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Works Cited
Primary Sources
"Code of the Comics Magazine Association Inc." Comics Magazine Association Inc., www.visitthecapitol.gov/exhibitions/artifact/code-comics-magazine-association-america-
inc-1954. Accessed 20 Oct. 2019.
This website contains photo slides which provided me with pictures of the Comics Code
Authority pamphlet (the barrier itself), the senate hearings, and copies of the two letters
written by Robert Meridian (the child) and Eugenia Y. Genovar (the parent). I was able
to deepen my understanding about the range of perspectives taking a hand in this
conversation, therefore adding complexity to the topic itself.
Crotty, Rob. "The Congressional Archives NARA Unit Preserves History of Legislation in the
House, Senate." The Congressional Archives NARA Unit Preserves History of Legislation in House, Senate, U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, 2009, www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2009/fall/congressional.html. Accessed 15 Oct.
2019.
This is a website which contains photographs from the Subcommittee of Juvenile
Delinquency. This was used in the Senate Hearings tab, and provided details to how this
testimony was “the nail to the coffin”\s his testimony provoked the committee to justify
their suspicions and overall view on the subject matter, to recommend censorship on
comic books.
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“Eisenhower and McCarthy.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/eisenhower-politics/.. This website provided a photograph of Joseph Mccarthy, so readers can tie a face to the
name repeated throughout the tab of Mccarthyism and the Second Red Scare
“Grand Comics Database.” Grand Comics Database, Grand Comics Database, www.comics.org/.
This was a database that provided all of the comic book covers in the website. This was
meant to give visual aid, in how events directly transpired, and what the messages were
communicated within the covers. This was also used to add a sense of understanding to
the multitude of perspectives given by senators, and parents.
"Guide to Senate Records: Chapter 13 Judiciary 1947-1968 Chapter 13. Records of the
Committee on the Judiciary and Related Committees, 1816-1968." Guide to Senate Records: Chapter 13 Judiciary 1947-1968, U.S National Archives and Records Administration,
www.archives.gov/legislative/guide/senate/chapter-13-judiciary-1947-1968.html#SSJD.
Accessed 15 Oct. 2019.
This was a web page/document that outlined the rules and how previous biases may have
affected the outcomes. This was important to understand the cause of the creation of the
Comics Code Authority and what to compare to its goal, and how it ended up achieving
it.
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Harris & Ewing. “DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION. CHARLES F. MURPHY OF
TAMMANY HALL.” The Library of Congress, Library of Congress , 1912, www.loc.gov/item/2016863885/. This was a website containing a photograph of Charles Murphy. This was to show
viewers what he looked like, compared to the actions he did.
Herbert. “Herblock's History - Political Cartoons from the Crash to the Millennium ‘Fire!".”
"Fire!" - Herblock's History: Political Cartoons from the Crash to the Millennium |
Exhibitions - Library of Congress, 16 Oct. 2000, www.loc.gov/exhibits/herblocks-history/fire.html.
This website provided a cartoon/illustration which is the second political cartoon on the
Mccarthyism and Second Red Scare Tab. It was chosen due to its factoring in another
perspective, illustrating how the general population viewed Mccarhy’s allegations of
workers being communist in the White House. This also backed up how controversial
this event was, having two clashing opinions about the topic itself.
Hudak, Heather C. McCarthyism and the Red Scare . Crabtree Publishing Company , 2018. This book provided me with the cartoon depicting the House of Un-American Activities
speeding in a car putting civilians in danger, paired with some quotes. This photograph
was meant to illustrate the fear of the citizens, along with the suspicion that reinforces the
attitudes by parents, similar to the letter by Eugenia Y. Genovar. Also, the source
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provided a strong understanding of what the Second Red Scare was, and what transpired
during this event. This also provided a general guideline of what McCarthyism was.
Lee, Stan. "Great Power, Great Responsibility ." Superheroes: A Never-Ending Battle, season 1, episode 2. Interview.
This documentary helped bring Stan Lee’s perspective, being the main person who broke
the censorship barrier. This was chosen to be a multimedia source in order to elaborate on
the source that broke the barrier, since it was a hefty event.
