Amph [Research Paper] Marvel and DC Comics History, CCA (Comics Code Authority)

So for my History 499 Senior Writing Seminar course, I'm doing my paper on Marvel Comics and a little of DC comics and how they address various social issues starting in the 1950s all the way to the beginning of the 21st Century. I'm particularly interested in the Comics Code and the changes it has met. Right now I'm having trouble finding some articles/sources for around the time that Marvel withdrew from the CCA in 2001 when they adopted their own rating system. Anyone know of any articles on the matter?

 

I can't refer to any articles but I know the code came about largely because of Fredrick Wertham's book "Seduction of the Innocent" that claimed that comic books and their material where the cause of the rise in juvenile delinquency in the United States and lambasted the industry and the content of the books. The code came about in response so that the industry could maintain freedom from government censorship and still be self-governed.

Important to note are the Spider-Man (Amazing Spider-Man #96-98) and Green Arrow drug issues that cause much controversy, particularly when Stan Lee published his issues without the authority of the code.

EDIT: On a few of the pages on wiki there seems to be links to various publications that can be referenced. It may not be the most helpful but its a start.

 

Maybe you could e-mail Marvel to see if they can help you. Or if not them, one of the comic book websites and see what they have.

 

I know that Wizard covered the situation quite a bit. You might be able to find something on their website, otherwise I might be able to dig through the back issues I have over the weekend and see what I can find.

 

I find it interesting that DC still uses the CCA somewhat, as I figured Marvel's withdrawl back in 2001 would essentially be the end of that. But I can't think of any articles on the matter offhand, sorry. I'd like to know how this turns out though, it sounds really interesting!

 

Little bit of an update. Here are some of the sources I'm looking at:

- Comic Book Nation: The Transformation of Youth Culture in America
- Seal of Approval: The History of The Comics Code
- Marvel: The Characters and Their Universe
- Lots of newspaper articles. I'm finding some good stuff around 1970/71 when Marvel published the 3 issues of Amazing Spider-Man that dealt with him finding out his college roommate was a drug addict. This caused/helped brought about the 1971 revision of the Comics Code since Marvel went ahead and published the 3 issues without the approval.

A lot of good reading material.

 

There's a segment on the Comic Code on the History Channel's documentary, "Comic Book Superheroes Unmasked." The provides comments from Stan Lee and others regarding the CCA.

 

You're probably finished with the class, but I'd recommend a book called Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters and the Birth of the Comic Book. Great history on the comic book industry.

 

The Ten-Cent Plague has a lot of good information too, I used it for my own paper last school year. Very good historical documentation.

 

I just picked that one up, but I haven't read it yet.