The Comics Code Authority was created to censor the content in comic books. Some parents believed that comic books are on the most persuasive influential media forms of the 20th century popular culture. They also believed that the content inside of the comic books led to juvenile delinquency. If children and teens seen the use of drugs in comic books then they would start using drugs. The pictures drawn in comics during the golden age displayed strong sexual content including barely dressed women. During WWII comic books reflected the war and its violence. After WWII violent crime horror comics were introduced. In 1950 the Cincinnati (OH) Parents Committee established a rating system for comic books. The rating system was based on their own criteria for art, writing, printing and content.
In September 1954 comic book publishers created the Code of Comics Magazine Associations in an attempt to self- regulate themselves before somebody else did it for them. They created a logo, and any comic book that had the logo on it met that it conformed to the code. The code was created to appease a white middle class America, which wanted to maintain its values and morals. Wertham did not endorse the code, he questioned the ability for comic book publishers to regulate itself. Comic book creators desired artistic freedom. They wanted to be able to draw what they wanted in there own books. You had the choice to look at it or not.
The Essay on Censorship in Comic Books
In an age of video-game violence and the nearly-anything-goes Internet, it’s instructive to read that once upon a time, not that long ago, Congress was concerned about what was widely viewed as a serious menace to American youth: comic books. David Hajdu’s The Ten-Cent Plague is both cultural history and cautionary tale about censorship. It’s a well-written, detailed look at how ...
