Important Comic Contributions to History

Comic books and comics began in part as entertainment, but also with political action, and they have been an inspiration for a long time.

Superman had a big hand in taking down the Klu Klux Klan, but he didn’t do it alone; he did it with assistance from anti-clan activist Stetson Kennedy. Stetson Kennedy, a white southerner with a family history of KKK membership, went undercover without any help from police or government authorities.He wanted to learn the secrets of the Klan and discredit them.

The information he found led to his book The Klan Unmasked, but before he published he slipped many of the secrets he learned to the writers of the Superman Radio Show. The show seems to have done terrible damage to the Klan, as they revealed Klan passwords and put the Klan on the same moral ground as the Nazis and Superman’s arch enemy Lex Luther.

The Klan was so outraged and fearful of the effect that they tried to get Kellogg's Pep Cereal, the major sponsor of the show, to pull their ads and they put pressure on the Superman writers to abandon the anti- Klan story. But the cereal company stood their ground and the Klan vs. Superman Episodes got very high ratings.

While the effects may be hard to measure with absolute certainty, Klan membership dropped dramatically after Superman’s battles with the Klan.One former Klan member commented he couldn’t bear being a member anymore after seeing his children pretending to be Superman fighting the Klan:What would happen if they found his KKK costume in the closet, he wondered?

Superman can claim a real life victory over the Klan by aiding anti-Klan activist Stetson Kennedy in his quest to discredit them.

The political cartoon “Join or Die” is the earliest known graphical representation of a political union for the American colonies. Originally, it was meant as a symbol of the idea that colonies should be united in policy goals as part of the British Empire. Later, it became a pivotal symbol of the American Revolution, getting reprinted across the entire budding nation of rebels. While the comic omitted a few colonies and condensed a few others into one segment, it served as a powerful symbol to unite the young rebel country in its fight for independence. Benjamin Franklin, founding father and early American Comic publisher, certainly had an impact on the United States of America.

Another series of famous political comics featured William Tweed--more commonly known as Boss Tweed--famous historically for being a corrupt politician. Tweed, with his cohorts (the Tammany Ring), was responsible for the disappearance of US $200 million in the 1870s and got taken down by comics. The scandal was, of course, covered by the newspapers and many people in New York were angry, but no action was forthcoming.

A breaking point in the pursuit of Boss Tweed occurred when Thomas Nast created a series of cartoons targeting them. The scandal quickly reached a fever pitch, the public moved against the ring, and Boss Tweed and others ended up in jail.

Boss Tweed is attributed by many sources as saying, “Stop them damned pictures. I don't care so much what the papers say about me. My constituents can't read. But, damn it, they can see pictures!”Tweed later escaped from prison and was caught in Spain by a customs clerk who, according to legend, recognized him from Thomas Nast’s political cartoons. Legend also holds that Tweed had copies of the editorial cartoons in his suitcase as he went through customs:The same cartoons that helped bring him to justice.

Disgracing a corrupt politician and helping to throw him in prison isn’t bad for a series of political cartoons.

Education and literacy are important keys to our modern society and often get a helping hand from comics. For example, first grade students in a Bronx school spent part of the school year writing a comic called “The Bionic Butterfly,” about a superhero butterfly. This program was funded by TASC, an organization focused on helping promote after-school programs.The project was also heavily supported by The Comic Book Project, a nonprofit organization promoting comic books as a helpful educational tool.These children became authors before reaching the second grade with the help of comics and organizations willing to think outside the box.

Comics are an easily accessible and important bridge to teach language and expand minds.

Comics, like so many other forms of media, have been a target of censorship. First, the accusations were made that comic books were a negative form of popular literature and a serious cause of juvenile delinquency. The claims made in the best-selling book Seduction of the Innocent alarmed some of the public.

Parents, concerned citizens, and political activists got organized and called for censorship of comic books. A short time later a congressional inquiry was launched to examine juvenile delinquency, focusing its efforts almost entirely on comic books.

The US Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency in 1954 grilled comic publishers and comic authors on the impact their works had on children. The negative press stirred up by the congressional investigation, and claims made by Seduction of the Innocent, caused the comic industry to quickly fold and proceed with damage control.

In what has become a blueprint for industries threatened by the government, the comic book industry worked to protect itself from censorship and sanction by agreeing to self-regulate.Under the Comic Code Authority’s reign, publishers would submit their work, and if approved, would be allowed to carry the Comics Code Authority seal--presumably meaning it was safe for children. This, of course, seems a forerunner to later campaigns that ended in self-censorship, like the “explicit lyrics” label from the music industry in the mid-80s that’s still in use today. While the Comics Code Authority technically lasted until 2011, most major publishers had stopped participating many years before.

Comics, like so many other forms of media, have endured political censorship attacks often based solely on opinions by a vocal group of activists. Now free of censorship efforts for the most part, the comic industry has expanded significantly.

Super heroes in books and political cartoons in newspapers are all well and good, but how about people putting on costumes inspired by caped crusaders and doing great things for the safety of big city streets? It’s so crazy that it’s hard to imagine but it has actually worked.

The Real Life Super Heroes Project is all about standing up for what you believe in. Men and women from different parts of the country have donned costumes to walk the streets at night, help the homeless, and visit schools. These people aren’t just dressing up as super heroes; they are real heroes in real neighborhoods. These wonderful people who have taken action inspired by their own heroes certainly deserve our thanks.

Comics have left a noticeable mark on history and continue to affect our lives today far beyond being simple entertainment.