Comics Code Authority

Last updated
The Comics Code seal Approved by the Comics Code Authority.gif
The Comics Code seal

The Comics Code Authority (CCA) was formed in 1954 by the Comics Magazine Association of America as an alternative to government regulation. The CCA enabled comic publishers to self-regulate the content of comic books in the United States. The code was voluntary, as there was no law requiring its use, although some advertisers and retailers looked to it for reassurance. Some publishers, including Dell, Western, and Classics Illustrated, never used it. Its code, commonly called "the Comics Code", lasted until the early 21st century. The CC formation followed a moral panic centered around a series of Senate hearings and the publication of psychiatrist Fredric Wertham's book Seduction of the Innocent .

Contents

Members submitted comics to the CCA, which screened them for adherence to its code, then authorized the use of their seal on the cover if the book was found to be in compliance. At the height of its influence, it was a de facto censor for the entire U.S. comic book industry, with most comics requiring a seal to be published. [1] [2]

By the early 2000s, publishers bypassed the CCA and Marvel Comics abandoned it in 2001. By 2010, only three major publishers still adhered to it: DC Comics, Archie Comics, and Bongo Comics. Bongo broke with the CCA in 2010. DC and Archie followed in January 2011, rendering the code completely defunct. [3] [4] [5]

Founding

Los Angeles councilman Ernest Debs holding horror and crime comics purchased in his district (Los Angeles Daily News, 1954) Councilman Ernest Debs with comic books (LA Daily News 1954).jpg
Los Angeles councilman Ernest Debs holding horror and crime comics purchased in his district ( Los Angeles Daily News , 1954)

The Comics Magazine Association of America (CMAA) was formed in September 1954 in response to a widespread public concern over graphic violence and horror imagery in comic books. [6] It named New York magistrate Charles F. Murphy (1920–1992), a specialist in juvenile delinquency, to head the organization and devise a self-policing "code of ethics and standards" for the industry. [6] He established the Comics Code Authority (CCA), basing its code upon the largely unenforced code drafted by the Association of Comics Magazine Publishers in 1948, which in turn had been modeled loosely after the 1940 Hollywood Production Code, also known as the "Hays Code". [7]

Before the CCA was adopted, some cities already had organized public burnings and bans on comic books. [8] The city councils of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Houston, Texas, passed ordinances banning crime and horror comics, although an attempt by Los Angeles County, California, was deemed unconstitutional by the courts. [6]

In his introduction to Archie Americana Series Best of the Fifties, editor Victor Gorelick reminisced about the code, writing, "My first assignment, as a new art assistant, was to remove cleavages and lift up low cut blouses on Katy Keene." [9] He also wrote of Archie artist Harry Lucey that, "His sometimes suggestive storytelling – and he was one of the best – almost cost him his job. When his pencilled stories came in, the characters were dressed on one page only. The inker, a woman by the name of Terry Szenics, would have to clothe them on the remaining pages." [10]

Although the CCA had no official control over the comics publishers, most distributors refused to carry comics which did not carry the seal. [11] However, two major publishers of comics – Dell Comics and Gold Key Comics – did not display the seal, because their output was subject to a higher authority: their licensors which included Walt Disney and the producers of many TV shows aimed at children. [12]

Criticism and enforcement

Some publishers thrived under these restrictions, while others adapted by cancelling titles and focusing on code-approved content; still others went out of business. In practice, the negative effect of not having CCA approval was lack of distribution by the comic book wholesalers, who, as one historian observed, "served as the enforcement arm of the Comics Code Authority by agreeing to handle only those comics with the seal." [13]

Publisher William Gaines believed that clauses forbidding the words "crime", "horror", and "terror" in comic book titles had been deliberately aimed at his own best-selling titles Crime SuspenStories , The Vault of Horror , and Tales from the Crypt . [14] [15]

