A fascinating chapter in the history of censorship and a pivotal one in the history of the American comic-book industry.
Will no doubt be TLDR for some; I recommend starting with the fifth pic (Brochure-04) that details what’s forbidden from a CCA-approved comic.
Further reading:
aw man, I remember when Marvel Comics was all like “hey fuck you comic code” and they stopped putting it on their books.
Good Times!
I was there for the “transition”; that is, when the creators/publishers began slipping increasingly outré (by CCA standards) content into their comics, with the seal still on the cover. I really want to read the first book I listed to see just how it slid into irrelevance, after wielding such power over an entire medium for decades.
Of course, now that Disney owns Marvel, maybe the Code will be revived.
You know Disney own Miramax, right?
“owned”
You know that Miramax is bankrupt now, right?
Which to you imagine Disney would have an easier time influencing the creative output of: Marvel or Miramax?
If it helps, imagine a wrestling match between Michael Eisner and Harvey Weinstein. Now imagine one between Eisner and Stan Lee.
(and yes, I’m aware that none of them [i]technically[/i] run their respective empires anymore.)
I’m nearly 100% certain that a condition of the merger/buy out was that creative control would reside with the Marvel Entertainment guys for the foreseeable future.
though it doesn’t make much sense to have a movies division in Marvel Ent. AND in Disney, so who knows what changes will be brought to the table.
Yeah well, people don’t pay enough to see stylish violence. The demographic downloads films for free instead of watching thema t the cinema and buys DVDs of the ones that get good reviews in small independent shops a couple of eyars later, imported (if possible) from Japan, or some other place that’s suitably non-mainstream.
Even so, Disney never stopped Miramax using violence and sex, and if anything it encouraged them to use it more.