“Marvel Unlimited: Subscribe to Read Over 25,000 Comics for One Low Price.” Marvel Entertainment, www.marvel.com/comics/unlimited.
This website provided a photograph of the last page in the first Spiderman issue is meant
to illustrate the relatability he holds in his own teenage life, and how it became a defining
factor of the Silver Age. Spiderman now has to transition from a teen to an adult taking
up new responsibilities.
Maeder, Jay. “No Harm In Horror: When Congress Investigated Whether Comic Books Were
Poisoning Young Minds.” Nydailynews.com, New York Daily News, 12 Jan. 2019, www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/federal-inquiry-comic-books-ruining-kids-article-1
.816665.
This website provided a photograph of William Gaines testifying against the Senate
Subcommittee. This was just meant to tie a face to the name repeated throughout the
website.
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Mendryk, Harry. “Wertham & Censoring.” Simon and Kirby, 25 June 2010, kirbymuseum.org/blogs/simonandkirby/archives/category/topic/wertham-censoring.
This is a website containing a photograph of Fredric Wertham, meant to tie a picture to
the name that is constantly being repeated throughout the website.
"Stan Lee ." Stan Lee, Coggle , coggle.it/diagram/XD7M3Krft0v2IkgW/t/stan-lee. Accessed 24 Nov. 2019. Map.
This website contained a diagram of the quote on the thesis page. This conveyed the idea
of how Comics were a scapegoat and an allusion to the real problem, setting up the
overtone of the whole website. This is a primary source, because it was said by someone
who was directly involved in the conflict at hand.
United States, Congress, Senate, Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency. Juvenile Delinquency (comic Books) Hearings before the Subcommittee to Investigate Juvenile
Delinquency. Testimony of William Gaines. Full text of "Juvenile delinquency (comic books) Hearings before the Subcommittee to Investigate Juvenile Delinquency of the, Boston Public Library, 4 June 1954,
archive.org/stream/juveniledelinque54unit/juveniledelinque54unit_djvu.txt. Accessed 16
Oct. 2019. 190th Congress, 83rd session.
This was a website containing a direct transcript between the Senate Subcommittee and
William Gaines, an infamous moment in comic book history, where Gaines much
cemented popular opinion and even intellectual opinion about the workings of the
negative relationship between Comic Books and juvenile delinquency.
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Thrasher, Frederic M. "Do The Crime Comic Books Promote Juvenile Delinquency?"
EBSCOhost, EBSCO Industries, 1 Dec. 1954, eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=18&sid=a9930579-8f39-4bbb-a349-d
4a1948c349c%40sdc-v-sessmgr01. Accessed 15 Oct. 2019. (Webpage)
This academic journal provided a perspective in, providing a point of view on the
scientific view of the Comics Code Authority justifications. This elevated the point of
view of how the code was strongly misguided in its backing.
“Timeline of the Anti-Comics Crusade of the 1940's and 1950's.” The Anti-Comics Crusade Timeline, www.lostsoti.org/TheAntiComicsCrusade.htm.
This website contained a photograph of a senator (part of the Senate Subcommittee)
evaluating comic books on a board. This was included to justify the serious nature and
tone undertaken by senators, when evaluating the “detrimental” effect comic books have
on the youth.
Wolf. “Trump Blames Video Games, Movies for Violence - CNN Video.” CNN, Cable News Network, 22 Feb. 2018,
www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2018/02/22/trump-blames-video-games-movies-violence.c
nn.
This website contained a video of Donald Trump placing the blame of teen violence on
video games, indirectly meant to indicate how scapegoating continues to remain as a
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problem This establishes significance to the problem, trying to raise awareness that even
the most respected leaders can scapegoat.
Secondary Sources
Anderson, Ted. “Comics Code.” Salem Press Encyclopedia of Literature, 2020. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ers&AN=102165527&site=eds-live.
This website provided a quote to give a clear picture to the readers about the future of the
Comics Code Authority. This is supposed to give a general timeline of the slow decay of
the Comics Code and how ideals changed over time about the ideals of censorship.
