Comics Code Authority

The Comics Code Authority (CCA) was a self-regulatory organization formed in 1954 by the Comics Magazine Association of America that, at the height of its influence, served as a de facto censor for most of the U.S. comic book industry. The code was voluntary, as there was no law requiring its use, and it was designed to reassure advertisers, retailers, and parents about the content of comic books. The CMAA formed the Comics Code Authority at the height of a moral panic around comics that coincided with the United States Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency hearings of 1954 and the publication of psychiatrist Fredric Wertham's book Seduction of the Innocent, both of which increasingly called for government regulation of comic books. Member organizations 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. Some publishers, mostly of children's comics (including Dell, Western, and Gilberton) never used the Code, but outside of children's comics, the lack of a CCA seal meant that distributors were unlikely to distribute a particular comic book. The power of the Code began to wane across the 1960s and 1970s, owing in part to changes in the distribution of comic books, the rise of underground comix, and the emergence of graphic novels and other adult comics. By 2010, only three major publishers still adhered to it: DC Comics, Archie Comics, and the now defunct Bongo Comics. Bongo broke with the CCA in 2010. DC and Archie followed in January 2011, rendering the code defunct.