On History: The Anti-Comics Crusades

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you're probably at least passingly familiar with Dr. Fredric Wertham, the Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency hearings, and the birth of the Comics Code. There are any number of books and videos out covering the subject any more, from David Hajdu's hefty book The Ten-Cent Plague to Rober A. Emmons' recent documentary Diagram for Delinquents. Or maybe you've attended a convention and heard Charles Brownstein talk about it in regards to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, or Carol Tilley speak specifically to her research in Wertham's papers. There's plenty of information out there covering all aspects of the anti-comics sentiment that grew through the late 1940s and early 1950s.

But here's the weird thing that I think most Americans don't know: the crusade against comics wasn't just in the U.S. Let me pull out some book excerpts...

From John Bell's book on Canadian comics history, Invaders from the North...

In 1949 the crime-comics campaign gained substantial momentum as community groups across the country lobbied for passage of an anti-cromics law that had been drafted the year before by E. Davie Fulton. Among those who supported a legislative response to the crime-comics problem was Prime Minister Mackenzie King...

From Anne Rubenstein's history of censorship in Mexican comics, Bad Language, Naked Ladies, & Other Threats to the Nation...

Conservative frustration with las historietas reappeared in public discourse not long after a new president, Adolfo Ruiz Cortines, took office in 1952... Despite the governmental origin of this second movement against comic books, Catholic leaders sometimes spoke as if the government--rather than producers or consumers--was responsible for objectionable print media.

From Frederik Schodt's Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics...

In the late 1940s the American Occupation authorities took a dim view of all rhetoric and activities that seemed tied to the disasterous wartime mentality. In the comics this meant replacing the old system of censorship by a new one...

And, lastly, from Paul Gravett's Great British Comics...

In response to his concerns that a minority of American comics available as imports or British reprints were exposing children to gore and sadism, [clergyman Marcus] Morris teamed up with [Frank] Hampson to offer a thoroughly wholesome alternative [in 1950].

Now, all of these countries had obviously different approaches towards "cleaning up" comics and had varying degrees of severity. But what I find striking is that all of these countries were essentially reacting to the end of World War II, despite their level of involvement. And curiously, the countries that had the strictest regulations put in place, in the name of saving the children, were the countries whose children saw the fewest effects of war. Britain had the crap bombed out of it, and we mostly just a preacher offering up a less fight-y option. Whereas Canada and the United States, separated from the primary conflict by the Atlantic Ocean, put up the greatest stink about comics' impact on children, and had the most legal actions. America was, in fact, so stringent, as noted by the quote above, they even instituted new rules for Japanese comics!

As I said, much has been written about the issues here in the States, and various authors have touched on similar issues around the globe, but I'd be curious to see a comprehensive summary of what EVERYbody was doing and how their reactions differed due to their cultural backgrounds and/or their involvement in the war. What happened in France? Australia? Italy? India? How did this seemingly world-wide comics backlash manifest elsewhere?

Related Items On History