Wertham dismissed the code as an inadequate half-measure. [16] Comics analyst Scott McCloud, on the other hand, later commented that it was as if, in drawing up the code, "the list of requirements a film needs to receive a G rating was doubled, and there were no other acceptable ratings!" [17]

"Judgment Day"

In one early confrontation between a comic-book publisher and the code authorities, EC Comics' William Gaines reprinted the story "Judgment Day", from the pre-code Weird Fantasy #18 (April 1953), in Incredible Science Fiction #33 (February 1956). [18] The reprint was a replacement for the Code-rejected story "An Eye for an Eye", drawn by Angelo Torres, [19] though "Judgment Day" was itself also objected to because of the central character being black, despite there being nothing in the Code which prohibited a black protagonist. [18] The story, by writer Al Feldstein and artist Joe Orlando, [19] was an allegory against racial prejudice, a point which was necessarily nullified if the lead character was not black. [18] Following an order by code administrator Judge Charles Murphy to change the final panel, which depicted a black astronaut, Gaines engaged in a heated dispute with Murphy. [20] He threatened to inform the press of Murphy's objection to the story if they did not give the issue the Code Seal, causing Murphy to reverse his initial decision and allow the story to run. Soon after, however, facing the severe restrictions placed upon his comics by the CCA, and with his "New Direction" titles floundering, Gaines quit comic book publishing to concentrate on Mad . [18]

1954 Code criteria

The following shows the complete Code as it stood in 1954: [21]

[21]

1960s–1970s

"Wolfman" and credits

Writer Marv Wolfman's name was briefly a point of contention between DC Comics and the CCA. In the supernatural-mystery anthology House of Secrets #83 (Jan. 1970), the book's host introduces the story "The Stuff that Dreams are Made of" as one told to him by "a wandering wolfman". (All-capitals comics lettering made no distinction between "wolfman" and "Wolfman".) The CCA rejected the story and flagged the "wolfman" reference as a violation. Fellow writer Gerry Conway explained to the CCA that the story's author was in fact named Wolfman, and asked whether it would still be in violation if that were clearly stated. The CCA agreed that it would not be, as long as Wolfman received a writer's credit on the first page of the story; this led to DC beginning to credit creators in its supernatural-mystery anthologies. [22]

Updating the Code

The Code was revised a number of times during 1971, initially on January 28, to allow for, among other things, the sometimes "sympathetic depiction of criminal behavior... [and] corruption among public officials" ("as long as it is portrayed as exceptional and the culprit is punished") as well as permitting some criminal activities to kill law-enforcement officers and the "suggestion but not portrayal of seduction." [18] The clause "suggestive posture is unacceptable" was removed. Also newly allowed were "vampires, ghouls and werewolves... when handled in the classic tradition such as Frankenstein, Dracula, and other high calibre literary works written by Edgar Allan Poe, Saki, Conan Doyle and other respected authors whose works are read in schools around the world". Zombies, lacking the requisite "literary" background, remained taboo. To get around this restriction, Marvel in the mid-1970s called the apparently deceased, mind-controlled followers of various Haitian supervillains "zuvembies". [23] This practice carried over to Marvel's superhero line: in The Avengers , when the reanimated superhero Wonder Man returns from the dead, he is referred to as a "zuvembie". [24] DC comics published their own zombie story in Swamp Thing #16 (May 1975), where the deceased rise from their graves, while a soul-devouring demon appears in Swamp Thing #15 (April 1975).

