It is a part of the comic that the artist typically spends extra time on, making the page pop out in lavish detail. When this article was originally conceived, it was not clear whether there was any new ground to cover about the famed senate comic book hearings of 1954. The psychiatrist who almost brought down the comic book. Almost sixtyfive years after the senates investigation of comic books and juvenile delinquency, evidence from these hearings can be found by searching the records in the national archives. The comics magazine association of america cmaa was formed in september 1954 in response to a widespread public concern over gory and horrific comicbook content. Full text of juvenile delinquency comic books hearings before the subcommittee to investigate juvenile delinquency of the see other formats. Fans did the math and wound up feeling severely grossedout. Juvenile delinquency comic books hearings before the subcommittee to investigate juvenile delinquency of the by united states. Senate to hold high profile hearings on the comic bookcrime link in 1950 and 1954. The great comic book scare and how it changed america led to the complete bowdlerization of the american comics industry, as publishers voluntarily adapted the comic. Letter from robert merdian regarding comic book censorship. Looking at comic books through the lens of the cold war.
Almost sixtyfive years after the senates investigation of comic books and juvenile delinquency, evidence from these hearings can be found by. Under gail simone, the comic introduced a positive transgender character and took an incredibly relaxed attitude to all things lgbt. He considered them a deterrent to crime, since every story ended with the criminal being caught, instilling fear in any reader contemplating misdeeds. Among the american heritage centers comic book industry collections are evidence of the way in which industry insiders attempted to legitimize their business following the comic book moral panic of the 1950s. Psychiatrist fredric wertham and his 1954 book seduction of the innocent. Richard cledenen executive director, us senate subcommittee to investigate juvenile delinquency.
Flipping through the pages, wertham determined that the content of these comics. Senate, national archives and records administration. Jet was described as just an infant when she went off to dimension z. It also approached storylines with a youthful, campy vibe with villains like dagger type, a batgirl doppelganger who dresses glamorously and.
The committee held three days of hearings in new york city the location selected because most of the comic book publishers were based there, called twentytwo witnesses, and accepted thirtythree exhi. The general federation of womens clubs is putting, at the top of its winter program a drive to banish the horror and crime books from the newsstands. The answers themselves took up 254 pages of a report tabled during the senate hearings, but this report was not made freely available to the public, thus the questions, and answers, have. But hundreds of thousands of horror and crime comic books are peddled to our. Flaws found in fredric werthams comicbook studies the new. The front page of the report, with listing of the committee members and the table of contents.
Victoria advocate newspaper archives, sep, 1954, p. United states senate subcommittee on juvenile delinquency hearings on the comic book. The armymccarthy hearings were a series of hearings held by the united states senates subcommittee on investigations between april 1954 and june 1954. Oct 19, 2017 comic book code of 1954 1954 sister projects. The comics code authority was established in 1954 by the comics magazine association of america in response to a growing concern by parents that comic books were the cause of juvenile delinquency. May 17, 2017 the book was the result of werthams years of work with troubled youths, many of whom were comic book readers. For two days in april 1954 senators heard testimony from child psychologists, comic book. Murphy 19101992, a specialist in juvenile delinquency, to head the organization and devise a selfpolicing code of ethics and standards. Public outcries by the part of the public from time to time even arouses the government to action. The public hearings took place on april 21, 22, and june 4, 1954, in new york. Fahrenheit 451 historical connections timeline timetoast. How fredric wertham public backlash and the 1954 senate delinquency.
Senate, rg 77 in 1954, a senate subcommittee on juvenile delinquency met to discuss the problem of horror and crime comic. Flaws found in fredric werthams comicbook studies the. Precode issues refer to comic books published prior to marchapril 1955. Typically occurring on the first saturday in may, free comic book day iscoincidentally or nottimed with the unofficial start of the summer movie season, which, of. Senate, rg 77 in 1954, a senate subcommittee on juvenile. Full text of juvenile delinquency comic books hearings before the subcommittee to investigate juvenile delinquency of the.
Nara unit preserves histories of legislation in house, senate fall 2009, vol. The panic over comic books in the 1950s also resembled the anticommunist hysteria of the 1950s. A splash page is a page in the comic book where there are no other panels and the character or scene fills the entire page of the comic book. With everything from movie theaters closing to film releases being pushed back due to the covid19 coronavirus outbreak, another pop culture cornerstone has been postponed. In order to save their business, six publishers, including national comics dc. The 1954 hearings written about in david hajdus the tencent plague. Blacklisted comic writer benton resnick, who had testified at the senate comic book hearings of 1954, was hired to write the script. Offering an example of this practice of teaching crime techniques via crime through comic books, dr.
