Newsgroups: bit.listserv.cinema-l
Date:         Tue, 21 Jul 1992 10:52:09 EDT
From:         "George V. Chastain" <U0E53@WVNVM.BITNET>
Subject:      Book Responsible for '50's Comic Book Censorship, etc.

The book that brought about the self-imposed "Comics Code Authority"
that censored comics in the '50's was SEDUCTION OF THE INNOCENT
by Dr. Frederick Wertham.  Wertham focused primarily on the horror
crime comics of the period, alleging that the excessive violence,
sadism and immorality in them was an important factor in the
psychological warping of many disturbed teenagers.  Parents and
Teachers jumped on the bandwagon, articles appeared in LADIES
HOME JOURNAL and elsewhere, and finally Congress held hearings on
the issue.  The most notorious offender was the E.C. Comics line
(TALES FROM THE CRYPT, THE VAULT OF HORROR, SHOCK SUSPENSE STORIES,
CRIME SUSPENSE STORIES, WEIRD FANTASY, and others) which had
started the trend.  To avoid complete disaster (as Hollywood
had done in the '30's), the comic book industry decided to censor
itself and came up with the Comics Code Authority stamp of
approval, to be printed on the covers of comics that parents could
safely let their kiddies read.  The standards of censorship were
extremely rigorous, and books that didn't wear the stamp were
blacklisted by distributors.  The objectionable E.C. titles
couldn't survive, and after fooling around with some unsuccessful
cleaned-up new titles, the company finally came up with another
winner -- MAD.  The first 23 issues of MAD were 10: comic books,
then it switched formats to the 25: (cheap) black and white
magazine that some of us older CINEMA-L subscribers remember
very fondly from our childhood.

The entire E.C. line has remained one of the most famous series
of comics in the history of the medium, highly collectible and fun
to read.  E.C. horror stories are the acknowledged source of
two feature film anthologies and the current cable television
series TALES FROM THE CRYPT, and the inspiration for other films
and TV shows.  Though some of the stories E.C. published did
indeed explore the boundaries of good taste, most of them were
well-written, highly moral fables. E.C. often borrowed plot lines
from classic horror stories like W.W. Jacobs' "The Monkey's Paw,"
extrapolating imaginative twists.  At one point they shamelessly
swiped some of Ray Bradbury's science fiction stories, then being
published in pulp magazines -- but Bradbury liked their
adaptations so much that he gave them permission to continue
(with appropriate credit).  E.C. also had the most talented
"bull-pen" of comic artists ever assembled (some of whom
continued with MAD magazine) -- famous names in the field like
Frank Frazetta, Wallace Wood, Jack Davis, Bill Elder, Al
Williamson, Graham Ingels, Joe Orlando, Harvey Kurtzman (first
editor of MAD), and others. Terrific stuff for comic fans.

Free plug: If you'd like to see what E.C. was all about, drop
into your friendly neighborhood comic shop and ask about the
new series of inexpensive ($1.50) reprints from Russ Cochran.

Sad conclusion:  William Gaines, the publisher of the E.C. line
and MAD magazine, died recently in his '70's.  He inherited the
business from his father (who invented the comic book format in
the '30's) and revitalized the old line of titles (including things
like PICTURE STORIES FROM THE BIBLE) with the new, very successful
horror, war, crime and science fiction titles discussed above.
He weathered the slings and arrows of outraged fortune-hunters
like Frederick Wertham, and made a fortune with MAD.  A great
American success story.

I hope that those of you who only know MAD from its contemporary
incarnation -- a pale, insipid shadow of its former glories --
will get a chance to see some of the early comic and magazine
issues.  A very subversive influence on kids of my generation.

George Chastain -- WVNET, Morgantown, West Virginia
U0E53@WVNVM or U0E53@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU
Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU