On Wednesday, April 21, 1954, the United States Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency convened to discuss the impact of comics on American society. In the same month, Entertaining Comics (EC) released a number of horror and crime based comics, including issue 41 of Tales from the Crypt, issue 36 of the Vault of Horror, and issue 14 of Shock SuspenStories. In the latter comic, there is a story about a young girl who kills her father and frames her mother so that she can go and live with her favourite aunt.
The fact that EC played a big part in the subcommittee hearing was probably not surprising, as they dominated the release schedules of the time with a number of titles covering a variety of genres. In the decades that followed, they have become best known for their horror and crime comics, but EC also published romance books, westerns, and sci-fiction. And it would be a story published in April 1953, in Weird Fantasy #18, that would ultimately lead to the demise of EC comics. But it wasn’t the government that caused the problem, or the legions of anti-comic protests across the country, but the comic industry itself and the big, corporate publishers who reigned supreme.
Background
Today, looking back, it isn’t surprising that EC is eternally linked to the Juvenile Delinquency hearings of the 1950s. They are famously known for their shocking horror comics which have survived the test of time thanks to the talented artists who worked on them and the notoriety they have gained. However, when the subcommittee was formed and comics were introduced to the agenda, thanks in part to Senator Estes Kefauver who was eager to make a name for himself, the contents of the comics were only a small part of the inquiry, and it was acknowledged that only a small proportion of the comics in circulation contained questionable material. Part of the hearing was handed over to the infamous Fredrick Wertham, whose testimony, based mostly on his book Seduction of the Innocent, was primarily focused on the superhero and crime genre. It’s also worth noting that Wertham wasn’t the influential figure that history has comic book fans believe. As noted in Shawna Kidman’s Comic Books Incorporated, “Despite Wertham’s role in getting comic books on the public agenda, his ideas were not universally or even widely embraced” (1).
The other infamous testimony at the hearings was of EC owner Bill Gaines, whose cross examination made headlines at the time, and is still a major focus of any discussion about the hearing today. But, just like Wertham, other than making eye-grabbing headlines, his testimony had virtually no bearing on the rest of the hearings. The two of them were figureheads, and surprisingly similar in that neither owned their narrative going into the committee hearings. Kidman says of them, “They were both in opposition to the most powerful forces involved in this controversy, specifically, the bigger companies” (2).
It has been incorrectly insinuated over time that Bill Gaines was the only member of the comic book industry to attempt to defend their industry at these hearings, but he was in fact one of many. The difference is that, while Gaines argues the specifics of physical comics and their contents, the rest of the hearings focused on the corporate aspect of the comic book industry and it was becoming apparent that “the industries distribution infrastructure was breaking down. There was an oversupply problem with physical and financial repercussions, reports of entrenched anticompetitive practices, and souring relationships between distributors and retailers along delivery routes” (3). The comic book industry had to tighten its infrastructure, as well as provide the impression that they were in control of the content of the comics being released. It was this need to streamline that led to the creation of the CMAA (Comics Magazine Association of America) and who implemented the CCA (Comics Code Authority) that would, in its way, lead to ECs demise.
At the time of its creation, Time magazine described the CMAA as a group of “publishers of ‘good’ comics” who “hope to police themselves and avoid being put out of business” (4). In a later statement from Bill Gaines after leaving the CMAA (he was in fact the instigator behind the formation of the association, but that in itself is a long story), he accused them of lacking “sincerity” and using the committee as a “smokescreen to deceive the public” (5). As Kidman explains in her book, “in creating a code of ethics, the other publishers planned not to eradicate harmful comic books, as the publicity claimed, but merely to print deceptive covers with innocuous titles while publishing the same old material inside” (6). It is worthy to note that, before forcing Bill Gaines out, the CMAA was chaired by John Goodman, publisher of Archie Comics, and contained special committee members from National Comics (who became DC) and Atlas (who became Marvel Comics), three of the publishers that would thrive under the new Comics Code.
