12 Shocking Real-Life Incidents That Affected Comics

10. Senate Subcommittee Hearings Into Juvenile Delinquency And The Comic Book Code

One of the starkest examples of reality impacting upon the four colour world, occurred in the wake of the 1954 publication of Dr. Frederic Wertham€™s book 'Seduction Of The Innocent'. Wertham became the medium€™s most vocal opponent during the McCarthy era, protesting against perceived depravities, such as the homoerotic subtext of the Batman and Robin relationship and the supposed corrupting influence of E.C. Comics€™ violent horror and crime titles. Rather than being pilloried for his puritan views, Wertham was commended, and his work led to the damning 1954 Senate Subcommittee Hearings on Juvenile Delinquency. Comics were dragged over the coals, and the subsequent inauguration of the Comic Book Code censorship body followed shortly after. Ironically, the Code allowed for an absence of reality to seep into the pages of comics, which had previously sought to address the reality of the world around them. However, it could also be seen to have had a positive long term influence: it was recognising the fact young people could no longer relate to anodyne versions of Batman and Superman fighting Dinosaurs, which led directly to Stan Lee creating the Marvel Age of flawed heroes who could be easily identified with.