Read Your Way Into Banned Comics
Comics have always been among the most banned books. Since their rise in popularity during the 1940s and 1950s, parents have targeted the format for its appeal to young readers. Much of this came to a head in the 1950s, when McCarthyism in the US spread the fear of communism. The government wanted to ensure that the young people in the country were protected from outside influences. We know, of course, the young people in their minds were cishet, white, Christian males. White middle-class populations grew after World War II, and young people within this demographic found themselves with more access to leisure time and to consumer goods, thanks in part to more teenagers taking on part-time work outside of the house. In 1953, the United States Senate Judiciary Committee established the Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency to investigate what could be done to help the youth. But that subcommittee’s work had a major focus: comic books.
There’s a long history here, and so much of the hearings and “experts” who spoke on the damage comics caused young readers mirror and echo today’s rhetoric. Check out the work of one of the subcommittee’s witnesses, Frederic Wertham, whose Seduction of the Innocent argued that comic book depictions of drug use, sex, and violence made those behaviors “appealing” to young readers, leading to increased delinquency. This book and the hearings were directly linked to the development of the Comics Code Authority, a body developed within the comics industry to self-censor what was published.
Much of what Wertham argued would later be debunked by researchers and experts in the field of literacy and comics. But the damage was done. Communities across the country were caught up in the manufactured panic, which led to public burnings of comics in several states, including West Virginia (young people were encouraged by their church to collect comics and at the end, they lit them on fire, tossing an issue of Superman on top) and New Jersey (where Cub Scouts competed to collect the most naughty comics and the winner got to light the pile ablaze).
Those ideas persisted though and as libraries began to make more concerted efforts to collect comics in the ’00s, more demands to ban the books emerged during that era of censorship. The attacks were widespread, though because social media and the internet were not used the same way they are now, knowledge and preservation of that era is not as strong as it is in today’s censorship moment.
Comics are a target because it’s a medium that requires a unique literacy to understand. They make for easy targets because a person who has been infected by right-wing rhetoric can print the pages collected on Moms For Liberty’s BookLooks database and claim they’re inappropriate without any context about the where, why, or how of that image within the book itself. Unfortunately, these people are not interested in learning the literacy, and by spreading these images without context, they inflame other people who don’t have the time or capacity to develop that literacy and actually “do their own research” on the matter. Comics are a collaborative dance between the words and the art. Young people with access to and exposure to comics are honing crucial intellectual skills while also enjoying creative, clever, fun, and educational stories.
Since 2021, comics have been at the top of the list for books being banned in America. Many of these comics are far from new–indeed, the average age of banned books (i.e., their publication year) right now is between 13 and 15 years old. It’s worth taking a peek at the most banned comics since 2000 and seeing where and how they’re simply copy and pasted in 2024, with the addition of primarily queer-focused comics and comics by creators of color.
These are some of the many reasons why “Read a Banned Comic” is Task #13 for the 2024 Read Harder Challenge. By reading banned comics, you hone those crucial literacy skills both when it comes to the comics format and when it comes to navigating the current landscape of book banning.
Let’s take a look at a handful of contemporary banned comics to understand what they’re actually about. I’ve included comics for all age groups here, from the youngest readers to the most mature. You’re going to not only find one comic here to help you complete Task 13. You’re going to want to read every single one of these.
Bingo Love #1 by Tee Franklin, with art by Jenn St-Onge, Joy San, and Genevieve FT
Hazel and Mari meet in 1963 during church bingo. Of course, they couldn’t be open about their feelings for each other at the time, so they followed the socially acceptable path of marrying men and having children. But when they meet again in their 60s, again at church bingo, they realize they cannot hide those feelings any longer.
This comic was banned in Escambia County Schools in Florida in their sweeping removal of 1600 titles.
Flamer by Mike Curato
Aiden Navarro is at summer camp before the start of junior high. It’s an intense summer of hanging out with his friends, navigating bullies desperate to make him feel bad about himself as a half-Asian boy, and coming to terms with the fact he might be gay.
One night, when Aiden kisses his best friend and campmate, things shift immediately. Has he forever lost the trust of his friend Elias? Did that kiss mean anything romantic? Was it an accident?
This is a moving, heartfelt story about traversing that tricky space between what faith might tell you is right, what it might tell you is a sin, and how you come to accept yourself as you are.
