History MediaNotes / TheComicsCode

DC Comics generally stopped using the Code Seal after the turn of the 21st Century. Their rating system is E for Everyone (yes, like the UsefulNotes/EntertainmentSoftwareRatingBoard), T for Teen (which is the rating for most of their well-known titles like ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'' and ''ComicBook/WonderWoman''), Teen Plus (suitable for ages 15 and up), and M for Mature. Creator/MarvelComics formally withdrew from the CCA at around the same time, despite Stan Lee having kicked the door in three decades prior and having more or less flouted the Code for decades already. Marvel's current rating system is All Ages, T (for teen, similar to a PG or E10+ rating), T+ (similar to PG-13), Parental Advisory (similar to R), and Max (explicit content).

See also UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode, another self-imposed and equally-restrictive "taste and decency" code that covered Hollywood studio movies from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s.

** In one cover from Creator/JohnByrne's run (which is the image for the {{Fanservice}} page), the naked She-Hulk [[HandOrObjectUnderwear covers herself up with a giant "Comics Code Approved" stamp]].

While the Comics Code itself was an American phenomenon, it had counterparts elsewhere. Britain experienced a significant moral panic around horror comics starting in the mid-1970s, which led to the closure of anthologies such as ''ComicBook/{{Action}}'', many of which were aimed at children but featured graphic real-world violence. In Japan, meanwhile, they heyday of extremely violent and sexualized anime and manga in the 1980s came to an end when a notorious serial killer was discovered to have a large {{Lolicon|AndShotacon}} manga collection, prompting a backlash to such works across the country.

While the Comics Code itself was an American phenomenon, it had counterparts elsewhere. Britain experienced a significant moral panic around horror comics starting in the mid-1970s, which led to the closure of anthologies such as ''ComicBook/{{Action}}, many of which were aimed at children but featured graphic real-world violence. In Japan, meanwhile, they heyday of extremely violent and sexualized anime and manga in the 1980s came to an end when a notorious serial killer was discovered to have a large {{Lolicon|AndShotacon}} manga collection, prompting a backlash to such works across the country.

One final irony: Fredric Wertham, whose book started the whole moral panic in the first place, later denounced the Code as a whitewash that made comics worse -- because it allowed comics to depict violence [[BloodlessCarnage without realistic consequences]]. (He had wanted a ratings system in the first place.)

Oh to those that think that this scenario never happened to manga, you'd be wrong as Creator/GoNagai's Shameless School was on the verge of having a Wertham moment as well. And certain manga are still on the Japanese P.T.A.'s crosshairs to this day. And European comics, especially ones in the U.K. weren't exactly immune either as they faced heat under the likes of Mary Whitehouse.

Numerous publishing houses folded after the formation of the CCA because their more adult-themed subject matter could not pass the Code... which ''[[SarcasmMode coincidentally]]'' happened to cut down the amount of competition to Archie, DC, and DC-owned Independent News (then the largest distributor in the CMAA). William Gaines's Creator/ECComics, the industry's most notorious publisher during the backlash, tried to operate under Code compliance despite mounting frustration, but gave up within a year when a planned reprint of the {{Aesop}}-heavy [[http://asylums.insanejournal.com/scans_daily/54803.html "Judgment Day"]] was vetoed anyway... because the main character was a black man. That objection had no basis whatsoever in the Code; it was blatantly motivated by Comics Code Administrator Judge Charles Murphy's own racist views, and it confirmed EC editors' suspicions that they were being deliberately harassed into oblivion. Ultimately, EC won the battle and reprinted "Judgment Day" unedited (largely thanks to threats of legal action and bad publicity), only to lose the war: the story appeared in the final issue of their last comic title, after which they abandoned the newsstand comics business altogether. Instead, EC altered its focus exclusively onto ''Magazine/{{MAD}} Magazine''. [[note]]''MAD'' was originally published as a comic book before EC changed it to a magazine format. According to William Gaines, the change was done NOT to escape the Code, but [[http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2006/04/06/comic-book-urban-legends-revealed-45/ to keep editor Harvey Kurtzman from jumping ship to work on another magazine]]. Although he still ended up leaving about a year later, the format change thus protected ''MAD'' from CCA interference.[[/note]]

* The 2018 animated film ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManIntoTheSpiderVerse'', as well as its 2023 sequel ''[[WesternAnimation/SpiderManAcrossTheSpiderVerse Across the Spider-Verse]]'', open on the "Approved by the Comics Code Authority" stamp right after the studio logos, likely as [[TakeThat a jab]] referencing Spider-Man's role in the Comics Code Authority's fall from power. The stories of these films also would '''not''' have been approved (under the original 1954 version), as they depict the murder of multiple people, sympathetic criminal characters, divorce, suggestion of an interracial romance between two of its leads, and have light profanity -- of course, it may have been approved by the CCA of an AlternateUniverse. The use of the seal is [[ParodyAssistance licensed from the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, the current owners of the trademark.]]