The Authority initially came about during the era of McCarthyism and was exclusively concerned with comics. While the rationale behind the recent removal of Maus from school curriculum in Tennessee and the banning of V for Vendetta and Y: The Last Man in Texas seem to bear a resemblance to the hysteria that led to the creation of the CCA, the social-political contexts in which they reside are very different. As the years went by, the code would undergo various relaxations of its rules before eventually being more or less abandoned altogether in 2011. The rise of alternative comics or “comix” also surfaced around the same time and dealt with adult themes that ignored many of the Authority's restrictions. In an ironic twist, Stan Lee and Marvel were asked by the Nixon administration to produce an anti-drug comic leading to 1971’s The Amazing Spider-Man #96-97 by Lee and John Romita, which was printed without the CCA’s approval. A by-product of religious puritanism, the CCA helped to creatively dilute the medium of comic books for a number of years, regulating the medium to the superhero genre and perpetuating the idea that comics were only meant for children.ĭespite the restrictions imposed by the Authority, the medium was revitalized during the Marvel Comics boom of the ‘60s. The rules included cracking down on nudity and violent content ( leading to Catwoman and Two-Face not being used in Batman comics for a number of years), stories that only involved good triumphing over evil, authority figures that were always respected, and content that endorsed “the sanctity of marriage” (which excluded depictions of gay couples or divorce). While imposed by the publishers, the code still acted as a draconian piece of censorship that severely restricted the stories comics were allowed to tell.

Related: Tennessee School Board Issues Statement Defending Maus Ban Congress responded by pressuring comic book publishers to oversee the content in their books, leading to the creation of the Comic Code Authority. The Seduction of the Innocent paved the way for widespread cultural hysteria, leading to citizens partaking in the public burning of comic books and Wertham to claim that comics were “more dangerous than Hitler.” This was all happening during the era of McCarthyism, and the U.S. His book made many unsubstantiated claims including an assertation that Superman encouraged violent behavior by teaching children that they could solve all their problems through violence, and that the depictions of Batman and Robin promoted homosexual relationships with children. Despite their mainstream popularity, Wertham believed comic books to be the reason for these children’s aggressive behavior. Wertham was a psychiatrist who worked in Harlem, treating juvenile delinquents, whom he noticed all read comic books.

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