“Author’s Response to Tim Black’s Review of The Myth of the Addicted Army: Vietnam and
the Modern War on Drugs.” Humanity & Society, vol. 34, no. 1, Feb. 2010, p. 107. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1177/016059761003400106. This academic journal emphasized one of the main points given to enhance the
prevalence of the causes for breaking the barrier. Notably, this provided a direct quote on
how the war of drugs prompted Stan Lee in creating “Spider-Man Issue #96,” therefore
breaking the barrier of censorship, while lending credibility on how drug and war
tensions changed comic book media.
Armstrong, April C., and Zachary Bampton. "Comic Books, Censorship, and Moral Panic."
Seely G. Mudd Manuscript Library, Trustees of Princeton Library, 18 Apr. 2018, blogs.princeton.edu/mudd/2018/04/comic-books-censorship-and-moral-panic/. Accessed
21 Oct. 2019.
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This is a blog post article from Princeton University detailing questions about Charles F.
Murphy. This allowed me to understand how the main administrator of the Comics Code
Authority operated and how he set the tone for the harsh regulations set on comic books.
Bailey, Budd. Red Scare: Communists in America. Cavendish Square, 2017 This book offered me quotes along with an understanding of the political and social
atmosphere of when the Code was created. This specifically, cleared up confusion of how
the Second Red Scare directly contributed to the events that led to the suspicion of the
content in comic books.
Balkenende, Paula, et al. “Comics and Cultures.” Edited by Serina Brekke, Comics & Culture - Exhibitions - The University of Iowa Libraries, The University of Iowa Libraries , 2009, www.lib.uiowa.edu/exhibits/previous/comics/.
This website provided a quote which established how the political climate impacted the
content of the comics. Due to the advocacy of this idea (in the website) that the outside
world impacts culture, serving as an outlet. From this, it is established that the
groundbreaking storytelling comics emerged from the rambunctious political atmosphere.
Davis, Blair. “Beyond Watchmen.” Cinema Journal, vol. 56, no. 2, Winter 2017, p. 114.
EBSCOhost, doi:10.1353/cj.2017.0005.
This academic journal provided background information on one of the most critically
acclaimed comic books of all time, Watchmen. From the political climate, and the slow decay of the impact garnered by the Comics Code Authority, a great storytelling comic
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book wouldn’t have been created. Mostly, it is representative of the new unexplored
creative ranges, that creators are now free to explore.
Dufton, Emily. “The War on Drugs: How President Nixon Tied Addiction to Crime.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 25 Mar. 2012, www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/03/the-war-on-drugs-how-president-nixon-tied
-addiction-to-crime/254319/.
This website containing an article gives background information of how Nixon’s war on
drugs was prevalent during this time period. This justified the reasoning behind why the
Nixon Administration asked Marvel Comics to create an Anti-Drug comic book for
children and teens. This quote is also evidence towards the type of atmosphere that was
established during this time period.
Friedmann, Jonathan L. “From Stale to Silly to Sublime The Shofar in Comic Books.” Qol Tamid: The Shofar in Ritual, History, and Culture, edited by Jonathan L. Friedmann and Joel Gereboff, vol. 1, Claremont Press, Claremont, 2017, pp. 267–296. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvbcd1px.15. Accessed 1 Feb. 2020.
This academic book/excerpt of JSTOR, provided me with how McCarthyism translated
into suspicion of comic book culture. This source also described a major root of this
problem, in how EC Comic’s creation of horror themed comics catalysed reactions which
in turn evoked opinions like Dr. Wertham’s. It helped me create a timeline in the events
happened, therefore making a logical progression of events.
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Hadju, David. The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic Book Scare And How It Changed America. This book provided a detailed and overall reliable source in the short-term effects of the
Comics Code, mostly on the social side. This is considered secondary, as it provided
direct interviews of the social turmoil comic creators faced and some statistics on what
was the economic status of that time. This enhances the significance of how the Comics
Code Authority negatively affected creators in this industry.
"History- EC Comics." History- EC Comics, EC Comics, www.eccomics.com/history. Accessed 16 Oct. 2019.
This webpage was used for the quote at the top of the Attack on Comics. This was used
to emphasize the ignorance undertaken by comic book writers, and to bring in the aspect
of their misunderstanding of the situation. This was also to establish that writers wrote
these comics to establish their own funny and creative vision into the comic book
industry.
