The tale of how Dell Comics "avoided" the Comics Code kzfaq.info/get/bejne/o96PjLeYyJvZY58.html

A lot of comic fans forget (or don't know) that EC actually had 2 comics divisions. One was Entertaining Comics where they published their popular titles involving horror, crime, and so forth. The other was Educational Comics, where they published subjects like bible and history stories. Leading up to the adaption of the Comics Code Authority - Entertaining Comics was constantly under attack as being salacious and corrupting our youth. At the same time, parents group were praising Educational Comics and held it up as the sort of wholesome, uplifting titles that all comics should aspire too. People didn't seem to realize it was the exact same company publishing both.

Comics code: "no focus on criminals and/or undermining police!" Batman, Green Arrow, Spider-Man, and basically all other superheroes who act as vigilantes and/or outside the law: "... (looking around nervously)"

I love that the hyper restrictive Code unintentionally resulted in some great writers being super creative and working complex stories with subtext

Seduction of the Innocent is the funniest book ever. It feels like Wertham wrote it while doing one of the delinquencies he preached against. My two favorite parts of it is when he calls Space Moses (Superman) a Nazi, and when he writes that “It’s true that many children read comic books and few become delinquent. But, that proves nothing.” Funniest book ever.

A lot of Silver Age lunacy makes a lot more sense when you understand it as doing what the Code wouldn't allow to be done in a more realistic fashion. Like, you can't have a sympathetic depiction of a criminal, or have them get away with their crimes - but you CAN have a sympathetic character become a criminal as the result of a random Evil Mind Control Ray, and have them get a presto-change-o all-forgiven cure at the end.

The post-71 Code while it lasted was eventually turned into a joke, e.g. with the Byrne She-Hulk in a scene where someone wonders how come she did not just completely burst out of her clothes, she points to the garment's care label and it says "protected by the Comics Code"

Probably the weirdest thing relevant to the Comics Code is the Marv Wolfman incident. Horror comics weren't allowed to use "wolfman" as a word, but Gerry Conway as an editor got permission to give Marv Wolfman credit for his script. After all Wolfman is just his last name, he's not an actual wolfman (citation needed). So that allowed the word "wolfman" to be used in the story as well! Even better: before that horror comics didn't regularly have credits, but once Wolfman was credited, the following issue other creators were credited too.

What fascinates me the most is that we have the Code to thank for the rise of the supervillain. True that supervillains have always been a thing, they just exploded during the Silver Age. Heck, didn't Joker get his zany arsenal during the Silver Age? From serial killer to cooky jester.

I actually think the section about protecting readers against false and deceiving advertising is very reasonable. Also, as everyone in this platform knows, this was at one point, and sometimes still is, a problem in KZfaq, with some creators disguising paid promotions as content.

"Casually Comics rebrands to Complicated Comics" I dig it.

My favorite thing to come from the code is Sauron from xmen who was originally too close to a vampire so they made him into a pterodactyl with psychic vampire powers

So to explain "violent love scene" vs "rape". "Violent" was occasionally used to describe what we would now just call "passionate". That leads to funny lines in older movies like It's A Wonderful Life "He's making violent love to me mother!"

That first Phantom Lady cover made me dig a little deeper. And this is what I found on Wiki: The cover, which illustrated Phantom Lady attempting to escape from ropes, was presented by Wertham with a caption that read, "sexual stimulation by combining 'headlights' with the sadist's dream of tying up a woman". For Wonder Woman, it was a Tuesday. 9 AM, 20 an hour. Wear loose clothing. And I can't believe the guy directly said "headlights". Scandalous...

This makes me want to publish a comic book simply titled "Crime" where villains always win

One company that *was* able to shrug off the code was Dell. It, not DC and especially not "Marvel" was the biggest publisher of the 50's (Buoyed by a lot of licenses like Disney), and they were effectively able to argue that putting the stamp on lumped them in with all those other animals. Because of this, there were actually not prohibited from depicting vampires and werewolves--they adapted a few gothics novels in the sixties and when they "became" Gold Key actually adapted the Dark Shadows show.

Given the way the Code came about I'm honestly surprised that Silver Age female characters weren't all turned into skirt-taurs. No feet, no ankles, all skirt.

Thanks for this very thorough analysis. Many of the Code's rules seem very quaint to modern eyes, and others seem completely random if you don't know the context (for example, I never thought about the rule against kidnapping being a response to the Lindberg case). An interesting footnote: Dell Comics, probably the most successful comics publisher at the time, refused to ascribe to the Code, instead running their own "Pledge to Parents" in every issue promising "only clean and wholesome entertainment". I suspect they realized that the Code could be easily turned against them by jealous competitors, as happened to EC.

