Part Three - Comic Code Authority
To halt the pressure of government censorship, comic book publishers came together to form the Comic Code Authority.
Publishers believed, with some justification, that they had better set their houses in order before the federal government stepped in to do it for them
The Authority would employ stringent regulations on the comic book industry, hoping to prove to the world that the comic book industry was cleaning up its act.
Funded by assessments against the member publishers, the Comic Code Authority set up a small staff of readers. Every page of every comic book submitted for the CCA seal of approval was read and approved by these readers…
This meant that the industry would have to pay to censor itself.
After the self-censorship, many publishers went out of business. These publishers found that they could not rely on the crime, horror and romance novels for sales. Those books would not have passed the Code. Plus, parents had become weary of them. So, publishers found themselves in a dilemma. What would they produce next? This question led to the ’silver age’ of comic books.
The silver age is related to the birth of Marvel Comics in the early 60s and the Fantastic Four, the first new super-hero book published by the company. This is also the beginning of what some call the new commercialism of comics. The readership of comics fell dramatically after 1955. Comics were now being sold in small markets, followed by a devout group of readers. The new comics were “wholesome.” This can be seen in the Batman comic which, by the 60s, had lost its Gothic edge, becoming little more than a copy of the television series, loud and campy.
Political statements, which ran throughout the golden age comics, would not be seen in the silver age. There was not a mention of the Vietnam War in most of these comics until well after it ended. A new “underground” grew with Gilbert Shelton and the “Fabulous Freak Brothers,” and R. Crumb. Comic books by the end of the 60s showed a homogenized public face, while an even nastier underground grew underneath.
Before 1954, the industry sold over 50 million books. In the present day, most comic book sales come from the direct market, a group of specialty stores across the nation devoted to the selling of comics and other popular art. The Comics Code has been weakened with many independent companies not submitting material to be approved. The industry is becoming more diversified with new companies growing to the prominence of the big two. And Wertham, he has become a name in history, his book less respected than the comics that it vilified.
Wikipedia
The Original Code
1971 Revision
1989 Revision
Recently
Leave a Reply