By Joe Izenman The 1954 Senate Subcommittee hearings examining the possible relationship between comics and juvenile delinquency remain the most significant moment in the history of comic book censorship. Centered on the testimony of Dr. Fredric Wertham, author of Seduction…
Category: Education
Graphic Novel Removed from Connecticut School District’s Summer Reading List
The video game-themed graphic novel Sidescrollers by Matthew Loux will be removed as an option on a Connecticut school district’s ninth grade summer reading list after a parent complained of profanity and sexual references in the book. The Enfield, Connecticut,…
Junior High School Teacher Fired for Students’ Political Cartoons
by Mark Bousquet An assignment asking junior high school students to create a political cartoon has resulted in the teacher being fired. Robert Duncan, a teacher at Boyet Junior High School in Slidell, Louisiana was fired earlier this month after…
David Hadju Reads from The Ten-Cent Plague
David Hadju’s 2008 book, The Ten-Cent Plague, portrays the conflict and backlash surrounding the extraordinary popularity of dark horror and noir comics in post-World War II America. He describes the work as a “war story” between two generations, and two…
Tales from the Code: How Much Did Things Change After the Enactment of the Comics Code of 1954?
The year was 1954. An unknown group named Bill Haley and the Comets records “Rock Around the Clock.” President Eisenhower informs and warns concerned Americans about the falling domino principle of communism as tensions rise in a little-known country named…
Censorship and the Female Artist
San Diego hosts the infamous Comic-Con International every year in July, and from its modest roots as a gathering for comic book enthusiasts, Comic-Con has grown into an entertainment and pop culture behemoth. Featuring not only vendors and artists showcasing…
The Sordid Tale of The Lone Avenger’s Rise to Infamy
In examining the history of comic book censorship, sometimes it is difficult for people to separate the creator from the creation. A clear example of this is the sad tale of Australian comic creator Len Lawson and his creation, The…
Columbia Missourian Project Reveals the Breadth of Book Challenges in Public Schools
Why are books challenged in public schools and, even more importantly, why are some challenges successful in getting books banned while others fail? A new comprehensive study by the Columbia Missourian is attempting to find out. The periodical is currently…
Effort to Return MAS Books to Classrooms Fails in Tucson
Early this year, CBLDF joined a coalition of organizations to decry the removal of seven books by renown Latino and Native authors from Tucson, Arizona, classrooms. Last week, TUSD Governing Board Member Mark Stegeman brought forth a resolution to put…
A Librarian Responds to a Book Challenge
One of CBLDF’s missions is to protect graphic novels when they are challenged in libraries. We’ve played a pivotal role in some challenges, most recently with Alan Moore’s Neonomicon, which faces a challenge in North Carolina. As I was cruising…