As all comic book collectors know when the government got on the industries back in the 50's they decided to self regulate and created the Comics Code Authority. For a long time the code ruled over comic books. It gave adults who sold them and parents of the kids who bought them a sense of security. Then in 1971 Stan Lee and Marvel comics gave it their first challange. Amazing Spider-Man mentioned drug usage in issues 96-98. Mr. Lee didn't think there would be a problem as it put drug usage in a bad light. But the code didn't want any mention and refused to give their apporval. Mr. Lee had the issues published anyway as he thought the message was important for kids to read. Many issues of the book were returned from the dealers without ever reaching the newstand. Still the gaunlet had been laid down.Over time other books from underground comics to professional comics from independent publishers were being published. Not to mention they were selling well in bookstores and on newstands. The Comics Code made a number of revisions till soon they made too many. Now they are not considered that necessary.
At some point I think comic books crossed the boundries. There are times with all the violence and sometimes cussing it is hard to tell the good guys from the bad guys for first time readers. Even some old time fans like myself are turned off.
Perhaps it is time to bring back the code or something like it. While sometimes revisions are good it ceases to help if you become a joke. If it is brought back then they need to stand by it so it doesn't become a joke again.
4 comments:
I think so if for no other reason than just to keep things in line a little. I'm not talking about as strict as it used to be necessarily, but the extreme gore and language have turned most comics today into something unreadable.
Seems kind of pointless. Most comics are written for and sold to adults via specialty shops. The comics that are marketed to kids (Marvel Adventures, DC Kids, etc.) have nothing particularly damaging.
Books don't carry this warning nor do magazines. Why should such a small niche item like comics do so?
I know that the kids comics and Archie still submit to the CCA so they are still around. Yes Doug I know it may seem pointless but I think they are missing out on an audience. They are not selling to adults who would like to read the comics but are put off by too much violence and foul language.
Definitely. There are so many problems with the industry these days that I rarely even set foot in a comic shop anymore...
1. Poor art and writing - Manga has lowered art standards quite a bit, but even before that, all the new, fancy color paper stock encouraged so much terrible artwork - so long as it had colors and glossiness, any dreck could be swabbed onto the page, and in some cases this "artsy" style was so bad that some of the main story characters even became unrecognizable! The Comics Code tended to encourage attempting more use of storylines - the Silver Age comics were loaded with inventive stories. A general rule seems to be that where sex and violence and profanity are not allowed, the quality of the writing must go up to compensate for the lack of sensationalism. Precisely why films and tv and publishers are so afraid of stricter standards... when they can sell utter dreck to unrefined teen tastes for so-called "adult" material (scoff), why should they bother with decent writing about themes that are actually of interest to intelligent adult readers?
2. So many issues and titles are pointless rehashes oriented around combat/threat. What a waste of time.
3. It's almost impossible to find a single complete story now. Everything is continued indefinitely through a jillion issues and tie-ins. What an obvious marketing gimmick! And totally unrelated to enhancing any story quality. There are no anthology series anymore... One shot titles are too unpredictable and formulaic (superhero-related). The only exceptions seem to be All-Ages comics, which all use inferior-quality artwork and are specifically stated as being aimed at children.
4. Comics are way too expensive, and far too light on story. Who cares about the two page spreads, which are usually good for about 10 seconds of scrutiny, when we're asked to shell out more than 2 bucks per issue merely because the paper is glossy. At that price, I expect dense story with at least 6 or 8 panels per page, just like in the 50s and 60s and 70s.
Even though I grew up with all the 70s horror titles, most of those issues were junk. I think the heyday of the code really was the high point in the comics industry. The silver age... With consistently good art in the major publishers, entertaining writing with compete stories in every issue, lots of subject matter in every genre (including lots of Dell/Gold Key comics that were actually FUNNY!)
Comics today are primarily a sewer for the most simple-minded teen and teen-at-heart readers who have been trained to think of the whole world in terms of a violent rite-of-passage in which the only purpose in life is to prove one's manhood through tough talk, tough posturing, lots of anger (buttressed by the presentation of the world as totally dark and oppressive except for the occasional relief that sexuality is supposed to provide). What a bunch of cynical, destructive dreck it presents. There's nothing in the world of comics now except fixated adolescent super "heroes" and evil supervillains locked in constant combat, plus the usual slew of gangsters, sadistic killers, neurotic and psychotic characters. I am so sick of those images and lies - as if nothing exists in the world except a pool of slime and a bunch of fearful angry people trying to keep from drowning in it. No art, no real philosophy, no science (except when reduced to militaristic or crime-oriented combat technologies), no normal sense of community or social norms or propriety (except when presented in terms of "weak" ordinary persons at constant peril of being victimized by villains and evil). The whole enterprise is destructive and depressing.
Frankly, Dr. Wertham was quite correct.
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