1954 comic book hearings officers

On this day, in 1954, the senate judiciary committees subcommittee to investigate juvenile delinquency was closing out a second day of hearings. Weve been selling comics since 1961 our first sale. Wnyc has released the first day of the hearings, april 21, 1954. Dec 15, 2017 in 1954, a senate subcommittee on juvenile delinquency met to discuss the problem of horror and crime comic books. The leader of the anticomicbook movement in the postwar years has been dr.

Code of the comics magazine association of america, inc. Wertham began his investigation into the influence of comicbooks on the behavior of. The 1954 senate subcommittee hearings examining the possible. In the last few years it finally ended where writers could write what they wanted. The hip hop hearings 1990scriticized rap music as obscene, misogynistic, and a threat to decency within the black community.

Warren bernards citations and fredric wertham documents. The senate subcommittee on juvenile delinquency conducted its investigation of the comic book industry in the spring of 1954. The book warns that comic books are a negative form of popular literature and a serious cause of juvenile delinquency. I think it ought to be possible to determine once and for all what is in these comic books and i think. The comicbook medium, having come of age on the american cultural scene, must measure up to its responsibilities.

The pictures that horrified america unpatriotic tool to get. Within the comic book industry, it goes all the way back to the early 1950s. Following the hearings, comic book publishers voluntarily developed new standards of content control. Containing reprints of newspaper comic strips, this experimental comic book titled funnies on parade was given away for free. One woman brought her young daughter and parked her outside the inquest room with a comic book. Most of the spectators were women and there was many a sinkful of dirty dishes in bay village that week. In 1954, wertham, the author of the influential book seduction of the innocent, was a star witness at senate hearings also chaired by kefauver on the comicbook industry, blaming their. United states senate committee on the judiciary united. How the selfish attitude of red army officers combined with the lack of training in the 1930s led to the failure of the red army officer corps in world war ii. Werthams book prompted a wave of handwringing around the nation. The comics code authority was established in 1954 by the comics magazine association of america in response to a growing concern by parents that comic books were the cause of juvenile. Over three days of hearings, numerous experts were called to testify.

The committee held three days of hearings in new york city the location selected because most of the comic book publishers were based there, called twentytwo witnesses, and accepted thirtythree exhi. The committee held three days of hearings in new york city the location selected because most of the comic book publishers were based there, called twentytwo witnesses, and accepted thirtythree exhibits as evidence. Warren bernards citations and fredric wertham documents by warren bernard feb 06, 20 when this article was originally conceived, it was not clear whether there was any new ground to cover about the famed senate comic book hearings of 1954. The leader of the anti comic book movement in the postwar years has been dr. These were televised hearings, consisting of a number of us senators calling up and questioning various people in the comic book industry. Audio of 1954 juvenile delinquency hearings resurfaces comic. The kefauver committee had looked into comic books, too, the. It was named book of the year by the national education association, and it soon created. This nifty comic book, with the help of archie andrews, betty, veronica, and even jughead, shows you the mechanics of a wide range of new era things including a new atomic locomotive, the lowdown on hifi, color tv, plus the abcs of power steering and power brakes.

The depiction of communal housing in soviet arts and literature during the 1920s. Comicbook controversy is a cautionary tale nbc news. Member publishers submit comic books to the cca, which screens them for conformance to its comics code, and authorizes the use of their seal on the cover if the books comply. The pictures that horrified america unpatriotic tool to.

The comics magazine association of america cmaa was formed in september 1954 in response to a widespread public concern over gory and horrific comicbook content. The comics code authority cca is part of the comics magazine association of america cmaa, and was created to regulate the content of comic books in the united states. Like tobacco, the comic book companies didnt take him. Fahrenheit 451 project 3 timeline timetoast timelines. Comics code authority project gutenberg selfpublishing. Religious leaders, civic groups, educators, the press, and government officials have voiced concern since the 19th century over supposed deleterious effects on children of popular culture, from dime novels and motion pictures to comic books, and television. Groups of pious, rightthinking people had pressured our elected government officials into a witch hunt on comic book creators. Intro to the hearings, descriptions of crime and horror comic book stories. In 1954, the senate subcommittee on juvenile delinquency conducted hearings on comic books and warned the industry that if selfregulation did not prove to be effective, other ways and means would be found to protect children. Now, were seeing a new round of the same hysteria directed at video games old wine. And, as hajdu establishes by interviews with many oldtime comicbook employees, the.

