The Day Horror Comics Died
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Today, most Americans associate comic books with superheroes. But in the early 1950s, horror was the king of comics, and the king of horror comics was EC Comics.
The EC was known for pushing the envelope. His horror and suspense titles often featured dark, gory stories that sometimes dipped into social commentary and almost always ended in a gruesome murder. This made him very popular with readers, but it did not sit well with certain demographics, such as Christian religious leaders. He objected to the violence and the bad morals that these comics were allegedly teaching children. The most notorious psychiatrist of all was Fredric Wertham, as shown by Dr. Carol Tilly his 2012 paperTo make false data look like comics-All Comics-were contributing to juvenile delinquency.
In response to these specific allegations, Congress convened the Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency to hear testimony, mostly from people who disliked comic books, about the alleged negative impact of comics on young people. One of the few pro-comics people to testify was EC Chairman Bill Goins. This turned out to be a very bad idea.
The hearings lasted several days, but the most infamous exchange occurred on April 21, 1954. Senator Estes Kefauver questioned Gaines about the cover. crime suspense stories #22Pictured below is a man holding a black, bloodied axe, with his head possibly cut off with it. (Be careful, the image is really unpleasant.)
Gaines soon became embroiled in a silly but destructive debate over “good taste”, with Gaines defending the cover being published and insisting that it would only be in “bad taste” if the lower part of the woman’s severed head were shown.
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It immediately became clear what a big mistake this was. in his book ten-cent plagueDavid Hajdu explains how Captain America co-creators Joe Simon and Jack Kirby reacted:
“Joe Simon and Jack Kirby were watching the hearing at Simon’s apartment in midtown Manhattan with their friend and collaborator, comics writer Jack Oleck. At this point in Gaines’ testimony, Kirby yelled and Simon scolded Gaines through the TV screen: ‘Idiot, idiot, idiot!'”
Thanks in part to this exchange and the negative publicity it generated, the comic book industry decided not to wait for the subcommittee to issue any findings or recommendations. To “protect” their interests, they created a self-censorship program, the Comics Code Authority, which was so restrictive that it put many publishers, including EC, out of business. Horror comics were one of the genres most affected: the new code not only banned most forms of violence and did not allow characters to get away with illegal acts, but also strongly discouraged the use of words such as “terror” and “horror” in comic titles. This spelled doom for titles like EC vault of terrorNot to mention the careers of hundreds, if not thousands, of artists and writers. Despite the popularity of superheroes today, the American comic book industry has never fully recovered.
Things have changed since then, at least in some ways. The Comics Code Authority ceased to exist in 2011. recently, Oni Press EC’s horror comics line was revived with titles such as deluge of pain And cruel universe.
But the attitude that led to the downfall of the Election Commission in the first place is still alive and well. Self-appointed moral warriors are still willing to make threats to justify banning “dangerous” books, which are usually just books that introduce readers to methods and thinking that Banner personally dislikes. Whether you are a fan of horror comics or not, the right to publish these and any other comics should be preserved. If even one book is successfully banned, no book is safe.
Read more about the history of comics censorship with these Two Essay From Dr. Brian Puaka, also take a look at Contemporary scenario of book censorship With Dr. Carol Tilly.