Flamer is one of the most banned comics nationwide, ranking #5 on the American Library Association’s list of top 10 most banned books in 2023.
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The Handmaid’s Tale (Graphic Novel) by Margaret Atwood, illustrated by Renee Nault
Indeed, one of the starkest dystopian novels about today’s era has been among the most banned books in America. To be clear, while the novel has been banned, it’s the comic that has been especially targeted. It should come as little surprise the reason it has been so banned is that it visually depicts the horrors that are described in the text. That includes nudity and sexual assault–the same people eager to see such a future are even more eager to keep it out of the hands of those who will be living in that world.
This is the perfect encapsulation of why comics are so regularly targeted. The visuals are meant to horrify and enrage in their rendering of the textual narrative. But rather than use literacy skills to understand and accept this, comics are simply labeled inappropriate or trash.
Take the time to see why a high schooler chose to hand her superintendent this specific book when she walked across the stage at graduation. It depicts a year-long fight against the book’s removal from her schools, alongside several others.
Spinning by Tillie Walden
What happens when you outgrow something about which you once were deeply passionate? That’s the hook in Walden’s graphic memoir, which follows the routine she had with figure skating. She loved it for a while, but the constant practices, lessons, and competitions began to wear on her. Once she switched schools, though, Walden found herself connecting more with art, and her relationship with her girlfriend helped her recognize that, as much as she once had passion and talent in figure skating, it was perhaps time to let it go.
The book was banned in several locations, including Wentzville Public Schools (MO), Clay County District Schools (FL), and North East Independent School District (TX).
Beetle and the Hollowbones by Aliza Layne
In ‘Allows, some people become magical and others get their spirits trapped in the mall. Beetle, 12, finds herself kind of caught between both. She loves spending time with her bestie, Blob Glost, but Beetle is also tired of the mall, which is where Blob Ghost is tethered forever. Beetle’s former best friend Kat has come back to the ‘Allows to start a sorcery apprenticeship. Beetle is excited and also intimidated by just how cool and smart and sophisticated and ahead Kat is. Except Kat’s mentor unleashes something sinister and now Beetle and Kat need to save Blob Ghost from the mall as quickly as possible. This award-winning middle grade graphic novel has a sweet lesbian romance in it and is for readers who love shows like Adventure Time or Steven Universe.
Layne’s comic was restricted in Clay County District Schools (FL) and banned in Daviss County Public Schools (KY). It was also part of the 444 books challenged and temporarily banned in Elkhorn Area School District (WI) last fall.
This One Summer by Mariko and Jillian Tamaki
Rosie goes every summer with her mom and dad to their Awago Beach lake house. She looks forward to seeing Windy, who is like the sister Rosie never had. This summer isn’t like every other one though, and Rosie is tired of hearing her parents constantly fighting. She and Windy decide to spend some time with a new group of kids, most of whom are a few years older, and they find themselves caught up in some potentially life-altering trouble.
I urge you to read Mariko Tamaki’s blog post about this book topping the most-banned books list in 2017. Then, as now, it’s targeted for a mere two pages in the story where we learn Windy went to an event mostly populated by LGBTQ+ teens and adults.
Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe
This highly decorated graphic memoir is Maia Kobabe’s coming-of-age and coming-of-gender story. Maia grew up always feeling confused about who e is. This work is about eir confusion in crushes growing up, coming out to eir friends and family, discovering the pronouns that most fit eir identity, and the ups and downs of both gender euphoria and gender-based trauma and humiliation.
The battle over this comic began in fall 2021 and the fervor over it in a Virginia school fueled the raging censorship over the last several years. For this comic in particular, the issue is over seven panels, and none of them are what the banners claim they are.
It isn’t all doom and gloom, nor should it be. In Maine, when this book has been challenged, it has overwhelmingly been kept on shelves. Why? Because the school boards actually read it and saw the necessity for stories like Maia’s to be available. Gender Queer was named an Alex Award winner, meaning it was published for an adult audience but has tremendous appeal to teen readers.
If you’re angry, you should be. I urge you that if you can and it is safe to do so, take action. It is not hard to get involved. Here’s a straightforward guide to how to get involved in anti-book ban work in 2024.
Have a favorite banned comic, whether a contemporary read or one from earlier book ban panics? Tell us about it in the comments.
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