Anxiety over comic books grew as the pulp fiction crime and horror genre. Comic book bans in the 1950s in 1954 comic books were being banned because of their content. Subcommittee on juvenile delinquency conducted hearings on comic books and warned. Apr 16, 2009 representing and consuming modern life. May 08, 2008 1954 elections returned control of congress to the democrats, kefauver was given the chairmanship of the juvenile delinquency subcommittee. Fahrenheit 451 project 3 timeline created by aw8091. Hearings before the subcommittee to investigate juvenile delinquency of the committee on the judiciary, united states senate, eightythird congress, second session, pursuant to s.

The comics code authority cca was formed in 1954 by the comics magazine association of america as an alternative to government regulation. Wertham began his investigation into the influence of comic books on the behavior of. The general federation of womens clubs is putting, at the top of its winter program a drive to banish the horror and crime books from the newsstands. The freedom to game american civil liberties union. Though it was originally intended to focus only on king and what was thought at first to be a shortterm. Blacklisted comic writer benton resnick, who had testified at the senate comic book hearings of 1954, was hired to write the script. The senate investigation crime comic books of the 40s. Neither of them, though, has what we now call precode issues. Almost sixtyfive years after the senates investigation of comic books and juvenile delinquency, evidence from these hearings can be found by searching the records in the national archives. Juvenile delinquency comic books hearings before the subcommittee to investigate juvenile delinquency of the. Contact staff cbldf boards bylaws corporate members. The cca allowed the comic publishers to selfregulate the content of comic books in the united states. United states senate subcommittee on juvenile delinquency hearings on the comic book industry. Juvenile delinquency comic books hearings before the.

Why my mother threw out my comic books part 3 of 3 webages. Albert lea sunday tribune archives, aug 8, 1954, p. Fredric wertham s sensational book, seduction of the innocent, set the medium back 50 years. The staff of the library of congress prepared a useful summarization of. United states senate subcommittee on juvenile delinquency. Guns should follow comic book example, not cigarettes.

It proved so popular that the following year eastern published famous funnies and took the bold step of selling the comic for ten cents through chain stores. Gathered by filmmaker henry hampton for the series eyes on the prize, it is part of the remarkable legacy of the civil rights. Full text of juvenile delinquency comic books hearings before the subcommittee to investigate juvenile delinquency of the. The event took place on april 21, 1954, at the foley square u. History symposium schedule history and american studies. Senator estes kefauver of tennessee, who succeeded hendrickson as chairman of the committee, oversaw a series of televised hearings in new york in the spring of 1954. The comics after 1955 by adam blatner reposted 352010 this is based on a talk given 61209 to the summer session of the senior university georgetown.

In 1954, a senate subcommittee on juvenile delinquency met to discuss the problem of horror and crime comic books. The comic book medium, having come of age on the american cultural scene, must measure up to its responsibilities. These were televised hearings, consisting of a number of us senators calling up and questioning various people in. While it is not presumed to be comprehensive of the material that can be explored in this field, this interim report is based upon the public hearings in new york city on april 21, 22, and june 4, 1954, and upon research by members of the staff of the subcommittee. The comics code authority was formed in 1954 by the comics magazine association of america as an alternative to government regulation, to allow the comic publishers to selfregulate the content of comic books in the united states. These two days would prove a pivotal period in comics history, leading to decades of selfcensorship that almost destroyed the industry. Full text of juvenile delinquency comic books hearings before the. The front page of the report, with listing of the committee members and the table of contents. Weapons and pseudomedical nostrums advertised in comic books designed for. After some initial research, it was apparent that many aspects had never been addressed in previous. The industry formed a new trade association and formulated a new code to selfcensor content. Werthams april 1954 testimony against comics was no less damning.

Under his direction, the committee wrote its report on the comic book industry, issued in march 1955, and continued its examination of violence and sex in the mass media with hearings on film and television. As ridiculous as it all may sound today, seduction of the innocent had a cultural moment in 1954. Richard cledenen executive director, us senate subcommittee to investigate juvenile delinquency. Murphy, 44, a specialist in juvenile delinquency, to head the organization and devise a selfpolicing code of ethics and standards for the industry. Interim report of the committee on the judiciary pursuant to. The comics code authority was formed by the comics magazine association of america, to allow the comic publishers to selfregulate the content of comic books in the united states but its code, commonly called the comics code, was ultimately abandoned by every major comic book publisher by the early 21st century. Precode issues refer to comic books published prior to marchapril 1955. In part 1, the history of comics from 1890s through around 1949 is summarized briefly. The morning session features richard clendenon, dr. They focused on particularly graphic crime and horror comic books of the day. As is the case with most congressional hearings, staff members for the. Full text of juvenile delinquency comic books hearings. In the 1970s congresss committee staff and workload grew again, and the.

In 1954, germanamerican psychiatrist fredric wertham published the now infamous seduction of the innocent, a book chronicling the supposed harm caused to americas youth by comic books. The comics code authority was created in 1954 as part of the cmaa comics magazine association of america in response to public concern over what was deemed inappropriate material in many comic books. There was a certain naivete to the superhero stories published during world war ii, and that changed abruptly in the 1950s, says william savage jr. This included graphic depictions of violence and gore in crime and horror comics, as well as the sexual innuendo of what aficionados refer to as. Oct 19, 2017 code of the comics magazine association of america, inc. The neighbors who lived near spic and span, new normandy school in bay village crowded the gymbiggest auditorium in town. Apr 22, 2009 the result was the first modern comic book. Instances of lawenforcement officers dying as a result of a criminals activities should be discouraged.

Offering an example of this practice of teaching crime techniques via crime through comic books, dr. Contact staff cbldf boards bylaws corporate members retail members. Full text of juvenile delinquency comic books hearings before the subcommittee to investigate juvenile delinquency of the see other formats. When this article was originally conceived, it was not clear whether there was any new ground to cover about the famed senate comic book hearings of 1954. Senate, rg 77 in 1954, a senate subcommittee on juvenile. From 19501954, 1,650 issues of horror comic books made it to the newsstands. See photo complete, original newspaper, the detroit news mi dated sept 17, 1954.

In the eyedancers, mitchell brant is a comic book collector. The comicbook scare david hajdu bookforum magazine. Cavanagh is the senior medical officer and psychiatrist, united states. Comic book code of 1954 wikisource, the free online library. Police officers go through training and do things by the book. The national archives and the 1954 senate subcommittee hearings.

They focused on particularly graphic crime and horror comic books of the day, and their potential impact on juvenile delinquency. In part 2, the national pressure to reform the excesses of comic. Comic books are successful almost from their inception in the early 1930s, but also subject to attack by critics for the low quality of the art and writing, and for the. Juvenile delinquency comic books wednesday, april 31, 1954 united. These are the 1954 senate subcommittee hearings into juvenile delinquency, with the special focus on comic books. The organization collaborated with the al capp organization creators of lil abner on the artwork. Adopted october 26, 1954 preamble the comic book medium, having come of age on the american cultural scene, must measure up to its responsibilities. May 17, 2017 as ridiculous as it all may sound today, seduction of the innocent had a cultural moment in 1954. Under his direction, the committee wrote its report on the comic book industry, issued.

The public hearings took place on april 21, 22, and june 4, 1954, in new york. Probed by senators this type of comic book is under fire all over the country. Many have linked the ccas formation to a series of senate hearings. United states senate subcommittee on juvenile delinquency hearings on the comic book. A minor bestseller, it alarms parents, teachers and moral guardians and galvanized them to campaign for comics censorship. In 1954, wertham, the author of the influential book seduction of the innocent, was a star witness at senate hearings also chaired by. Harris pack, henry edward schultz and senator estes kefauver, whose witch hunt against comics, aided by dr. From the congressional hearings of 1954 to the prosecution of the case against christopher handley, the legal systems attacks against the comic book and graphic novel have been a dark chapter in the saga of first amendment jurisprudence. What i didnt know at the time was that a few years earlier the comic book industry had been gutted by a series of senate house committee hearings. Jan 21, 20 within the comic book industry, it goes all the way back to the early 1950s. The senate investigation crime comic books of the 40s and 50s.