The Comic, the controversy
In 1952, EC published Judgement Day! Written by Bill Gaines and Al Feldstein, and illustrated by Joe Orlando, the story told of an astronaut who was sent to a distant planet to assess if they were ready, as a culture, to join the Great Galactic Republic. Tarlton, the Earthen inspector, is given a tour of the mechanical planet by one of the orange robots. He is shown the city, the centres of diplomacy, and the factories that create everything the planet needs, including the next generation of robots. At first Tarlton is impressed by what he is shown, especially the free enterprise society that they appear to have created. But this opinion begins to change when he asks to go to Blue Town. This is the area of the city where the Blue robots are created and live. It is during this part of the tour that Tarlton realises that the mechanical city endorses segregation between the orange and blue robots. Despite the fact that the factories use the same equipment and designs to create the blue robots, their outer plating is differently coloured and their choices in life are limited. When Tarlton brings this up with his guide, the orange robot makes excuses and falls back on the “this is how it has always been” argument. Ultimately, Tarlton denies the planet’s entry into the Great Galactic Republic and leaves for home, removing his helmet for the first time during the story, revealing a man clearly of African descent.
At the time the comic was published in Weird Fantasy #18, cover dated March/April 1953, it was greeted with positive reviews. The EC offices received a number of letters praising them for such a powerful story. In issue 20 of Weird Fantasy, the publishers printed a letter from Ray Bradbury, whose work was often adapted by the EC writers and artists, which stated: “Judgement Day! should be required reading for every man, woman, and child in the United States. You have done a splendid thing here, and deserve the highest commendation” (7). This high praise was also met in other publications and newspapers. In an editorial for the Chicago Defender published on February 7, 1953, the newspaper praises EC, saying, “when an unusual strip appears which cleverly combines the lure of color and fantasy with educational propaganda, it is worthy of special citation” (8). What is especially important about this is that the Chicago Defender is one of the most successful African American-owned newspapers in the United States. The story was a critical success.
However, this was pre-comics code, and there was no regulation of the comic industry at that point. A mere two years later and the comic industry landscape had changed. New York magistrate Charles F. Murphy was tasked with enforcing the Comics Code Authority, and he oversaw an office of administrators who reviewed and adjusted every comic that was submitted. In his book The Ten-Cent Plague, David Hujdu examines the organisation behind the code and, more importantly, demonstrates why the Code was so important to the industry, especially the smaller publishers. In the book, Hujdu quotes an anecdote told by Herb Rogoff, a creator who worked for Atlas from the late 1940s:
“Why don’t we just tell them to go foof themselves?” I said. “Oh,” the big boss said, “The printers won’t print.” I said, “Are you kidding?” He said, “No. They’re too scared. They won’t print without the seal, and the distributors won’t ship without the seal. Without the seal, we’re out of business.” (9)
This anecdote is important for two reasons. Firstly, it ties directly back to the subcommittee hearings and the fact that the majority of the inquiry was about the business side of the comic industry. When the CMAA incorporated in September 1954, 26 publishers were signed up, along with 19 companies involved with technical operations and distribution. The seal was more than a sign of moral content, but also a symbol that the comic book—and its publisher—were a willing participant in the industry, a part of the larger team. Secondly, it demonstrates why a publisher like EC would submit their comics in the first place. They needed the stamp of approval in order to get the distribution required to reach the audience. No stamp, no distribution, no revenue.
