"The Comic Code Authority: Reflection on United States Culture 1945-1972."
By: Michael Goodroe
Although the comic book industry began in the 1930's, it was in the mid 1940's when comic books, that sold for only ten cents, would bring the nation to a crisis of concern and action. As World War II was ending and the Cold War was becoming more evident, many people believed that youth were being supplied communist thoughts and turning into juvenile delinquents because of the negative power of comic books. The present and future culture of America was held in the hands of comic books. Under enormous pressure, the comic book industry adopted their own censorship standards including an independent person to monitor and ensure that all materials met the requirements of the public. The Comic Code Authority was designed to self regulate an industry that ignored its own rights of freedom of the press in order to adapt to a cultural concern fueled by propaganda. In the late forties, the country was challenged by an outside world and nothing represented this more than the concern of communism and the future of youth. Comic books became an area where people believed they could control the future if they could control comic books. The power of propaganda led to the self-regulation of an industry that is unique in our history. Comic book companies allowed their business direction, their creativity, their thought processes, as well as their future to be determined and controlled by others. Isn't this the way that communism is described?