In the mid 1950s the U.S. Senate forced comic book publishers to adhere to the guidelines of a Comic Code Authority. The ‘Code’ was brought in to protect America’s youth from what was then deemed disturbingly graphic and blatantly sexual content in comic books.
Post ‘Code’ comic books were produced with quite severe content restrictions. No longer did artists and writers have license to create anything they wished. Artists being artists and writers being writers these talented people soon began looking for creative ways to express themselves beyond the constraints of the ‘Code’. Suggestive art and wordplay was now being covertly added into comics.
Our Sleepy Censors articles will expose many comics that deserve a closer look. Some will be so obvious you’ll think “how’d they let that through” while others will be tamer. We hope all the posts will be entertaining and we encourage your feedback and suggestions of comics you think caught the censors sleeping.
Superman’s Girlfriend Lois Lane #120, DC Comics, March 1972
This one is shocking. A bunch of Mexican men have spread eagled Lois on a giant spinning target. She’s chained, gagged, spread-eagled and positioned so that the bulls-eye is right in her crotch. And we all know guys always aim for the bulls-eye.
Considering the projectiles are really big darts with large needles at the end this cover is quite disturbing actually. The cover goes beyond sexuality and dives quite deep into perversion and sadism. Published at the height of the Women’s Lib movement perhaps DC was weighing in on the issue?
