When the Comics Code was drafted in 1954, it was touted by its creators as "the most stringent code in existence for any communications media." It certainly created a fervor, and sparked heated debate about the role of comic books and what they could and should do. The Comics Code Authority, however, was quick to diminish as a censoring body, challenge after challenge reducing it to relative powerlessness. Still, the Code, along with the events leading up to it, had made its impact, not only changing the direction and aesthetics of American comic books, but also affecting this artistic form internationally. Conventions were shaped, as artists endeavored to tell their stories within the Code's restrictions. Meanwhile, working outside of the Code, some artists took special care to flout such circumscription.

Although many factors may be considered in the establishment of the Code, the most widely...