Code for the Comics

Critic John Mason Brown recently called comic books "the marijuana of the nursery." Psychiatrist Fredric Wertham ranked them among the chief "contributing causes of juvenile delinquency." Disgusted by the sex, violence and crime they were peddling, druggists in South Bend refused last week to sell comic books in their stores.

Last week, bending before this blast, 14 major comic-book publishers (combined monthly circ.: 14 million) agreed to a cleanup campaign of their own. They set up a voluntary association similar to the movies' Johnston office, adopted a code of ethics for comic books, and got ready to name a czar. Among the code's provisions: 1) no "sexy, wanton comics"; 2) no glorifying of crime; 3) no "scenes of sadistic torture"; 4) no "vulgar and obscene language"; 5) no glamorizing of divorce; 6) no religious or race ridicule.

Critics of the comics knew that strict enforcement of these conditions would put many of the 270 U.S. titles out of business. So did the publishers who refused to join in the cleanup. (Defending sexy and sadistic comic magazines put out by Fox Features Syndicate, one of its executives explained his publishing philosophy last week: "There are more morons than people, you know.")

By the use of a "clean comics" seal and other pressures, the clean-comics group hopes to force the holdouts to abide by the code. The association's president, Phil Keenan (of Hillman Periodicals, publisher of Crime Detective, Real Clue, Western Fighters), warned the public not to expect overnight miracles. Because of the early deadlines, said he, improvements "may not be evident for months."

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