Around this time, the United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare approached Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Stan Lee to do a story about drug abuse. [18] Lee agreed and wrote a three-part Spider-Man story, portraying drug use as dangerous and unglamorous. While the Code did not specifically forbid depictions of drugs, a general clause prohibited "All elements or techniques not specifically mentioned herein, but which are contrary to the spirit and intent of the code, and are considered violations of good taste or decency". The CCA had approved at least one previous story involving drugs, the premiere of Deadman in Strange Adventures #205 (Oct. 1967), which clearly depicted the title character fighting opium smugglers (as well as the name "Deadman" being classed as a violation that was eventually allowed). [25] However, Code administrator Leonard Darvin "was ill" at the time of the Spider-Man story, [18] and acting administrator John L. Goldwater (publisher of Archie Comics) refused to grant Code approval because of the depiction of narcotics being used, regardless of the context, [18] whereas the Deadman story had depicted only a wholesale business transaction. [25]

Confident that the original government request would give him credibility, and with the approval of his publisher Martin Goodman, Lee ran the story in The Amazing Spider-Man #96–98 (May–July 1971), without CCA approval. [26] The storyline was well received, and the CCA's argument for denying approval was deemed counterproductive. "That was the only big issue that we had" with the Code, Lee recalled in a 1998 interview:

I could understand them; they were like lawyers, people who take things literally and technically. The Code mentioned that you mustn't mention drugs and, according to their rules, they were right. So I didn't even get mad at them then. I said, 'Screw it' and just took the Code seal off for those three issues. Then we went back to the Code again. I never thought about the Code when I was writing a story, because basically I never wanted to do anything that was to my mind too violent or too sexy. I was aware that young people were reading these books, and had there not been a Code, I don't think that I would have done the stories any differently. [27]

Lee and Marvel drew criticism from DC head Carmine Infantino "for defying the code", stating that DC will not "do any drug stories unless the code is changed". [18] As a result of publicity surrounding the Department of Health, Education and Welfare's sanctioning of the storyline, however, the CCA revised the Code to permit the depiction of "narcotics or drug addiction" if presented "as a vicious habit". DC itself then broached the topic in the Code-approved Green Lantern/Green Arrow #85 (Sept. 1971), with writer Denny O'Neil and artist Neal Adams beginning a story arc involving Green Arrow's teen sidekick Speedy as a heroin addict. A cover line read, "DC attacks youth's greatest problem... Drugs!" [25]

1980s–1990s

Through the 80s and 90s there was a break away from the Comics Code Authority. In 1984 the Comics Code Authority denied Swamp Thing issue #29 the seal of approval, DC decided to continue publishing the title without it. Some subsequent DC series including Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns , both of which premiered in 1986, would launch without ever having had the CCA Seal of approval, and the DC Vertigo imprint in 1993 covered areas including horror and did not launch with CCA approval. [28]

A late adopter of the code was Now Comics, which began displaying the Code seal on titles released in early 1989. [29]

Abandonment and legacy

The CCA rejected an issue of the Marvel Comics series X-Force , requiring changes to be made in 2001. Instead, Marvel stopped submitting its comics to the CCA. [30]

Bongo Comics discontinued using the Code without any announcements regarding its abandonment in 2010. [31]

The CMAA, at some point in the 2000s, was managed by the trade-organization management firm the Kellen Company, which ceased its involvement in 2009. In 2010, some publishers, including Archie, placed the seal on their comics without submitting them to the CMAA. Archie Comics President Mike Pellerito stated that the code did not affect his company the way that it did others as "we aren't about to start stuffing bodies into refrigerators". [32]

DC Comics announced on January 20, 2011, that it would discontinue participation, adopting a rating system similar to Marvel's. [33] The company noted that it submitted comics for approval through December 2010, but would not say to whom they were submitted. [32] A day later, Archie Comics, the only other publisher still participating in the Code, announced it also was discontinuing it, [34] rendering the Code defunct. [35] [36]

The vast majority of advertisers had ceased making decisions on the basis of the CCA stamp over the past few years, according to a January 24, 2011 Newsarama report. Most new publishers to emerge during this time did not join the CCA, regardless of whether their content conformed to its standards. [32]

The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund announced that it would acquire the intellectual property rights to the Comics Code seal from the defunct CMAA on September 29, 2011. [37]

The Comics Code seal can be seen among the production logos in the opening shots of the 2018 superhero film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse , [38] [39] and its 2023 sequel, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse . [40]

