the material was considered subversive in nature. Again, this is conjecture on my side. Any words or statements can be intentionally misconstrued and false analogies can be applied.

Another distinguished reason is a book penned by Dr. Frederic Wertham titled ‘The seduction of the trusting ‘. In the book, Dr. Wertham espoused that the super hero genre had helped incite the rise of young people’s misbehavior. The public chorus of disapproval was pivotal in the implementation of the comic book code authority. Both issues helped sustain the requirement for a thing to be done.

The mindset was in place till the 1960′s with the appearance of the flower kid age. Without the suppression, underground comics took on a life of their own. They developed comic books that were distributed through unconventional means. That process enabled the fledging comic industry not to stick to the limitations the comic code recommended. In 1971 Stan Lee, the editor- in -chief did a 3 part mini-series of Spiderman that showed banned drug taking. The code said that the subject of drug taking was taboo, so Stan Lee took the seal off for the 3 issues and then put it back on. That took a large amount of bravery to defy the code. Considering the wide spread use of illicit drug use, that was an important step. If a subject that’s debatable is banned in comics, then how does one draw attention to its negative side is affecting? That was the quandary the comic code authority faced. It didn’t wish to become unimportant.

In the 2000′s the influence of the comic book code started to diminish. More and more publishers wanted to branch out and create comic books that illustrated topics that were more controversial.

The comic code authority of today isn’t what it used to be. Wonder comics no longer align themselves. Instead, they created their own code. Some of DC comics still submit to the comic book authority, but will publish it despite their ruling. Archie comics frequently send their cartoon books to the comic authority for approval.

What had once been a strong and distinguished organisation has been reduced to a minor player in the comic book world.

KMT from Chiang’s Anti-Communist Era to “China Friendly Ma”