Comics editing/censoring is almost as strange as TV censoring/editing.
No, it's stranger.
There are essentially three "ratings levels" of comics (well, of US comics; it's rather different in Japan, but this isn't the place for an analysis of manga standards): Comics-Code-Approved, no label (Outsiders, for example), and Mature Readers.
Keeping kids from turning on the TV and watching programming that's rated PG-13 or R (or the equivalent television ratings, TV-14 etc.) is actually difficult. Even if parents "lock out" their own cable or satellite box, there are any number of other places their children might visit with no channel restrictions, not to mention the fact that many kids are more adept at foiling the channel-locks than their parents are at setting the things up.
There's actually no reason, other than their parent(s) allowing it, or a second-hand acquisition (bought at a tag sale, pilfered from an older sibling, rescued from the trash), why a kid should ever wind up with a Mature Readers comic book.
Why's that? Well, look at how comics are sold.
Venue one: mail subscription. (Yes, apparently some people still do that.) Requires a check, money order or credit card, which means either parental involvement or a precocious identity thief. Here we have the complementary checks of 'know what you are buying your child' and 'provide supervision adequate to prevent your child from making purchases in your name without your knowledge or consent.'
Venue two: newsstand. Also applies to supermarkets, bookstores and other retail outlets which are not comics shops but which sell comics. These sorts of businesses aren't offered adult titles by the publishers, so kids are not going to wind up flipping through Caper #11 at Big Bear while mom's an aisle over feeling up the tomatoes.
Venue three: comics shops. I've yet to see a comics shop where kids could go in and read comics they hadn't paid for without employees hovering and/or giving the hairy eyeball. Most shop owners and employees, moreover, would not let a minor purchase a Mature Readers title without their parent right there giving permission, and it's more likely than not that a kid under thirteen trying to buy a book without the Comics Code seal would get steered towards a different title at the very least. People in the business of selling comics are actually quite aware of the need to keep inappropriate content out of the hands of younger readers; there have been too many witch-hunts targeting comics over the years, and there's even a whole professional organisation that assists comics shop owners accused of selling inappropriate comics.
So, the censorship -- self-censorship, no less -- of a title already designated For Mature Readers... yeah. Definitely stranger than television censorship.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2004-09-10 07:16 pm (UTC)No, it's stranger.
There are essentially three "ratings levels" of comics (well, of US comics; it's rather different in Japan, but this isn't the place for an analysis of manga standards): Comics-Code-Approved, no label (Outsiders, for example), and Mature Readers.
Keeping kids from turning on the TV and watching programming that's rated PG-13 or R (or the equivalent television ratings, TV-14 etc.) is actually difficult. Even if parents "lock out" their own cable or satellite box, there are any number of other places their children might visit with no channel restrictions, not to mention the fact that many kids are more adept at foiling the channel-locks than their parents are at setting the things up.
There's actually no reason, other than their parent(s) allowing it, or a second-hand acquisition (bought at a tag sale, pilfered from an older sibling, rescued from the trash), why a kid should ever wind up with a Mature Readers comic book.
Why's that? Well, look at how comics are sold.
Venue one: mail subscription. (Yes, apparently some people still do that.) Requires a check, money order or credit card, which means either parental involvement or a precocious identity thief. Here we have the complementary checks of 'know what you are buying your child' and 'provide supervision adequate to prevent your child from making purchases in your name without your knowledge or consent.'
Venue two: newsstand. Also applies to supermarkets, bookstores and other retail outlets which are not comics shops but which sell comics. These sorts of businesses aren't offered adult titles by the publishers, so kids are not going to wind up flipping through Caper #11 at Big Bear while mom's an aisle over feeling up the tomatoes.
Venue three: comics shops. I've yet to see a comics shop where kids could go in and read comics they hadn't paid for without employees hovering and/or giving the hairy eyeball. Most shop owners and employees, moreover, would not let a minor purchase a Mature Readers title without their parent right there giving permission, and it's more likely than not that a kid under thirteen trying to buy a book without the Comics Code seal would get steered towards a different title at the very least. People in the business of selling comics are actually quite aware of the need to keep inappropriate content out of the hands of younger readers; there have been too many witch-hunts targeting comics over the years, and there's even a whole professional organisation that assists comics shop owners accused of selling inappropriate comics.
So, the censorship -- self-censorship, no less -- of a title already designated For Mature Readers... yeah. Definitely stranger than television censorship.