Binge Books announced that it had used the seal on the one-shot comic Heroes Union, produced by Roger Stern, Ron Frenz, and Sal Buscema in May 2021. [41]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silver Age of Comic Books</span> Mid-1950s to 70s era of comic books

The Silver Age of Comic Books was a period of artistic advancement and widespread commercial success in mainstream American comic books, predominantly those featuring the superhero archetype. Following the Golden Age of Comic Books, the Silver Age is considered to cover the period from 1956 to 1970, and was succeeded by the Bronze Age.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden Age of Comic Books</span> Late 1930s to mid-50s era of comic books

The Golden Age of Comic Books describes an era in the history of American comic books from 1938 to 1956. During this time, modern comic books were first published and rapidly increased in popularity. The superhero archetype was created and many well-known characters were introduced, including Superman, Batman, Robin, Captain Marvel, Captain America, and Wonder Woman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fredric Wertham</span> German-American psychiatrist (1895–1981)

Fredric Wertham was a German-American psychiatrist and author. Wertham had an early reputation as a progressive psychiatrist who treated poor black patients at his Lafargue Clinic at a time of heightened discrimination in urban mental health practice. Wertham also authored a definitive textbook on the brain, and his institutional stressor findings were cited when courts overturned multiple segregation statutes, most notably in Brown v. Board of Education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marv Wolfman</span> American comic book writer

Marvin Arthur Wolfman is an American comic book and novelization writer. He worked on Marvel Comics's The Tomb of Dracula, for which he and artist Gene Colan created the vampire-slayer Blade, and DC Comics's The New Teen Titans and the Crisis on Infinite Earths limited series with George Pérez.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American comic book</span> Comic book originating in the US

An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of Action Comics, which included the debut of the superhero Superman. This was followed by a superhero boom that lasted until the end of World War II. After the war, while superheroes were marginalized, the comic book industry rapidly expanded and genres such as horror, crime, science fiction and romance became popular. The 1950s saw a gradual decline, due to a shift away from print media in the wake of television and the impact of the Comics Code Authority. The late 1950s and the 1960s saw a superhero revival and superheroes remained the dominant character archetype throughout the late 20th century into the 21st century.

<i>Marvel Spotlight</i> Comic book anthology series

Marvel Spotlight is a comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics as a try-out book. It stood out from Marvel's other try-out books in that most of the featured characters made their first appearance in the series. The series originally ran for 33 issues from November 1971 to April 1977. A second volume ran for 11 issues from July 1979 to March 1981.

The Marvel Comics rating system is a system for rating the content of comic books, with regard to appropriateness for different age groups. In 2001, Marvel Comics withdrew from the Comics Code Authority and established its own rating system for its publications. This was precipitated by the CCA refusing approval of the seal due to the strong depiction of violence in X-Force #116, a comic written by Peter Milligan and drawn by Mike Allred. As well, by withdrawing from the CCA, this is seen as a move by editor-in-chief Joe Quesada to lure more high-profile creators to Marvel Comics. Today's ratings are usually found on the comic's UPC box.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bronze Age of Comic Books</span> Early-70s-to-80s era of comic books

The Bronze Age of Comic Books is an informal name for a period in the history of American superhero comic books, usually said to run from 1970 to 1985. It follows the Silver Age of Comic Books and is followed by the Modern Age of Comic Books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adult comics</span> Comics intended primarily or strictly for adult readers

The catch-all term adult comics typically denotes comic books, comic magazines, comic strips or graphic novels that are marketed either mainly or strictly towards adult readers. This can be because they contain material that could be considered thematically inappropriate for children, including vulgarity, morally questionable actions, disturbing imagery, and sexually explicit material.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnny Craig</span> American comic book artist

John Thomas Alexis Craig, was an American comic book artist notable for his work with the EC Comics line of the 1950s. He sometimes used the pseudonyms Jay Taycee and F. C. Aljohn.

