View Full Version : The End of the Comics Code Authority
The Toyroom
Jan 21, '11, 6:27 PM
The end of an era...DC is dropping the CCA seal from their remaining books as of January 2011 and so is Archie Comics as of February. I believe only Bongo Comics is left...
http://i.newsarama.com/images/CCAlogo_02.jpg
I know it really doesn't matter cause the CCA hasn't had teeth in decades but it's still sad nonetheless....
The Bat
Jan 21, '11, 6:35 PM
Works for me!:yes: Kids today don't buy Comics anyway.
ratchet
Jan 21, '11, 6:35 PM
I don't find it sad - they're just as bad as the MPAA telling us what THEY think we should be seeing or hearing - never really taking context into play. It's an outdated idea...
ratchet
Jan 21, '11, 6:36 PM
Works for me!:yes: Kids today don't buy Comics anyway.
I find the opposite - I see children buying comics in my LCS all the time.
The Toyroom
Jan 21, '11, 6:37 PM
Works for me!:yes: Kids today don't buy Comics anyway.
Kids can't afford 'em plus they aren't as readily available as when you or I were kids and could hit any drug store, newstand or grocery store and score some funny books.....
palitoy
Jan 21, '11, 6:43 PM
I think that symbol lost all meaning 40 years ago.
megowgsh
Jan 21, '11, 6:47 PM
I don't find it sad - they're just as bad as the MPAA telling us what THEY think we should be seeing or hearing - never really taking context into play. It's an outdated idea...
DITTO!
WannabeMego
Jan 21, '11, 6:48 PM
Down With The Man!!!
The Toyroom
Jan 21, '11, 6:52 PM
I think that symbol lost all meaning 40 years ago.
^ True but I still like seeing it on the cover :smiley1: Just one of those weird childhood things that you expect to be there but never really pay attention to til its gone....
Adam West
Jan 22, '11, 2:51 AM
I think that symbol lost all meaning 40 years ago.
Agreed. It never meant anything to me. When I was a kid; I never paid attention to the stamp (and my parents didn't know). If they changed it to follow something akin to the movie or TV ratings; it would have more meaning. I definitely know the difference between G, PG, PG-13, and R.
Bruce Banner
Jan 22, '11, 6:02 AM
Ah, the nostalgia.
Earth 2 Chris
Jan 22, '11, 8:09 AM
It's probably been more irresponsible for comic companies to stick with that dinosaur than to come up with their own ratings. I saw plenty of things in code-approved books that definitely aren't considered G-rated. And I loved every minute of it...:biggrin:
Frederic Wertham is spinning in his grave.
Chris
Toy Talk
Jan 22, '11, 8:19 AM
I spent three hours yesterday talking to the owner of the largest comic book store in America. The topic of the comic code came up but was vastly overshadowed when compared to the drop in business over the last five years. Sadly it appears the time for drastic change in the comic book industry is very near. Sad only for those of us who love the nastalgic feel of excitement we used to get when walking into a comic book store.
Although there appear to be many of us still buying books, the numbers are dwindling. With so few new collectors entering the market, and so many older collectors getting, well... older, sales are taking a nosedive nationwide. There is still enough money to keep the industry alive, but the question is for how much longer. As for the comic code, who really cares.
Hmmmm....
I grew up with the undergrounds, so the Code always seemed like a bunch of jerkwads to me. Dropping it is kind of symbolic anyhoo; they haven't had any real authority since the 70's.
>Sadly it appears the time for drastic change in the comic book industry is very near.
Don't feel sad! It was one of them huge declines and drastic restructurings that LED to the beloved books of your childhood! Unless you're, like, 60 or so.
Don C.
Adam West
Jan 23, '11, 2:35 AM
My only memory of the this was when Stan Lee decided to drop the code in a couple of Spider-man issues (somewhere near 100) when he had a storyline dealing with drugs.
Blitzkid
Jan 23, '11, 3:30 AM
I never thought DC would let go,I found that I was reading more DC comics in the last few years and was finally giving them respect,as I was always more a marvel zombie.
Knowing they avenged EC comics in a way,reading more DC books than ever(I think I'm a convert)
Bongo comics is also out. The CCA is DE-funct.
The CCA was definitley outdated and deserved to be dumped nuff said.
-Nick
Surfsup
Jan 23, '11, 5:51 AM
It was just another relic of the 50s, I'm surprised it's lasted this long. The code now is way out of touch with todays society, we have the likes of political correctness these days to keep us company.
samurainoir
Jan 23, '11, 9:46 AM
Look what long lost original art just happened to turn up just as the code ends it's run...
http://www.bleedingcool.com/wp-content/uploads//2011/01/crimesuspenstories22.jpg
saildog
Jan 23, '11, 10:46 AM
^
ICONIC!!!!
I always loved Gaines' exchange with Kefauver over that cover.
Senator KEFAUVER: Here is your May 22 issue. This seems to be a man with a bloody ax holding a woman's head up which has been severed from her body. Do you think that is in good taste?
Mr. GAINES: Yes, sir; I do, for the cover of a horror comic. A cover in bad taste, for example, might be defined as holding the head a little higher so that the neck could be seen dripping blood from it and moving the body over a little further so that the neck of the body could be seen to be bloody.
Senator KEFAUVER: You have blood coming out of her mouth.
Mr. GAINES: A little.
:smiley1: :cool_y:
Testimony of William Gaines (http://www.thecomicbooks.com/gaines.html)
Cmonster
Jan 23, '11, 11:07 AM
^ I do ludat cova.
SC
saildog
Jan 23, '11, 4:50 PM
Interesting story about Gaines and the Comics Code Authority read by David Hajdu from Hajdu's book "The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How It Changed America".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMYNpvoiBJw&feature=fvw
samurainoir
Jan 23, '11, 6:44 PM
I think they should start putting the "Easy Reader" stamp of approval from Spidey Super Stories on all new comics. Kids would be all "Hey Look! Morgan Freeman is telling us to read!" and stuff.
http://uncivilsociety.org/SpideySuperStories18.jpg
Adam West
Jan 24, '11, 10:19 AM
I'm sure this is all going hand in hand with the decline of newsprint media. DC and Marvel will need to jump on the digital bandwagon. I have said and continue to say that I enjoy holding and reading a book as opposed to reading one on a Kindle or some other digital book reader. There may be some room left there where you can download a comic for $.99 or some price level where they can remain profitable and make it appealing at the same time.
The Toyroom
Jan 24, '11, 5:39 PM
Apparently the CCA may not have even existed for the last year, even though DC and Archie were still using the seal on some of their books....
>Apparently the CCA may not have even existed for the last year, even though DC and Archie were still using the seal on some of their books....
Does that mean they were *gasp* ZOMBIES?!?!?! If so, they'd best chastize themselves. Zombies go against Code part B, section 5.
Don C.
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