The hearings were held for the investigations of the accusations between the u. Juvenile delinquency comic books hearings before the united states senate committee on the judiciary, subcommittee to investigate juvenile delinquency in the u. Decency, authority and the dominated expert the advent of comic books in the late 1930s. The comics magazine association of america cmaa was formed in september 1954 in response to a widespread public concern over gory and horrific comic book content. The history of the comics code, university press of mississippi, isbn 087805975x. The splash page is a very common art device that is used in the world of comic books. In the eyedancers, mitchell brant is a comic book collector. Though walt had little to do with this funnybookwidely considered the topselling comic book series in historyhe took pride in its excellence and the quality of all the disney comics. Along with tales from the crypt and the vault of horror, it formed a trifecta of popular ec horror anthologies. Over three days of hearings, numerous experts were called to testify whether the comics of the day were contributing to an increase in violent crimes among teens. The comics code authority cca was formed in 1954 by the comics magazine association of america as an alternative to government regulation.
We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. Within the comic book industry, it goes all the way back to the early 1950s. Can comic books negatively condition childrens behavior. Following the hearings, comic book publishers voluntarily developed new standards of content control. The true heroes of comic books, revealed the atlantic. The comic book code closely resembled the notorious censorship code in the movies, which was adopted on june, 1934. Jan 30, 2011 more comic book burnings occurred, and a hue and cry went up that just kept building. Senate held hearings on the evils of comic books on april 21, 1954, and the major comic book publishers adopted a code on october 26, 1954. Wertham, a germanborn american psychiatrist, stirred a national furor and helped create a blueprint for contemporary cultural panics in 1954 with the publication of his book seduction of the. They focused on particularly graphic crime and horror comic books of the day, and their potential impact on juvenile delinquency. Full text of juvenile delinquency comic books hearings. On this day, in 1954, the senate judiciary committees subcommittee to investigate juvenile delinquency was closing out a second day of hearings.
An issue of crime suspenstories depicting a bloody, severed head featured prominently in the senates comic book hearings. These are the 1954 senate subcommittee hearings into juvenile delinquency, with the special focus on comic books. May 20, 2019 fredric werthams 1954 monograph, seduction of the innocent which linked comic books with juvenile crime and perversion and the 1954 united states senate subcommittee on juvenile delinquency hearings led to the denigration of comic books as a form of media. The senate investigation crime comic books of the 40s and 50s. Though it was originally intended to focus only on king and what was thought at first to be a shortterm boycott, the final comic book bears witness to the more complex history that unfolded during its twoyear. The general federation of womens clubs is putting, at the top of its winter program a drive to banish. Neither of them, though, has what we now call precode issues. More comic book burnings occurred, and a hue and cry went up that just kept building. Food and drug administration approves the worlds first commercially produced birth control bill. Confidential file was aired in 1955, after the senate hearings and the formation of the comics code, but it serves as a perfect example of how the media reacted to the comic book industry, and. Comic book code of 1954 wikisource, the free online library. When new books are released, well charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the preorder period. Catholic students in binghamton, ny, burn 10,000 comic books. Jan 21, 20 within the comic book industry, it goes all the way back to the early 1950s.
Over three days of hearings, numerous experts were called to testify whether the comics of the day were contributing to an. Catholic students in binghamton, ny, burn 10,000 comic. Senate committee on the judiciary, comic books and juvenile delinquency, interim report, 1955 washington, d. Warren bernards citations and fredric wertham documents. Comicbook controversy is a cautionary tale nbc news. There was a certain naivete to the superhero stories published during world war ii, and that changed abruptly in the 1950s, says william savage jr. Dec 15, 2017 nara unit preserves histories of legislation in house, senate fall 2009, vol. This public outcry inspired political action, as well. Probed by senators this type of comic book is under fire all over the country. Cnns jake tapper on mccarthyism, trump and the jar jar.
Tracing the evolution of comic books by looking at the pictures, panels, and text that brought them to. Senate hearings on comic books and juvenile delinquencyhearings that were influenced by werthams book. The haunt of fear was an american bimonthly horror comic anthology series published by ec comics in 1950. Read victoria advocate newspaper archives, sep, 1954, p. Ec changed its name from educational comics yeah, right to entertainment comics in 1951, and damn near singlehandedly sparked the kefauver committee comicbook hearings of 1954, which resulted.