The United States Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency was established by the United States Senate in 1953 to investigate the problem of juvenile delinquency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Academy of Comic Book Arts</span> Professional organization

The Academy of Comic Book Arts (ACBA) was an American professional organization of the 1970s that was designed to be the comic book industry analog of such groups as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Composed of comic-book professionals and initially formed as an honorary society focused on discussing the comic-book craft and hosting an annual awards banquet, the ACBA evolved into an advocacy organization focused on creators' rights.

The Association of Comics Magazine Publishers (ACMP) was an American industry trade group formed in the late 1940s to regulate the content of comic books in the face of public criticism during that time. It was a precursor to the Comics Magazine Association of America, and the ACMP Publishers Code served as the template for a more detailed set of rules enforced by the CMAA's Comics Code Authority.

<i>Crime Does Not Pay</i> (comics) Comic book published by Lev Gleason Publications

Crime Does Not Pay is an American comic book series published between 1942 and 1955 by Lev Gleason Publications. Edited and chiefly written by Charles Biro, the title launched the crime comics genre and was the first "true crime" comic book series. At the height of its popularity, Crime Does Not Pay would claim a readership of six million on its covers. The series' sensationalized recountings of the deeds of gangsters such as Baby Face Nelson and Machine Gun Kelly were illustrated by artists Bob Wood, George Tuska, and others. Stories were often introduced and commented upon by "Mr. Crime", a ghoulish figure in a top hat, and the precursor of horror hosts such as EC Comics's The Crypt Keeper. According to Gerard Jones, Crime Does Not Pay was "the first nonhumor comic to rival the superheroes in sales, the first to open the comic book market to large numbers of late adolescent and young males."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snowbirds Don't Fly</span>

"Snowbirds Don't Fly" is a two-part anti-drug comic book story arc which appeared in Green Lantern/Green Arrow issues 85 and 86, published by DC Comics in 1971. The story was written by Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams, with the latter also providing the art with Dick Giordano. It tells the story of Green Lantern and Green Arrow, who fight drug dealers, witnessing that Green Arrow's ward Roy "Speedy" Harper is a drug addict and dealing with the fallout of his revelation. Considered a watershed moment in the depiction of mature themes in DC Comics, the tone of this story is set in the tagline on the cover: "DC attacks youth's greatest problem... drugs!"

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green Goblin Reborn!</span> Marvel Comics storyline

"Green Goblin Reborn!" is a 1971 Marvel Comics story arc which features Spider-Man fighting against his arch enemy Norman Osborn, the Green Goblin. This arc was published in The Amazing Spider-Man #96–98 and was plotted and written by Stan Lee, with art by penciler Gil Kane and inker John Romita Sr. It is recognized as the first mainstream comic publication which portrayed and condemned drug abuse since the formation of the Comics Code Authority, and in time led to the revision of the Code's rigidity.

John Leonard Goldwater co-founded MLJ Comics, and served as editor and co-publisher for many years. In the mid-1950s he was a key proponent and custodian of the comic book censorship guidelines known as the Comics Code Authority.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horror comics</span> Horror comics book

Horror comics are comic books, graphic novels, black-and-white comics magazines, and manga focusing on horror fiction. In the US market, horror comic books reached a peak in the late 1940s through the mid-1950s, when concern over content and the imposition of the self-censorship Comics Code Authority contributed to the demise of many titles and the toning down of others. Black-and-white horror-comics magazines, which did not fall under the Code, flourished from the mid-1960s through the early 1980s from a variety of publishers. Mainstream American color comic books experienced a horror resurgence in the 1970s, following a loosening of the Code. While the genre has had greater and lesser periods of popularity, it occupies a firm niche in comics as of the 2010s.

