Crusade Against Comic Books

From the earliest days of the medium, teachers, librarians, and concerned parents labeled comic books as unsuitable reading material for children. By 1948, anti-comic accusations became more strident. In a series of popular magazine articles, respected psychiatrist Fredric Wertham linked comic book reading to childhood violence and bad morals. Church and community groups around the nation sponsored public comic book burnings, boycotts, and local ordinances banning or regulating their sale.

Anti-comic book sentiment escalated in 1954 with the publication of Wertham's book, Seduction of the Innocent, followed by a series of Senate hearings on the relationship between comic books and juvenile delinquency.

In an effort to dispel public criticism and avoid any possible federal regulation, leading comic book publishers banded together to draft the Comics Code Authority (CCA), an organized mechanism of self-censorship.

The only leading publishers who did not participate in the CCA were the Gilberton Company (Classics Illustrated) and Dell Publishing, whose comics were widely perceived to be wholesome and inoffensive.

• Comics Code Authority
• Dell Pledge to Parents