Comic book censorship 1954 in 1954, a senate subcommittee on juvenile delinquency met to discuss the problem of horror and crime comic books. Flipping through the pages, wertham determined that. The book was the result of werthams years of work with troubled youths, many of whom were comic book readers. Code of the comics magazine association of america, inc. Ec changed its name from educational comics yeah, right to entertainment comics in 1951, and damn near singlehandedly sparked the kefauver committee comic book hearings of 1954, which resulted. Fourteenyearold robert merdian of pennsylvania, an avid reader of comic books, wrote to the senate subcommittee on juvenile delinquency in defense of comics. With sales falling due to negative publicity, the industry adopted a comics code authority that issued seals of approval. The baby boom caused unprecedented growth little leagues grew from around 800 to 6,000 during the 50s billy graham began evangelical campaigns the family that prays together stays together it has been a law that in god we trust be placed on all coins since 1955 it has been mandatory on all currency.
These were televised hearings, consisting of a number of us senators calling up and questioning various people in the comic book industry. United states senate subcommittee on juvenile delinquency. I think hitler was a beginner compared to the comicbook industry, wrote psychiatrist frederic wertham in his 1954 book, seduction of the innocent, which linked comics to the rise in. Over three days of hearings, numerous experts were called to testify whether. Since the new 52 line rebooted dcs internal continuity, batgirl has become known as something of a progressive hero. In the two years following the senates 1954 decision, something on the order of 14 states wound up passing some kind of legislation governing or outright banning the sale of crime and horror comics. The national archives and the 1954 senate subcommittee hearings. Feb 20, 20 wertham, a germanborn american psychiatrist, stirred a national furor and helped create a blueprint for contemporary cultural panics in 1954 with the publication of his book seduction of the. The hearings started march 16, 1954 and ended june 17. Download citation the kefauver comic book hearings as show trial. History of comics censorship, part 1 comic book legal. This nifty comic book, with the help of archie andrews, betty, veronica, and even jughead, shows you the mechanics of a wide range of new era things including a new atomic locomotive, the lowdown on hifi, color tv, plus the abcs of power steering and power brakes.
The haunt of fear was sold at newsstands beginning with its mayjune 1950 issue. Murphy 19101992, a specialist in juvenile delinquency, to head the organization and devise a selfpolicing code of ethics and standards for the industry. The cca allowed the comic publishers to selfregulate the content of comic books in the united states. Sep 26, 20 though walt had little to do with this funnybookwidely considered the topselling comic book series in historyhe took pride in its excellence and the quality of all the disney comics. The senate investigation crime comic books of the 40s.
The comic book code paralleled the more famous motion picture production code adopted by the film industry on june, 1934, and which exerted a heavy hand of voluntary censorship over american movies from that date until the mid1960s. The book warns that comic books are a negative form of popular literature and a serious cause of juvenile delinquency. Comic books are successful almost from their inception in the early 1930s, but also subject to attack by critics for the low quality of the art and writing, and for the. The committee held three days of hearings in new york city the location selected because most of the comic book publishers were based there, called twentytwo witnesses, and accepted thirtythree exhibits as evidence. It ceased publication with its novemberdecember 1954 issue, compiling a total of 28 issues.
Senate hearings and the publishers defensive creation of the comic codes authority in 1954. A minor bestseller, it alarms parents, teachers and moral guardians and galvanized them to campaign for comics censorship. Religious leaders, civic groups, educators, the press, and government officials have voiced concern since the 19th century over supposed deleterious effects on children of popular culture, from dime novels and motion pictures to comic books, and television. Wikipedia article, commons category, wikidata item. The senate subcommittee on juvenile delinquency conducted its investigation of the comic book industry in the spring of 1954. Subcommittee to investigate comic books and juvenile. Intro to the hearings, descriptions of crime and horror comic book stories. Clendenen replies if you mean by that a deliberate and planned effort to use. In response to the public outcry raised by wertham in popular magazines and seduction of the innocent, comics were put on trial by the united states government in 1954 by the senate judiciary committees subcommittee to investigate juvenile delinquency. Juvenile delinquency comic books hearings before the. Fredric wertham and his 1954 book seduction of the innocent. Senate held hearings on comic booksespecially horror titles and their impact upon adolescentswalt spoke out. The 100 most influential pages in comic book history.