In American mainstream comics, LGBT themes and characters were historically omitted intentionally from the content of comic books, due to either formal censorship or the perception that comics were for children and thus LGBT themes were somehow inappropriate. With any mention of homosexuality in mainstream United States comics forbidden by the Comics Code Authority (CCA) until 1989, earlier attempts at exploring these issues in the US took the form of subtle hints or subtext regarding a character's sexual orientation. LGBT themes were tackled earlier in underground comix from the early 1970s onward. Independently published one-off comic books and series, often produced by gay creators and featuring autobiographical storylines, tackled political issues of interest to LGBT readers.

References

  1. ↑ Nyberg, Amy Kite (n.d.). "Comics Code History: The Seal of Approval". Comic Book Legal Defense Fund . Retrieved February 13, 2024. The Seal of Approval, once prominently displayed on comic book covers, quietly disappeared in 2011. For nearly 60 years, however, censors funded by the comic book industry enforced rules about acceptable content. Only comics that passed a pre-publication review carried the seal.
  2. ↑ Weldon, Glen (January 27, 2011). "Censors and Sensibility: RIP, Comics Code Authority Seal Of Approval, 1954 - 2011". National Public Radio . Retrieved February 13, 2024. So much for The Comics Magazine Association of America, which for over 50 years served as the comics industry's self-regulating (read: self-censoring) arm.
  3. ↑ MacDonald, Heidi (January 21, 2011). "Archie drops the Comics Code…Wertham dead forever". The Beat . Retrieved February 13, 2024.
  4. ↑ Wolk, Douglas (January 24, 2011). "R.I.P.: The Comics Code Authority". Time. Retrieved February 13, 2024.
  5. ↑ Weldon, Glen (January 27, 2011). "Censors and Sensibility: RIP, Comics Code Authority Seal Of Approval, 1954 - 2011". National Public Radio . Retrieved February 13, 2024.
  6. 1 2 3 "The Press: Horror on the Newsstands", Time , September 27, 1954. WebCitation archive.
  7. ↑ Hajdu, David (2008). The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How It Changed America . New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. pp.  128–130. ISBN   9780374187675.
  8. ↑ Costello, Matthew J. Secret Identity Crisis: Comic Books and the Unmasking of Cold War America (Continuum, 2009), ISBN   978-0-8264-2998-8, p. 32
  9. ↑ Gorelick, Victor (1992). "Introduction". Archie Americana Series Best of the Fifties Volume 2. Archie Comic Publications. p. 4.
  10. ↑ Gorelick, page ?
  11. ↑ Silberkeilt, Michael, cited in Costello, page ?
  12. ↑ Arndt, Richard J (October 23, 2016). "From Dell to Gold Key to King - with the New York Times in Between". Alter Ego #141. TwoMorrows. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
  13. ↑ Nyberg, Dr. Amy Kiste (n.d.). "Comics Code History: The Seal of Approval". Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. Archived from the original on October 1, 2011. Retrieved January 17, 2013.
  14. ↑ Jacobs, F: "The Mad World of William M. Gaines", pages 112–114, Lyle Stuart, Inc, 1972
  15. ↑ "An Interview With William M. Gaines", Comics Journal #83 pages 76–78, Fantagraphics, Inc, 1983
  16. ↑ Harrison, Emma (February 5, 1955). "Whip, Knife, Shown as 'Comics' Lures". The New York Times . p. 17.
  17. ↑ McCloud, Scott (2000). Reinventing Comics: How Imagination and Technology Are Revolutionizing an Art Form. New York: Perennial. ISBN   0-06-095350-0. OCLC   44654496.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Thompson, Don & Maggie, "Crack in the Code", Newfangles #44, February 1971
  19. 1 2 "GCD :: Issue :: Incredible Science Fiction #33". comics.org.
  20. ↑ Diehl, Digby (1996). Tales from the Crypt: The Official Archives, St. Martin's Press (New York) p.85
  21. 1 2 Code for Editorial Matter: General standards – Part A, Code of the Comics Magazine Association of America, Inc."