The language one gets me. I remember Saving Private Ryan was criticized by some for cussing during D-Day. Right. Because when the soldiers were under fire they said gosh golly or oh darn.

There was a Martin and Lewis movie in 1955 that used the code as a premise. It was called Artists and Models.

The worst thing about the Comics Code is that it didn't recognize the possibility that comics might tell mature stories for older readers and not just for younger readers. A lot of European comics would never have passed the Comics Code in the US. Once the Comics Code went into effect, EC tried really hard with their "New Direction" comics, but as good as they were, they didn't run long enough to find a significant audience . I also agree that the Comics Code had a lot to do with the return of superheroes, because heroes fighting costumed villains could be so stylized and unrealistic that it easily met code requirements.

I’m glad The Comics Code is gone. I remember they wouldn’t let them do a Spider-Man comic or miniseries where he was saving a kid who overdosed. It was so horrible about that Stan Lee wanted to do a few issues where a teen overdosed. Stan even said we’re not glorifying drugs and we’re not gonna say what drug it was but the CC authority had an absolute conniption about the entire story idea. So Stan took the Comics Code stamp off for the story. Just ridiculous that the CC was so pig headed and stubborn. Back in Wizard, the guys in charge of Wonder Woman said they could remove the CC stamp and do the same stories without impacting their books which is true. It’s not like they were gonna show Diana naked or anything they were just saying The Comics Code was an antiquated concept which it was.

This was almost definitely set to attack EC comics, most of the no-no things were almost direct references to the EC anthology books which is why Bill Gaines ended up dropping comics altogether and starting MAD.

A rating system probably would have been better than the code (long term) because the code cultivated the long-term belief that comics were ONLY for kids… a mindset that still exists in a surprising number of people today. It’s another example of how the comic industry just seems to find ways to damage itself when given a choice.

OMG! The long awaited reading of 'The Code.' I'm fascinated by the creativity that restrictions can facilitate. In many ways I feel we are entering a more regressive period in all media, where the unwritten rules define what is acceptable.

Seeing something like nudity in mainstream comics is still a trip, like that one Excalibur comic where Kitty gets teleported naked to another place and then back, and accidentally flashed Peter Wisdom and Rachel Summers... And it never left my mind, and took forever to find it again. Honestly surprised things like that happened so rarely since by that time, rge code was non-existent.

Thanks for doing this video. It was excellent! I was a 7th grade student in the mid 70s. We had to take a class called guidance. Looking back on it, it seems it was a mental well-being class. It was taught by an elderly woman with an even older textbook. In the chapter about addictions to avoid (alcohol, drugs, gambling) was a sub section on the danger of comics. As we were covering the section, my comic brethren and I slowly convinced our teacher that the new style of comics, Spiderman, Fantastic Four, Hulk and all, were nothing as dangerous as the text made them out to be. She took our pleas to heart, and I believe that part of the course was skipped after that.

This code really ruined every genre of comic that wasn't superhero. Recently there's been a surge of non superhero comics but it's only a fraction of what existed back in the day

Seeing all the pre code covers ft and hearing the code share your thoughts!!

Woah weirdly serendipitous timing. I'm currently doing a research project for my US history class all about the creation of the CCA. Unravelling the moral panic that led to the Comics Code is so fascinating.

This was good. Most of the sources I've read before about this era of history mention the comics code, but this is the first I've seen to go into detail what was in the code. and you're right, history is repeating, has always been here and evolving.

This was a lot of fun. I adore diving into comics history, especially the censorship. I even have a tattoo that says "NOT Approved by the Comics Code Authority"

I, for one, am grateful that the Comics Code is dinosaured and fossilized. May it stay that way for all time.

I feel like you should be reading this in the 1940s newscaster voice… “Yeah see, the comics code authority is the bees knees, and the cats pajamas” lol

I could actualy understand the advertising stuff. The rest strike me as downright silly but the ads in older comics were... nuts.

I’m literally in the process of writing a semester long historical analysis on this topic right now. First draft is due in less than 24 hours.

Black people were also eliminated as heroes were banned as well. A Wally Wood story (I think) about an astronaut on a planet who removes his helmet at the end of the story was banned by the CCA.

Stan Lee really broke the mold in 1971 when he struck an important blow against censorship he blended 'fantastic stories' with 'authentic struggles.' Marvel published The Amazing Spider-Man issues #96 through #98 without the CCA’s seal, thereby ignoring the Comics Code altogether in order to tell what it thought was a good story that would click with modern readers.