"History of Comics Censorship, Comic Book League Defense Fund." Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, cbldf.org/resources/history-of-comics-censorship/history-of-comics-censorship/.
Accessed 17 Oct. 2019.
This website provided me with a strong foundation of the timeline of the events related to
the Comics Code Authority. It also provided photographs of the book burnings, the quote
from Stan Lee in the breaking barrier tab, and the comparison of the two Captain
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America Image etc. This overall established more context to the problem and some
general timeline clarifications.
Maddux, CleborneD., and D.LaMon. Johnson. “The Need for a Research Focus on the Possible
Causal Link Between Violent Behavior and Videogames.” Computers in the Schools, vol. 30, no. 1/2, Jan. 2013, pp. 1–3. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/07380569.2013.771769.
This academic journal provided me with the quote on the far left hand side. This
established the significance of the overall theme of scapegoats, and how it is still
prevalent today. With this source, it gave strong reinforcement to how the legacy of the
Comics Code played out, and how its overall theme of misunderstandings is still seen
today.
Nickell, Frank. "Almost Yesterday: The Burning of the Comic Books!" Almost Yesterday: The Burning of the Comic Books!, 2 July 2019. Accessed 24 Nov. 2019. This website containing an article gave a quote which depicted how book burnings were
an important, relatively unknown social effect of the Comics Code. It helped show the
depriving effects of how the Comics Code Authority impacted popular opinion.
Oliver, Myrna. "William Gaines; Founded Mad Magazine." Los Angeles Times , 4 June 1992, www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-06-04-mn-1381-story.html. Accessed 24 Nov.
2019.
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This is a newspaper post that illustrates William Gaines’s history with comics. It was
used for the economic effects, to give an example of how publishers managed to avoid
the financial problems by joining other professions.
Perry, Robert, et al. DC Comics: A Visual History- Updated Edition . Edited by Laura Gilbert et al., DK Publishing , 2015.
This history encyclopedia details the years of DC History, and is a reliable source for
chronicling major ideas in comic history. It specifically gave quotes on the Silver Age
tab, both contextualizing and enhancing the understanding of what defined this age, and
how the comic code impacted it.
Savage, William W. Comic Books and America: 1945-1954. University of Oklahoma Press, 1990.
This book provided quotes detailing the effects Wertham had on the creation of the
Comics Code Authority, reinforcing the view of Wertham playing an essential role in
catalyzing the events that took place during this time period. The source, although not
cited, gave the atmospheric overviews of fear and anger during the era of Mccarthyism.
Schlesinger, Adam. HOLY ECONOMIC HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN COMIC BOOK INDUSTRY, BATMAN! . 2010. Wesleyan U, MA thesis. Holy Economic History of the American Comic Book Industry, Batman!, Wesleyan University , wesscholar.wesleyan.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1428&context=etd_hon_theses.
Accessed 24 Nov. 2019.
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This academic journal was briefly used in the Silver Age tab, providing a quote about the
relatability marvel characters held. While establishing credibility, this source manages to
directly state how Marvel superheroes redefined the Silver Age from redundantly
altruistic attitudes, to prevalent and relatable tones/dialogue.
Tilley, Carol L. “Seducing the Innocent: Fredric Wertham and the Falsifications That Helped
Condemn Comics.” Information & Culture, vol. 47, no. 4, 2012, pp. 383–413. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/43737440. Accessed 2 Feb. 2020.
This academic article provided a quote that directly linked Seduction of the Innocent to
popular opinion, definitively proving how his work overall catalyzed public opinion to
actively go against the danger of comic books. Along with this, it provided an
enhancement of Wertham’s significance to the beginning of the creation of the CMAA.
“Vaccines Do Not Cause Autism Concerns.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 27 Oct. 2015,
www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/concerns/autism.html
This academic journal was to reinforce the wide range of scapegoats in today’s society. It
is meant to establish the prevalence of scapegoats today, and how it relates to the comic
book industry. It at the same time, illustrates that even in the scientific standpoint, where
fiction is constantly debunked, there is controversy standing over this scapegoat problem.