The Comics Code Authority is pretty much dead now…meh

Ok, now that the comic code authority is effectively gone…what’s going change for us comic fans? Probably jack squat. Marvel dropped it in 2001 and you probably didn’t notice. Bongo did in 2010 (just goes to show how much people gloss over the seal) and now Archie and DC are doing so, which leave us with no one?.  We’re long past the time of caring two hoots what the comic code authority thought of your book. In fact, grab any 15 year old kid, put two comics in front of them; one with the CCA stamp and one without and ask him to point out the difference. Chances are they wouldn’t be able to tell the difference or even tell you what the stamp means. Oddly enough, neither the Comic Code Authority, nor the Comics Magazine Association of America (which oversees it) has an official website, which makes finding out about the inner workings of the organizations a little more difficult.

I find it pretty interesting that the comic code authority even lasted this long or that certain publishers such as Bongo or Archie Comics even bothered getting approval since even a blind chimp could see that there was no way anything remotely harmful could show up. Well, I guess except for maybe some of the slightly racy covers Archie sometimes has.

The CCA, as many older or die-hard comics fans know, spun out of the whole Seduction of the Innocent where Wertham made a big stink in front of the Senate and comic publishers were forced to defend themselves. As a result, the code was put in and since retailers at the time didn’t often carry books without the stamp, many books like the EC horror books at the time, went bust. This is where things get interesting. This axed a lot of the popular crime and horror books of the time which left a lot of room for superheroes to step in and fill that void. But basically, it’s pretty much business as usual for comic fans except we can take the time to appreciate that this reminder of an archaic system has bit the dust.