Resources for COMICS CENSORSHIP in various eras & societies…

JUMP TO: 20th Century | Suppression of the Maya | Bayeux Tapestry

20th Century Resources:

CODE OF THE COMICS MAGAZINE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA, INC. / 26 Oct. 1954 / History @ CBLDF.org
The comic-book medium, having come of age on the American cultural scene, must measure up to its responsibilities.”

The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How It Changed America (David HAJDU)

“In the years between World War II and the emergence of television as a mass medium, American popular culture as we know it was first created―in the pulpy, boldly illustrated pages of comic books. No sooner had this new culture emerged than it was beaten down by church groups, community bluestockings, and a McCarthyish Congress―only to resurface with a crooked smile on its face in Mad magazine.”

“Wars of Comics and Culture in ‘Ten-Cent Plague'” (NPR, 2008) >>

“A National Disgrace / And a Challenge to American Parents” (Sterling North, Chicago Daily News, 8 May 1940)

“Virtually every child in America is reading color “comic” magazines — a poisonous mushroom growth of the last two years. Ten million copies of these sex-horror serials are sold every month. One million dollars are taken from the pockets of America’s children in exchange for graphic insanity…”

“The civilization of the new [comic book] order is in great part a herdist phenomenon. Its subjects are . . . standardized men, men en bloc. . . . Everything is centered on one man—the leader, the hero, the duce, the Führer. Herd responses not being on the rational level, this hero does not appeal by argument. … He builds on the herd’s dreams: he hypnotizes. Thus did Hitler and Mussolini. . . .” ~ Walter J. Ong

“Horror in the Nursery”
(Collier’s, March 1948)

Staged photos & Frederic Wertham quotes…



WONDER WOMAN >>


“Cool Covers” @ RTS >> = mirror of RTSUnlimited.com‘s gallery detailing of the Comics Industry’s path to censorship…

You think the COMICS CODE was rough?
Wait ’til you learn the horrors of…

SUPPRESSION OF THE MAYA (16th Century)

“The Mayan Apocalypse: July 1562″ >>

“We found a large number of books in these characters and, as they contained nothing in which were not to be seen as superstition and lies of the devil, we burned them all, which they regretted to an amazing degree, and which caused them much affliction.”
~ Bishop Diego de Landa (1562)

BAYEUX TAPESTRY (11th Century +)

This embroidered history comic [read it! >>] has a long & gripping history of suppression, secret messages, mystery, & danger, and teaches us much about the relationship between visual narratives & political power…

For more Bayeux stories & mysteries, see:

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3 Comments

    1. That’s a modern artwork from the POPOL VUH archive site;
      You’ll just have to dive into the Popul Vuh, & see what you find!
      (Although I must admit I saw it as a coffee-centric creation myth…)
      I’ve replaced the image, actually, with the Diego Rivera illustration “Creation”.

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