The comic book code authority was formed in 1954 because people believed that the comic book industry was becoming too graphic and violent. The content was deemed inappropriate for the populace. Some of the restrictions included the misrepresentation of the police, judges and governmental representatives. In addition, the drawings of vampires and werewolves were prohibited. Titles could not use terminology like “horror” or “terror”.

While the comic book authority had no legal jurisdiction over the comic book publishers, they yielded a large influence. Some comic book companies went out of business while others prospered. The restrictions placed were meant to help society deal with the comic book industry. Society began to loosen some of the taboos of that time, and the furor over the language suggested that the loosened traits needed to be reined in. In such times, it becomes necessary to look at why the comic book code authority was set up. In 1954, McCarthyism was at its peak. Censorship abounded and the who, what, why, where and when all dealt with Communism. A natural branch with that scenario was

the printed material. While there are no direct links to such a statement, one must consider what was transpiring during the period. Celebrities were blacklisted if deemed

outside of conventional standards. Comic books could have linked the publisher with Communist propaganda if the material was considered subversive in nature. Again, this is conjecture on my part. Any words or statements can be intentionally misconstrued and false analogies can be applied.

Another prominent explanation is a book written by Dr. Frederic Wertham entitled ‘The seduction of the innocent’. In the book, Dr. Wertham espoused that the super hero genre had helped incite

the rise of young people’s misbehavior. The public chorus of disapproval was pivotal in the implementation of the comic book code authority. Both issues helped sustain the need for something to be done.

The mentality was in place until the 1960’s with the advent of the flower child era. Without the suppression, underground comics took on a life of their own. They developed comic books that were distributed through unconventional means. That process enabled the fledging comic book industry not to adhere to the restrictions the comic book code suggested. In 1971 Stan Lee, the editor- in -chief did a three part mini series of Spiderman that depicted banned drug use. The code stated that the topic of drug use was prohibited, so Stan Lee took the seal off for the

three issues and then put it back on. That took a lot of courage to defy the code. Considering the wide spread use of illicit drug use, that was an important step. If a topic that is controversial is banned in comic books, then how do you draw attention to its negative side affects? That was the quandary the comic book code authority faced. It did not want to become irrelevant.

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In the 2000’s the influence of the comic book code started to diminish. More and more publishers wanted to branch out and create comic books that illustrated topics that were more controversial.

The comic book code authority of today is not what it used to be. Marvel comics no longer align themselves. Instead, they created their own code. Some of DC comics still submit to the comic book authority, but will publish it despite their

ruling. Archie comics regularly send their comic books to the comic book authority for approval.

What was once a powerful and prominent organization has been reduced to a minor player in the comic book world.

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Check out the search engine Google and see how many message boards, discussion groups and general forums there are for comic books and you will be amazed. There are close to two million hits. There are many redundancies in the hits but you get the point.

Message boards for comic books is a place where like minded people can discuss what is coming out new in the comic books, what you don’t like, or what you are fond of. Comic book forums are also a place to pool your resources and find out tidbits of information. You can find sneak peaks of issues of comic books that have not come to the stores yet, and catch a glimpse of where the main character’s storyline continues.

One of the more interesting message boards for comic books is where comic book heroes and villains alike are faced off against each other. It does not matter if they all come from one comic book universe or not. A multitude of entries pit individuals battling it out or they have clusters of comic book characters battling it out against another group. What is interesting to note is the passion the person

who initially wrote the message and the responses. People take this subject seriously. I have read arguments between adults on who can win whom.

In order to relate to the message boards for comic books, you should either delve into the comic book heroes and villains history, or already have at least a basic knowledge of who is who. In an archetypal scenario, you have two super heroes and a criminal versus two criminals and one super hero. The battle is drawn and in your mind, you try to ascertain who is likely to beat who based on their power levels, their intelligence and the weapons they employ. When you take into consideration those factors and add location, or which universe they would be fighting in, it can draw dissimilar conclusions to many different people who know the comic book arena. If someone disagreed with your conclusion, that person based it on his or her perception.

The information in this article primarily comes from professionals on the topic of Marvel Comics. Therefore, by carefully reading this entire article, you will have the same knowledge as those who would be considered experts about Marvel Comics.

In some message boards, people can get mean. They will taunt you on your apparent

lack of knowledge of the characters and call you derogatory names. Since message boards are not an exact science and comic book personas are not real, it makes little sense for that type of behavior. A great deal of the administrators that oversee the message boards allow this because of freedom of expression. There should be a point where someone steps in and either strips them of their privileges, or give them a stern warning. Having divergent opinions in a comic book forum, or any forum for that matter, is a healthy way to debate on topics you are interested in. Why make fun of someone that has a difference of opinion? Variation is a good thing.

It is a necessary ingredient to maintain a healthy regard for other peoples view.

Message boards for comic books should be fun and with the intent to inform and to learn peoples views. Like-minded people share a responsibility to keep forums pleasurable while being careful to respect others and their ideas.

You will never really know when you will find information about Marvel Comics to be helpful. So, while you have probably learned something new about Marvel Comics in this article, there is still more information that you will want to know. Therefore, it is a good idea to save such articles as this 1 for later on when you need to remember something about Marvel Comics.

When a comic book hero becomes famous, the natural inclination is to profit from it. The merchandising of comic book characters is such a venue. The advertising agencies are cognizant of that fact, and so are the comic book publishers. The merchandisings of movies are popular too. Star Wars is a prime example of that. The movie came first. It became such a success that they sold posters and action figures of all the main characters, and a wide assortment of related materials. To put the merchandising power in perspective, consider George Lucas’s Star War films. All six of the movies grossed almost three and a half billion dollars. The merchandising of the Star Wars totaled over nine billion dollars. After you consider that, they made Star Wars into comic books!

Merchandising comic books is a serious art. If done correctly the amount of revenue could be staggering. Never the less, there are points to mull over. The location of the action figure in stores, are they displayed prominently where they will receive the most attention? Is the box packaged in such a way that it lures the target audience to it? In addition, one of the most important items is the price. The price has to be reasonable to the public.

The merchandising of comic books also takes form in tee shirts. You can acquire a Superman logo tee shirt from any comic book store. Moreover, you can buy a Superman logo tee shirt at any local mall. The mainstreaming of merchandising in local stores put the super heroes in the forefront of people’s consciousness. If you are bombarded with something long enough, it becomes accepted and more people are apt to buy it.

There are psychological and sociological studies to determine the best course of action for merchandising company’s products. People’s nonverbal movements can be observed to determine if a product, in this case an action figure, tee shirt or anything related to the comic book merchandising, is pleasing to the consumer or not. Facial expressions are an important indicator to see if

a person will purchase your merchandise.

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Another key area is word of mouth. When you see a movie, and really liked it, you are more lilkely to tell everyone you know about it. When a comic book company makes a movie, they advertise it extensively. The fast food restaurants are an excellent place to market their merchandise for young children. What better way to advertise than go to a local Burger King, Wendy’s or McDonalds and see the latest comic book movie’s (or any other movie that pertains to children) main characters as action figures?

There are so many aspects to merchandising comic books and the respective super heroes. It

does not take a qualified expert to see the prospect of making copious amounts of money through seemingly harmless venues. The operative word I chose was seemingly. Only time will tell the effects of the barrage of advertising merchandise that takes place on a daily basis. Merchandising for comic books is no exception.

That’s how things stand right now. Keep in mind that any subject can change over time, so be sure you keep up with the latest news.