  22. ↑ Cronin, Brian (September 6, 2007). "Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed". Comic Book Resources . Archived from the original on July 19, 2011.
  23. ↑ Aushenker, Michael (April 2014). "Disposable Heroes". Back Issue! . No. 71. Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 36.
  24. ↑ Conway, Gerry (writer). "At Last: The Decision!” Avengers #151 (September 1976).
  25. 1 2 3 Cronin, Brian. "Comic Legend: Green Lantern/Green Arrow #85 was the first Comics Code approved story involving drugs" Archived 2010-08-18 at the Wayback Machine , Comic Book Resources , "Comic Book Legends Revealed" #226 (column), September 24, 2009
  26. ↑ Sacks, Jason; Dallas, Keith (2014). American Comic Book Chronicles: The 1970s. TwoMorrows Publishing. pp. 45–47. ISBN   978-1605490564.
  27. ↑ "Stan the Man & Roy the Boy: A Conversation Between Stan Lee and Roy Thomas". Comic Book Artist . No. 2. TwoMorrows Publishing. Summer 1998. Archived from the original on February 18, 2009.
  28. ↑ "Sandman and the world of classic Vertigo comics". Christchurch City Council Libraries. August 17, 2022. Retrieved February 13, 2024. One of the key new elements for Vertigo was DC's willingness to ditch the Comics Code Authority (CCA) for the new imprint, freeing its writers and artists from the voluntary 1950s-era moral restrictions on content. In the 2000s the CCA was effectively abandoned by all comic book publishers, but in the early 90s this put Vertigo ahead of the pack.
  29. ↑ For example, Now's Speed Buggy title began displaying the seal as of its 20th issue, cover-dated May 1989: Grand Comics Database entry, accessed Nov. 27, 2011.
  30. ↑ Capitanio, Adam (13 August 2014). "Race and Violence from the "Clear Line School": Bodies and the Celebrity Satire of X-Statix". In Darowski, Joseph J. (ed.). The Ages of the X-Men: Essays on the Children of the Atom in Changing Times. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. p. 158. ISBN   9780786472192.
  31. ↑ Johnston, Rich. "Bongo Dropped Comics Code A Year Ago – And No One Noticed". Bleeding Cool. January 21, 2011.
  32. 1 2 3 Rogers, Vaneta (January 24, 2011). "The Comics Code Authority – Defunct Since 2009?". Newsarama . Archived from the original on January 27, 2011. Retrieved January 25, 2011.
  33. ↑ Lee, Jim. "From the Co-Publishers" Archived 2011-01-22 at the Wayback Machine , "The Source" (column), DC Comics, January 20, 2011.
  34. ↑ Rogers, Vaneta (January 21, 2011). "Archie Dropping Comics Code Authority Seal in February". Newsarama.com. Archived from the original on January 25, 2011. Retrieved January 21, 2011.
  35. ↑ Harvey, R.C. (February 23, 2011). "Comics Code Goes Defunct". Rants & Raves. Archived from the original on September 29, 2015. Retrieved August 29, 2022– via GoComics.
  36. ↑ Wolk, Douglas (January 24, 2011). "R.I.P.: The Comics Code Authority". Time . Archived from the original on March 18, 2022. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
  37. ↑ "CBLDF Receives Comics Code Authority Seal of Approval". Comic Book Legal Defense Fund press release. September 29, 2011. Archived from the original on November 15, 2011.
  38. ↑ Gvozden, Dan (December 14, 2018). "A Definitive List of 'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse' Easter Eggs". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on August 7, 2019. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
  39. ↑ "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse". Deva Studios. 20 December 2018. Retrieved 2019-10-15.
  40. ↑ "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse' Easter Eggs You Might Have Missed". Collider . June 1, 2023. Archived from the original on June 1, 2023. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  41. ↑ Terror, Jude (2021-05-18). "Comics Code Authority Returns for New Comic by Stern, Frenz, Buscema". Bleeding Cool News And Rumors. Retrieved 2021-05-18.

Bibliography


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.