I was born in 1952, and I was a comic book addict until around 1968 or 1969 when I considered myself much too adult for such simple, childish drivel. In or around 1971 or so I joined the Army, having come up in the Draft Lottery at 354, I realized that I was not going to be drafted and forced to go and fight a war I didn't understand in a country thousands of miles away. No doubt this weird decision was influenced by the wholesome and righteous comics I read as a child and teen. Well I started reading comics again, and boy what a change, especially those magazine style "graphic novels" that before would simply have black and white stories of Conan, or something similar. I got one of those years later at Ft Campbell with art by Wally Wood that I could never imagine would ever be presented in Daredevil. I've raised both my sons to hate censorship. Grown people should be allowed to watch or see what they find entertaining. Parents should keep up with what their children are watching, not the government. I used to watch my sons play video games, sometimes for hours. My youngest got Grand Theft Auto. I didn't tell him not to play it, I didn't lecture him on it's portrayal of vices, I just quit watching him when he played it. He soon got bored with it and went back to games he could show off to me how well he played. He's grown, and still plays games very well. I guess to me what folks see and enjoy should be left up to folks, not governments, or their "agencies". Interesting video, thanks.

At the end of the Creepshow 2 credits they say this quote: “Juvenile delinquency is the product of pent up frustrations, stored-up resentments and bottled-up fears. It is not the product of cartoons and captions. But the comics are a handy, obvious, uncomplicated scapegoat. If the adults who crusade against them would only get as steamed up over such basic causes of delinquency as parental ignorance, indifference, and cruelty, they might discover that comic books are no more a menace than Treasure Island or Jack the Giant Killer” and that single quote still holds true over 35 years later

Very well done Sasha. I had an uncle that had a collection of the original EC horror comics- some of them were a bit intense for the time but I loved them. I've read deeper about Bill Gaines's battle with the CCA and how it forced him to drastically change his way of working (which would be a great idea for a video on the history of horror comics and their evolution). That being said, Mad Magazine might have been the best thing to come out of that particular battle.

People always tend to think censorship is the answer but almost always the issues they are trying to address need better education or gun control laws or criminal justice reforms or community building for any real improvement to be made. It's just easier to go after the low hanging fruit.

Your recent video on the antiversery inspired me to read tales of suspense, and the bit of the code about no sympathy for criminals and they must always be punished made me think about Time Master, and how in his story, by the end they admit that he was the one who was wronged, and that everything he did was in the name of his grandson’s affection. There’s an entire section at the end where they go to a judge where Hank and Time Master’s former employers defend him, and he gets off Scott free, and is given his job back.

To think gay panic almost cost us Batman

I was entertained. Saddened but entertained. It's interesting to me just how much discussion about manipulation and fear comes out of studying that era. My favorite is the Wildcards series' take on McCarthy and the Red Scare.

Oh, the Hays Code. The one bit I remember (though it had lapsed long before I was born) is "If a couple are shown on a bed, each must have at least one foot on the floor". Because obviously no "funny business" could happen in that case!

These early comic covers give off the same chaotic energy as pre-code movies

Oh man, a prohibition on slang? I can't believe "It's Morbin' Time" is against the comics code...

I have consistently appreciated your evenhanded take on code-related topics. There was good and bad research, honest and biased intentions, careful reasoning and woeful clutching at straws involved, as with most attempts to come to a moral accord in a democratic society.

Thank you so much for taking the time to go through the comics code and providing some historical context along with your exceptional insights and delightful personality. I would love to learn more from you about the revised comics code and what you think of its impact at the time. I feel that this was a definite reflection of human nature. There are plenty of good intentions within these codes and enforcing these guidelines compelled artists and writers to be creative in expressing various story elements while being mindful of their influence on society. Conversely, there were definitely bad actors who implemented constraints both for personal gain by targeting their competitors and as a way to feel superior over others by wielding so much power through their own unjustified and subjective decisions. I truly appreciate you taking notice of the fact that history repeats itself and that forms of this type of control still continue to this day.

"Violent love scenes" most likely refers to the S&M imagery that used to be prevalent on covers in the pre-Code days, and especially on the pulp magazines that predated them.

Truth in advertising? Two words...X-ray glasses. 😵👓

I didn’t think i would live this long to see it

Early in Alan Moore's run on Swamp Thing, DC comics abandoned the comics code authority stamp on the issues that they distributed, choosing quality over censorship.

I had no idea the supervillain was basically a response to the comics code effectively banning the realistic depiction of crime and criminals. It all makes sense now ... except why there is still such a huge focus on supervillains.

