For a long time comic books use to carry this seal. I can't even imagine what the comic book censors in the 50's and 60's would make of today. I used to trade comic books when I was growing up during that era. If you read the article there are some interesting tidbits including a story about William Gaines who created Mad Magazine.
The Seal of Approval, once prominently displayed on comic book covers, quietly disappeared in 2011. For nearly 60 years, however, censors funded by the comic book industry enforced rules about acceptable content. Only comics that passed a pre-publication review carried the seal.
Designed to resemble a stamp, the seal bore the words “Approved by the Comics Code Authority,” which was the regulatory arm of the Comics Magazine Association of America. The trade association’s Comics Code Authority and its Seal of Approval were the publishers’ answer to their critics.
Comic Book Critics
Controversy over comic books surfaced shortly their debut in the 1930s. The first group to object to comics was educators, who saw comics as a bad influence on students’ reading abilities and literary tastes. They filled professional journals with suggestions on how to wean their pupils from superhero tales. Comic books also represented a threat to their authority – for the first time, children could select their own leisure reading material.
Church and civic groups added their members’ voices to protests. They objected to “immoral” content such as scantily clad women in jungle comics and the glorification of villains in crime comics. The Catholic Church’s National Office of Decent Literature added comics to the materials it evaluated.
In postwar America, a new focus on juvenile delinquency drew a third group into the debate over the effects of comics – mental health experts. Among them was Dr. Fredric Wertham, a noted New York City psychiatrist, who campaigned to ban the sales of comics to children. He argued that children imitated the actions of comic book characters and that the content desensitized children to violence.
Seduction of the Innocent
Wertham is often ridiculed as a failed social scientist whose studies of the effects of comics lack credibility, but that is an unfair characterization. His case against comics is actually built on his practice of social psychiatry, which examines social and cultural influences on behavior, including popular culture. However, in articles for popular magazines written by and about Wertham, the underpinnings of his work were left out in favor of anecdotes that Wertham realized would resonate more with the audience.
The best-known of the comic book critics, he advocated for comic book legislation by presenting his work in professional venues, by testifying at legislative hearings, and by publicizing his views in popular media. His efforts focused national attention on comics but resulted in no legislation. Discouraged, he wrote a book he hoped would raise public awareness about comics. He published Seduction of the Innocent in spring 1954.
Wertham’s renewed attack on comic books prompted the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency to begin its investigation of the effects of mass media with the comic book industry. Senators staged hearings in New York City on April 21-22 and June 4, 1954, calling a number of witnesses to testify.
http://cbldf.org/comics-code-history-the-seal-of-approval/
The Seal of Approval, once prominently displayed on comic book covers, quietly disappeared in 2011. For nearly 60 years, however, censors funded by the comic book industry enforced rules about acceptable content. Only comics that passed a pre-publication review carried the seal.
Designed to resemble a stamp, the seal bore the words “Approved by the Comics Code Authority,” which was the regulatory arm of the Comics Magazine Association of America. The trade association’s Comics Code Authority and its Seal of Approval were the publishers’ answer to their critics.
Comic Book Critics
Controversy over comic books surfaced shortly their debut in the 1930s. The first group to object to comics was educators, who saw comics as a bad influence on students’ reading abilities and literary tastes. They filled professional journals with suggestions on how to wean their pupils from superhero tales. Comic books also represented a threat to their authority – for the first time, children could select their own leisure reading material.
Church and civic groups added their members’ voices to protests. They objected to “immoral” content such as scantily clad women in jungle comics and the glorification of villains in crime comics. The Catholic Church’s National Office of Decent Literature added comics to the materials it evaluated.
In postwar America, a new focus on juvenile delinquency drew a third group into the debate over the effects of comics – mental health experts. Among them was Dr. Fredric Wertham, a noted New York City psychiatrist, who campaigned to ban the sales of comics to children. He argued that children imitated the actions of comic book characters and that the content desensitized children to violence.
Seduction of the Innocent
Wertham is often ridiculed as a failed social scientist whose studies of the effects of comics lack credibility, but that is an unfair characterization. His case against comics is actually built on his practice of social psychiatry, which examines social and cultural influences on behavior, including popular culture. However, in articles for popular magazines written by and about Wertham, the underpinnings of his work were left out in favor of anecdotes that Wertham realized would resonate more with the audience.
The best-known of the comic book critics, he advocated for comic book legislation by presenting his work in professional venues, by testifying at legislative hearings, and by publicizing his views in popular media. His efforts focused national attention on comics but resulted in no legislation. Discouraged, he wrote a book he hoped would raise public awareness about comics. He published Seduction of the Innocent in spring 1954.
Wertham’s renewed attack on comic books prompted the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency to begin its investigation of the effects of mass media with the comic book industry. Senators staged hearings in New York City on April 21-22 and June 4, 1954, calling a number of witnesses to testify.
http://cbldf.org/comics-code-history-the-seal-of-approval/
hno:
