Author: Joe Sergi

The Christmas Panic

    It was “The Night Before Christmas.” At least that was the name of the story in Panic #1, a 1953 release from MC Gaines’ EC Comics. This story not only stirred controversy and was banned in the state of Massachusetts,…

Tales From the Code: The Christmas Panic

It was “The Night Before Christmas.” At least that was the name of the story in Panic #1, a 1953 release from MC Gaines’ EC Comics. This story not only stirred controversy and was banned in the state of Massachusetts, but it…

Obscenity Case Files: Zap Comix #4

This edition of the obscenity files turns to the world of comics (or rather, comix) to take a look at the arrest and prosecution of two salespeople who sold a Robert Crumb underground comic that featured an all-American incestual orgy…

Obscenity Case Files: George Carlin’s Seven Dirty Words

When George Carlin recorded an expletive-laden 12-minute monologue before a live audience in a California theatre, he probably didn’t expect it to become the basis of a key Supreme Court decision. But in 1973, the monologue was aired as part…

Obscenity Case Files: The Miracle Decision

Before 1952, movies were not provided and protection from censorship under the Constitution. Things changed in 1952 thanks to Roberto Rossellini, Federico Fellini, and an amorous interlude between a wanderer named Saint Joseph and a disturbed peasant who believes herself…

Tales From the Code: You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling

It’s Valentine’s Day, so love is in the air. What better time to talk about the history of romance comics? After the war, when the sales of the superhero and crime comics began to wane, romance comics filled the gap. Soon, the…

Tales From the Code: The Near Extinction of Sheena

The comic books of the Golden Age represented little more than escapism for millions of readers. And no one provided escape better than Sheena Queen of the Jungle, whose exotic adventures and good girl art titillated male readers and spawned an…