Great video! This one will definitely be a great reference on KZfaq when people talk about the comics code and will be a great jumping off point. I can't believe I haven't seen anyone actually do this before. I'd love to see a follow up video on some of your most interesting effects of the comics code.

This is interesting and yeah it is fascinating how these things come full circle (Parental Advisory stickers, the Mary Whitehouse situation in the UK in the 80s, the recent controversy re editing Roald Dahl etc).

Great shirt sasha!

I am glad that the Code is done and dusted. The only aspect that I personally view as valuable is its stance against advertising. Heck, had I written it, I would probably go even harder when it comes to promoting products.

This video was so fun, loved hearing actually what’s in the code. Heard it mentioned so much.

This was a great video. I would also love to see a vid that showed the most extreme examples that would violate the code, number by number. Both before and after the code was written. And also to see some of the most creative work arounds authors/artists/editors ever came up with.

Honestly, some of the advertising restrictions are pretty okay. A bit too heavy on the no sexy pictures for my taste in the first amendment, but requiring truthfulness in ads, and no medical products that haven't been vetted by established industry boards seems not terrible. Yet I'm sure these were the first to get discarded.

16:04 How?! I've heard of Magic Mirrors, but never Censoring Mirrors. Honestly, I have no idea what's happening here. It feels like it is a mirror but then why do we see her reflected face when her dress is covering it? It's a mystery. In reality, it's a fake mirror and they're twins. "Look out, sis. Behind you! Blind him with your headlights!"

There's a lot of rules that scream authoritarian Christian Puritan, or lazy parents who want the world to take responsibility for raising their kids, with very little addressing actual perversion in comics. The rules about not questioning authority ring alarm bells the most, given this was around the Vietnam War era and the resurgence of corporatist perversion in government and politics.

Very well done. I see you're the kind of person who "knows the proper term" but still communicates effectively to your general audience by immediately defining it and I appreciate this.

Thank you for all your hard work putting this together. What no one knows is Wertham was on his mission to destroy the comic book industry before 1941 but was interrupted by WW2. He was a weapon created by the echelon of the book publishing industry, which was butt hurt that comic books became the leading hard copy media in America.

I feel for all the comic book artists and writers who had to deal with the comic codes when they first came out. That had to be like a anti creativity nuke going off. With the comic book companies scrambling to minimize casualties.

The thing about wertham is that he's always portrayed by cb historians as some regressive crackpot, and in many ways he was. But thatkinds of ignoring his whole work and the context behind it. At the time the hays film code was still strong, and it had the same purpose for that industry, we censor ourself so the government won't. This was just the way to handle racy matters than, not that it was right. Anyway back to wertham, apearently Mr. "Batman and robin turn the friggin kids gay" as a psychiatrist treated people of low income black nyc neighborhoods in the 1920s. His textbooks on the brain were cited by the Supreme Court when it decided to integrate schools in brown v boe

APPROVED by the KZfaq CODE AUTHORITY

Well they never kept to that one about making sure ads are truthful. If they had, a whole generation of kids wouldn't have been disappointed when they found what the sea monkeys they'd ordered turned out to be like. I do recall seeing a couple of panels from a Plastic Man story in which he and Woozy are after villain Mr. Aqua. Who can turn himself into water. Woozy picks up a jug of water and drinks from it. Plas then points out Mr. Aqua was in there in water form. Even though Woozy has visibly drunk him, the dialogue says 'you split Mr. Aqua!.'.

Look at that, almost 20 minutes of discussing KZfaq monetisation rules without mentioning it directly....

The section regarding ads seems almost reasonable

Guessing “violent love scenes” did not refer to SA (since that gets listed later), and refers more to BDSM, since people unfamiliar with it think it’s about the pain. It’s not about the pain (though for some it is), it’s about trust.

Sash: "Then what's a violent love scene? I need to know!" Pinhead: "We have such SIGHTS to show you"

The Comic Code Authority was even used in Spider-Man Into The Spider-Verse as part of the intro.

“Romance won’t go as hard as it once did” Must resist urge to make in the gutter joke 🥲

The Comics Code specifically banned "Ghosts, ghouls and the walking dead" What were ghouls? They used to be as popular as ghosts and zombies? What happened to them?

My guess is a "violent sex scene" may refer to BDSM in this context.

1954 to 1971 was when I was reading comic books and I always wondered what that stamp was all about. This was very interesting. Thanks!

4:55 This is probably where the trope of villains constant breaking out of jail comes from. They want the villians in multiple comics, but have to end each one with showing the villain going to jail.

