In November 1977, DC Comics made a proclamation that would change the entire comic book publishing industry. Only, it didn't happen. Instead of an explosion of comics, DC Comics suffered a massive implosion. But does this make DC Comics a loser, or was it just ahead of its time?

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This series was produced for those wanting to learn more about the comics they consume. The below list includes the sources we used to gather information. All quotes, and clips used in this production are used under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976.

RESOURCES

Senator Joseph McCarthy, 1953 statement retrieved from The Miller Center

https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/educational-resources/age-of-eisenhower/mcarthyism-red-scare

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg executed in 1953 for espionage clip, retrieved from the Daily Mail

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/embed/video/1341583.html

Have you no sense of decency, sir? Retrieved from YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7x8RkdG6I0

Seduction of the Innocent by Frederic Wrtham (2021 Edition)

https://amzn.to/41iL7NA

Frederic Wertham and William Gaines's testimony before the Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency were retrieved from WNYC.org and the NYC Municipal Archives WNYC Collection

https://www.wnyc.org/story/215975-senate-subcommittee-juvenile-delinquency-ii/

The Ten Cent Plague by David Hajdu

https://amzn.to/3TfhURL

The 1954 Comic Code Authority Rules

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comics_Code_Authority

Comic Book Sales Data via Comichron

https://www.comichron.com/yearlycomicssales.html

"So Much Moralizing" Stan's Soapbox, March 1970

New York Times, February 04, 1971

https://www.nytimes.com/1971/02/04/archives/a-comics-magazine-defies-code-ban-on-drug-stories-comics-magazine.html?_r=0

Comic Code Authority Shuts Down

https://majorspoilers.com/2011/01/21/last-nail-in-the-coffin-for-comics-code-authority-archie-says-good-bye/

Tom Brevoort reflections on Rolling Stone's article about Marvel Comics

https://tombrevoort.com/2021/02/14/blah-blah-blog-rolling-stone/

(referenced as: https://zak-site.com/Great-American-Novel/comic_sales.html)

The Amazing World of Carmine Infantino by Carmine Infantino and J. David Spurlock (2001)

https://amzn.to/3RAUox3

Jenette Kahn Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenette_Kahn

Sequential Tart Interview with Jenette Kahn by Jennifer M. Contino, retrieved from the Internet Archive

https://web.archive.org/web/20031026213108/http://www.sequentialtart.com/archive/may01/kahn.shtml

DC Comics Publishorial, "Onward and Upward"

DC Comics Logos Over the Years

The Comics Journal #40
Kim Thompson, “An Interview with Marvel’s Head-Honcho: Jim Shooter” (p. 38)

https://www.tcj.com/tcj-archive/the-comics-journal-no-40-june-1978/

Quotes from The Comic Reader, Comic Media News, and others were sourced from:

Comic Book Implosion: The Oral History of DC Comics Circa 1978 by Keith Dallas and John Wells

https://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1374

Other resources

Slugfest: Inside the Epic, 50-year Battle Between Marvel and DC by Reed Tucker

https://amzn.to/3RkGfTB

Marvel Comics: The Untold Story by Sean Howe

https://amzn.to/3RfGbUX

MUSIC AND SFX

Unspoken - licensed via Premiumbeat.com

Break Through - licensed via Premiumbeat.com

Patriotic Epic - licensed via Premiumbeat.com

OMnis - Music by DSTechnician from Pixabay

Big Day Out - Music by Geoff Harvey from Pixabay

Defenders of the Truth - Music by Zakhar Valaha from Pixabay

Inspiring Cinematic Ambient - Music by Aleksey Chistilin from Pixabay

Superhero Hollywood Trailer - Licensed via PremiumBeat.com

Documentary Background - Music by Aleksey Chistilin from Pixabay

Out of Time - Music by Zakhar Valaha from Pixabay

Summer Adventures - Music by Sergii Pavkin from Pixabay

This Minimal Technology (Pure) - Music by Yrii Semchyshyn from Pixabay

Sound Effects from Pixabay

CLOSE
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Major Spoilers Podcast #1054: The DC Implosion - The Explosion (Part 1) 54:36 Share

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Major Spoilers Podcast #1054: The DC Implosion - The Explosion (Part 1)