In the 1950s, over six tons of books by william reich were burned in the u. How the code authority kept lgbt characters out of comics. The first reported comicbook burning took place in november of. Public discontent was expressed in many ways, including mass comic book burnings conducted in several communities. These are the years when comics were considered a new and exciting form of art.
Notable book burnings have taken place throughout history. David hajdu s great book, the ten cent plague has the following description of the spencer burning. Americas very own book burnings ozy a modern media company. Its likely that waughs assessment of comic books provided some of the inspiration for the anti comic book sentiment that would grow to prominence starting in 1948. Measuring the benefits later studies cast the medium in a. By the early 1950s, of course, the anti comic fervor would reach such heights that the industry was forced to implement the comics code authority in order to stave off government regulation. Apr 10, 2020 in the late 1930s through the mid 1950s, this was comic books.
Apr 08, 2008 barron youngsmith of the new republic says. The cca allowed the comic publishers to selfregulate the content of comic books in the united states. They were printed in attentiongetting color on cheap paper. Its eyeopening to see that at the same time as the red scare, americans were doing their own authoritarian censorship based on nothing more than the quack science of a pop psychologist.
After the war, sales dropped dramatically and then continued to slide down throughout the 1950s. The comic books were burned in a courtyard behind the school. Comic book legal defense fund the first amendment encyclopedia. For comicbook fans, fredric wertham is the biggest villain of all time, a reallife bad guy worse than the joker, lex luthor, and magneto combined. Book burning is the ritual destruction by fire of books or other written materials, usually carried out in a public context. Jun 10, 2018 in the 1950s, the united states freaked out big time over comics books. Although popular with teens, the violent comic books triggered adult outrage. Even fredric wertham claimed that comic books were bad for kids in his 1954 book seduction of the innocent 07142014, 12.
Motivations have ranged from religious persecutions to political statements. The great comic book conflagration laphams quarterly. David hajdu examines the great comicbook panic of the 1950s. The insane history of how american paranoia ruined and censored. In 1954, the works of mordecai kaplan were burned by orthodox jewish rabbis in america, after kaplan was excommunicated. There were senate hearings and comic book burnings. The content deserved 5 stars, but the package is the worst i have ever encountered. The flames rose to a height of more than twentyfive feet as the children, their teachers, the principal, and a couple of reporters and photographers from the area papers watched for more than an hour. Jun 25, 2019 how the code authority kept lgbt characters out of comics. Book burning is the ritual destruction by fire of books or other written materials, usually carried.
Today, movies adapted from comic books are raking in hundreds of. Here, yearold david mace officiated as spencer grade school children burned 2,000 comic books they have been collecting for weeks in spencer, w. The comics code authority cca was formed in 1954 by the comics magazine association of america as an alternative to government regulation. In the end, careers were ruined, companies went out of business, and comics fell under a strict censorship regime for decades. The insane history of how american paranoia ruined and. Mar, 2015 some 60 years ago, during the era of mccarthyism, comic books became a threat, causing a panic that culminated in a senate hearing in 1954.
Along with neal adams and rafael medoff, yoe is coeditor of we spoke out. Mar 25, 2008 david hajdu examines the great comic book panic of the 1950s. Scholars see comics as no laughing matter education week. History of comics censorship, part 1 comic book legal defense. Aug 31, 2017 a brief history of book burning, from the printing press to internet archives as long as there have been books, people have burned thembut over the years, the motivation has changed. Lupoff in an article called rebirth in issue 1 of fanzines comic art in april 1960 shift from superheroes. First of all, remember that during the mid 1950s there was some popularity of sick humor, such as the little twist of putting a trap under santas foot. According to knuth, the motives behind book burning changed after the printing press helped bring about the enlightenment erathough burning through the collateral damage of war continued to. I think you and your readers at boing boing will enjoy the new republics fascinating slideshow. Senate held hearings on the evils of comic books on april 21, 1954, and the major comic book publishers adopted a code on october 26, 1954. Apr 24, 2019 hollywoods most famous canine enjoyed almost uninterrupted comicbook coverage between 1950 and 1969.
The first recorded use of the term golden age was by richard a. The book deals primarily with comic strips, but its final chapter is devoted to comic books. In the end, careers were ruined, companies went out of business, and. Comic strips evolved into comic books, with much of the material aimed at young readers. His writings prompted parents, educators, and clergy in a handful of u. Hajdu notes one 1955 bonfire in indiana, pennsylvania that was expressly intended to burn any old comics that lacked the nowcoveted seal of approval. The burning of books represents an element of censorship and usually proceeds from a cultural, religious, or political opposition to the materials in question in some cases, the destroyed works are irreplaceable and their burning constitutes a severe loss to cultural. Oct 24, 20 the history of comics censorship in the 1950s has been chronicled in books like david hajdus the ten cent plague, but researcher carol tilley, an assistant professor at the university of illinois, has found some new angles to the story in a surprising place.
