T-shirt #63: Comics Code Authority

T-shirt #63: I am "approved" by the Comics Code Authority

Given my love of logos and insignias, when this shirt came along, I had to have it.

I like the idea of being "approved" by the Comics  Code Authority.

Also, this shirt has special significance as it was a Christmas gift from my parents in 2011. I am sentimental by nature but especially sentimental about gifts.

What is the Comics Code Authority?

"The Comics Code Authority was formed by the Comics Magazine Association of America, to allow the comic publishers to self-regulate the content of comic books in the United States but its code, commonly called "the Comics Code," was ultimately abandoned by every major comic book publisher by the early 21st century. It was formed as an alternative to government regulation. Many have linked the CCA's formation to the publication of Fredric Wertham's book Seduction of the Innocent. Members submitted comics to the CCA, which screened them for adherence to its Code, then authorized the use of their seal on the cover if the book was found to be in compliance. At the height of its influence, it was a de facto censor for the U.S. comic book industry" (Comics Code Authority, Wikipedia, 2013).

EC comics were a thing of the past by the time I started buying comics. I have read many since, especially in the collected volumes. And though I have loved Mad Magazine and have been an avid reader since the 1970s, it was not the same as it had been in the pre-Authority days.

I remember how Marvel Comics earned itself a great deal of press when the CCA rejected issues 96-98 of The Amazing Spider-Man because of the depiction of drug abuse in the stories. I have always loved that Stan Lee chose to publish the stories without the CCA seal, a brash move for the House of Ideas, Marvel Comics.

I wear this shirt as a statement of irony: contrast and contradiction.

I would like to have the white shirt with the code symbol as I only wear black shirts in the cooler months and tend to wear white shirts all summer. Expect to see more white shirts hit the blog in the weeks to come.

- chris tower - 1305.23 - 10:27

PPS: Postscript note written 1310.27: Somehow I made a numbering error and so the T-shirt number in the URL for this entry is not accurate. But this is entry #63.