So when the code was introduced after the senate hearings in 1954, EC had to change almost their entire range of comics in order to meet the new rules. For approximately two years, EC and Bill Gaines struggled against the code and the committee that set it up, but the final straw came with issue 33 of Incredible Science Fiction, due for release in February 1956, and this is where all the threads of this article come together. When Incredible Science Fiction #33 was issued for review, EC were told that one of the stories, An Eye For An Eye by Angelo Torres, could not be included in the comic, so the editors needed to find a replacement. The story chosen was Judgement Day! It had been a hit originally and worth reprinting. However, Charles Murphy initially rejected this story as well. Allegedly the comic was rejected on the grounds that the story humanized its black protagonist, and Murphy insisted that the central character had to be changed to a white man in order for the story to go to print. Gaines and Feldstein argued with Murphy on the telephone, almost screaming that the judge was missing the point of the story, until finally Murphy relented by asking that the sweat be removed from Tarlton’s face. This was too much for both Gaines and Feldstein who threw obscenities at the telephone before hanging up. They went on to print the story anyway, as originally drawn, and it turned out to be the last EC comic published. The experience had soured Gaines enough to withdraw from the comic book industry. After the release of Incredible Science Fiction #33, EC stopped producing comic books. There was a short period of picto-fiction books, which were heavily illustrated, but these lost money so Gaines eventually moved his entire focus onto Mad Magazine, a publication that fell outside of the Code’s remit.
Conclusion
While examining this part of comic history, Shawna Kidman writes “Feldstein himself later acknowledged that Murphy’s response to his story was basically ‘illogical’ and ‘had nothing to do with the code.’ The dispute was really about business” (10). This idea is backed up in Paul S Hirsch’s book Pulp Empire where he discusses the changing face of comics in the mid 1950s. Hirsch notes that, after the introduction of the code, most crime and horror comics disappeared and were replaced with a new generation of superheroes, all coming from the same few publishers who had, in the forties, made their name with superhero comics. These same companies had seats on the special committee with the CMAA, and owned the printing and distribution companies that decided what comics got published and sent to retailers. Hirsch also points out another disturbing trend in the new comics: “Comic books, never flush with non-white characters, also became ‘whitewashed.’ The code banned racist imagery, and as the comic industry had little interest or practice in providing nuanced, sophisticated non-white characters, it responded by eliminating nearly all of them” (11).
In an attempt to publicly clean up the comic publications, the CCA actually provided the opportunity for the most powerful publishers to dictate their own morals and standards and shut out any other voices. This led to a comic that challenged segregation, and the inherited racism within society, to be technically banned for not meeting a perceived level of good taste. But beneath that, at the true heart of the matter, the companies in charge wanted to limit the competition and control comic book distribution. The CCA was a front used to demonstrate to the United States Government that the industry could regulate itself, while a few publishers maintained the corporate monopoly. This attitude can be seen later in the 1960s with the rivalry between the two big publishers DC and Marvel (12), but in the 1950s it meant that small, independent, and creatively challenging publishers just didn’t stand a chance. Bill Gaines recognised this during his fight over the reprinting of one of the best comic stories that EC had ever produced and he knew it was time to leave the business.
EC produced some grotesque and violent comics, there is no doubt about that, and the call for some regulation about the sale of such comics is understandable. But they also produced some of the best stories ever printed, from a creative and sociological point of view. It is no wonder that the big corporations would be concerned, even afraid, of such competition. It also explains why a comics authority would go to any lengths to subjugate a small publisher, even go as far as attempting to ban one of the most important comic stories of the 1950s that dealt with racial intolerance.
References
1 – from Comic Books Incorporated by Shawna Kidman pg 57
2 – from Comic Books Incorporated by Shawna Kidman pg 63-64
3 – from Comic Books Incorporated by Shawna Kidman pg 49
4 – quoted in The Ten-Cent Plague by David Hajdu pg 293
5 & 6 – from Comic Books Incorporated by Shawna Kidman pg 68
7 – from Weird Fantasy #20 published by EC
8 – quoted in EC Comics: Race, Shock, & Social Protest by Qiana Whitted pg 132
9 – from The Ten-Cent Plague by David Hajdu pg 310
10 – from Comic Books Incorporated by Shawna Kidman pg 69
11 – from Pulp Empire by Paul S Hirsh pg 266
12 – see Slugfest by Reed Tucker for a detailed look at the publication and distribution of Marvel and DC comics in the 1960s