May 8, 1940 sterling norths anticomics editorial, a national disgrace, is published in the chicago daily news. If the great comic book scare interests you, and given that youre visiting this site it probably does, this book is essential reading. In 1950, this loss was partly made up for by copies made from books in the library of mario ferrarini. The first comics began appearing on newsstands in 1933. The book, entitled seduction of the innocent fanned anti comic sentiment all over america. So keep reading to find out if your favorite heroes made my list, and feel free to respond with your different opinions. The event was part of a national panic over comic books in the 1950s regarding their alleged impact on juvenile delinquency. In the 1950s, the united states freaked out big time over comics books. They followed his lead, resulting in events like a public comic book burning by a girl scout troop from cape girardeau, missouri. In 1950, a senate subcommittee investigation into organized crime would. In the 1950s, america declared war on the comic book. Oct 03, 2018 1950s comic books conspiracy or scare.
Great content one of the best comic book books i own and i own a boatload of comic book books. Many of us in the baby boom generation remember collecting soda pop bottles and turning them in for a few cents each or saving our allowance to buy one of our favorite comic books for a dime. The middle decade of the last century was not a good one for the comics industry. Frederic wertham, author of the 1954 book seduction of the innocent, which warned against the supposed evils of. Dec 05, 2017 gary colabuono, comic book collector and dealer, opens the first shop in chicagos suburbs devoted entirely to comic books. This is a boy reading a comic book getty imageshutton archive.
The moral panic that almost destroyed the comic book business. The resulting hysteria caused many schools and pta groups to hold shades of nazi germany public comic book burnings. No matter what youre looking for or where you are in the world, our global marketplace of sellers can help you find unique and affordable options. These kinds of lists are always less the definitive end of the conversation than the start of one. The brilliant simplicity of ernie bushmillers nancy newspaper strip made for an easy transfer to comic books, with the troublemaking kids appearing in united comics, tiptop and sparkler comics, the latter turning into nancy and sluggo. Comic books in the 1950s the golden age of comic books origin of the term. Hajdu, david the ten cent plague the great comic book scare and how it changed america, farrar, straus and giroux, new york, 2008. In the late 1940s and 1950s, concerns about comic books led to burnings in towns across the country. Sep 20, 2010 while book burnings in our time have been acts of sensationalism and symbolism, in the past, torching texts was a tactic used by conquerors to wipe the slate of history clean. Feb 07, 2020 the comic book that helped spark a generation of young civil rights protestors did not feature superheroes, but a 42yearold seamstress and a 26yearold baptist pastor. From 1938 to 1950 a period historians refer to as comics golden age comic. This book covers the history of comic books from the rise of comic strips in the late 1800s to the fall of the comic book industry in the 1950s. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, wertham was the intellectual spearhead of the anticomics crusade, arguing in many articles and his 1954 bestseller, seduction of the innocent, that comic books. Jun 08, 2012 but, what some people dont know is that farenheight 451 is based on a story called the fireman, which in turn was based on a story named bright phoenix.
Comic censorship as comics soared in popularity, they drew the inevitable concern from parents and church groups. Super heroes all died out between 1950 and 1955 with only superman, batman and wonder woman and a few smaller ones still being published. People feared that theyd turn children into hardened criminals, and so opponents burned them in large piles, states banned them, and the u. Jun 11, 2018 there were senate hearings and comic book burnings. The presence of an uncensored book critical of some aspect of american life in the open collections of a u.
It seems like almost yesterday that hundreds of comic books and magazines, judged as indecent and unfit for children, were ceremonially. Etsy is the home to thousands of handmade, vintage, and oneofakind products and gifts related to your search. Dec 08, 2011 last week, i started a twopart column on the greatest comic book characters of the 1950s and 60s. Werthams crowning achievement against comic books came in 1954. It would later be reprinted in numerous newspapers throughout the united states. In denmark, a comic book burning took place on 23 june 1955. The golden age describes an era in the creation of comic books published between the years of 1938 and 1955. Bright phoenix was actually written in 1947, aligning the timing of the story with the early comic book burnings and the now infamous nazi book burnings in world war ii. Terrifying early1950s comic book covers boing boing. The anticomics crusade timeline seduction of the innocent.
Jul, 2014 there was a lot of comic book burnings as well as televised hearings about it. Some strict collectors consider the era finished by 1950. Timeline of the anticomics crusade of the 1940s and 1950s. Burnings ignited across the country in the 1940s and 1950s, from.
Comic books have been a staple of american pop culture for the better part of 90 years. A psychiatrist named fredric wertham stirred the flames in a notorious 1954 bestseller called seduction of the innocent about the dangers lurking in comic books. I returned two copies to amazon because the binding fell apart after i opened the cover of the book. David hajdu has written biographies of music greats billy strayhorn, bob dylan, and joan baez. First, a brief history of comic books from their origins to the late 1940s. Gerard jones, in his informative book, men of tomorrow. In the 1940s, comic book burnings were happening in the us, even as gis were returning home from seeing the same activities in germany. The comic books that taught a generation of american teens. Further reading if youd like to read more about this period in comic book history, here are some books that you might find useful. By the early 1950s, according to the overstreet comic book price guide, one in three periodicals sold in the united states was a comic book. The mlk graphic novel that inspired generations of civil. This, of course, isnt to say that mccarthyism and the.