If we really want to talk about the Code, though, I'd love to see you take on Chris Claremont's 15 year run on X-Men. My dude snuck in A LOT. Even if it wasn't intended to be as explicit as what can be published today, it was a strong effort to bypass what was allowed. Also people like Jim Shooter. I think Fabian Nicieza referred to him as an enforcer for Perlmutter (I think) in part because he nixed a story about the AIDS crisis in the late 80s/early 90s that apparently everybody else was on board for. According to Jim Shooter, gay people didn't exist in the Marvel Universe. I also remember Archie Comics routinely making fun of the Comics Code too. We like to think of them as silly teen comics, but compared to Marvel and DC, they were raunchy as hell under the Code. The Big Two couldn't have their heroes casually smooching everyone in sight for no reason (unless you're Chris Claremont writing Rogue), and that was what everything at Archie was about. Jughead's Diner was about 20% clowning on the Code. (I exaggerate, but it feels like it.)

Yay!!! I was SO waiting for this one! A thousand thanks for making this video! 😘

That was really enlightening. Thank you so much for making this vid.

Wonderfully done! Very entertaining! Thank you!

Super interesting! Thank you

I have no proof, but I'm sure that whole mess started with a square reading an issue of OG Wonder Woman.

The Comics' Code Authority is like the Geneva Convention. They're both rules that were made to be broken.

Thanks for this! I've always wondered about the code's actual wording.

This was a truly fantastic, entertaining and educational video. Thank you!

4:17 When were government officials ever presented in such a way as NOT to encourage disrespect?

This is an interesting video since I didn't know the details of the Code. Also, thanks for the covers. The images sent me out to the web to find electronic versions since I there's no way I could ever afford to purchase physical copies of the books, assuming, that is, that they are to be found.

Very nice overview of the comics code. As a librarian I appreciate this video. As a comic nerd I really enjoy your comic book reviews; they are informative and entertaining.

I stand corrected. I thought you were going to be covering romance comics and said I wasn't interested. Great video. I've always wondered about some of the Code origins.

I mean, it's pretty clear that code had a strangle hold on comics and it really hurt comics all because of Wertham's lies. It makes me wonder if Marston had managed to live, how he would have combated this all.

All while you were talking i kept looking at that Berserk HC on your shelf. What a fit that would have caused.😂

Really cannot commend Sasha enough for this sober & informative dive through the actual text & effects of the Code. Far too many people spout off half-cocked simply to lord themselves over the past without understanding it... Whatever one might say about it, critiques or compliments, we've gotta admit the Code has two strengths over the modern "code" you hear about with the Big Two. 1) It's explicitly enumerated rather than driven by interpersonal cliques & 2) it still afforded space for some incredible stories to be told by talented artists.

I don't mind oddly coloured hair, I do dislike roots. The one thing that took me out of "The Fifth Element" was the 'perfect' woman showing root colour.

LAST KISS comics is presenting old Romance comics with new, updated double-entendre dialogue, repackaging CCA-approved stuff from yesteryear in a saucy new format. Good stuff!

Great video, Sasha, you did an awesome job! I love the Silver Age (though I prefer the Bronze Age), and it wouldn't be what it was without the Code. One could always argue, "It would have been even better without the Code," but no one can say that for sure because that world doesn't exist. The only thing one can say for sure is that the Silver Age would not have been the same without it. That doesn't mean I love the Code itself or wish to have it back in force. Many great comics were created both before and after the Code was implemented. I'm glad the Code went away. But I can't deny that some pretty awesome comics were created under the Code. One could argue that this is only due to the creativity of the writers and artists. I would agree, but the fact is that the Code is still baked into the finished product. Because I enjoy many comics of the Silver Age, I'm content to just let it be what it is: a treasured time capsule of cultural history. There's a lot of these historical antinomies, at least for me. For example, I hate living in a world where nuclear annihilation is possible. On the other hand, I enjoy many post-apocalyptic movies, novels, comics, and video games which wouldn't have existed without that possibility. That doesn't mean I have to love nuclear weapons. I guess to sum up I don't agree that the Code was a good thing overall, but I love much of what was created under it. Sorry so long, you should never encourage me to "Tell me all your thoughts," lol!

1. That GIF in the "General Standards A" section when you're reading the fourth rule -- is that Richard Widmark in THE STREET WITH NO NAME (1948)? I saw the movie a couple months ago and could swear up and down that it looks like him in an early scene depicting a bank robbery. 2. I knew about the pre-code horror comics, but had no idea about the crime and romance comics! I want to read some of them now. This is a fantastic analysis.