Columns 

Ghosts of Comics’ Past: July in Comics History – Censorship, Ronin, Numbering, and CGC

By | July 5th, 2021
Posted in Columns | % Comments

City-wide comic bans! Frank Miller’s dud! Numbering gimmicks! Creator signatures! Learn more about all these things as Multiversity’s history column looks back at events from July in the 1940s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s!

July 21, 1948

During a peak of anti-comic furor, the Chicago Police department coordinated with the city recreation department to create a “censorship board” that reviewed comic content and had the authority to restrict sales within city limits. Newsstands or distributors who refused to comply with the restrictions could have their product confiscated and find themselves arrested. The board included members representing the Juvenile Protection Agency, two universities, a natural history museum, and labor unions. On July 24, three days after the board’s formation, the “Chicago Tribune” ran an editorial criticizing the plan for being based on emotional anecdotes instead of science, citing the lack of direct proof that comics caused any harm. It’s not clear from my research if there was any appeal process when a title was found to be ban-worthy.

July 1983

Once it became clear how much of a success Frank Miller’s run on “Daredevil” was, Miller approached Marvel EIC Jim Shooter with two other hit writers, Walt Simonson and Jim Starlin. The group wanted to work out a deal that would allow them to do special projects at Marvel, including some creator-owned stuff. While the details were being ironed out, DC president Jeanette Kahn was taking Miller to lunch and offering him a deal of her own. DC lured Miller away by promising to give him the production quality he wanted – high quality paper, painted artwork, and photographic separations – with the catch that his work would be a high-end work-for-hire contract instead of letting him keep the copyright.

Miller’s big project was “Ronin”, a six-issue bimonthly miniseries running from July 1983 to August 1984. Clocking in at 52 pages for $2.50 each, “Ronin” was a big ticket item for comic shops and retailers ordered big on the first issue based on Miller’s fanbase and DC’s hype. Unfortunately, sell through was atrocious. By the third issue, it was clear there was no demand for Miller’s experimental storytelling. Distributors were stuck with thousands of copies they couldn’t move.

Kahn believed “Ronin” was one of the most important books DC published because of the message it sent to other creators. It was also a big success for DC financially, since they were paid for all those copies distributors and retailers couldn’t sell. Miller used that as leverage a couple years later when he was working on “Dark Knight Returns” to push for the creation of the ‘prestige’ format. When the first issue of that series was offered, retailers ordered low because they hadn’t forgotten “Ronin”. Readers apparently had, or at least they’d forgiven Miller, because demand for his Batman book was so high that distributors sold out of a 500,000 overprint before it went on sale.

Despite the initial fan reception, “Ronin” did have a lasting impact. When Rob Liefeld was drawing “New Mutants” #100 in 1991, he reused one of Miller’s layouts for an important scene. Liefeld included a note in the artwork crediting Miller, but Marvel removed it without telling him as production moved along. When the book came out, Liefeld was criticized for swiping. The interest in “Ronin” also increased over time as Frank Miller’s star continued to rise, and a copy in good condition will run you about $10 today. That’s not the best return on investment 38 years later, but it’s not the quarter bin either.

July 1997

About half of the comic published by Marvel with July 1997 cover dates carried a “Flashback” banner and were number “minus 1”. This ridiculous stunt was the brainchild of writer Scott Lobdell, but it’s not all his fault. As the writer of “X-Men,” he knew his story required an issue set in the past and he thought this would be a fun way to do it. Once it was approved, word got around and other editors wanted to jump on the bandwagon hoping to score a nice bonus from the sales boost of a kinda-sorta-but-not-really X-Men tie-in.

As the project grew, powers that be put rules in place. For example, the participating artists were required to use the classic grid layout so the comics would look like they were made a long time ago. I guess the theory was that fans could put minus one at the front of their “Amazing Spider-Man” collection and it would read appropriately?

Continued below

Anyway, this ‘event’ lacked any kind of cohesion, and most of the issues were obvious filler. Relevant issues like “Uncanny X-Men” #-1, which revisited a character’s origin to advance the current plot, were greatly outnumbered by stories set in the past with no modern connection. Then you have “Silver Surfer” #-1, which continues the ongoing plot by having the characters travel back in time instead of being an actual flashback.

Fans weren’t fooled, and sales for the #-1 issues were disappointing. We should all be grateful for that because it has spared us the confusion of a #-2, which would be set before #-1 if Marvel can do their math right. Or, God forbid, a #-1/2. Sorry, I’m editorializing instead of just giving you the facts. It’s because numbering stunts like this, or “Daredevil” #10.1, or “Wolverine” #11.AU cause me to experience physical anger. Let’s talk about something more pleasant.

July 2001

A year and a half after CGC debuted in January 2000, it was an unqualified success. In July 2001, they released their first population report showing the title, issue number, and grade of the 77,443 comics submitted to them. That same month, CGC expanded their services with the launch of their Signature Series that guaranteed authentic creator signatures without harming the book’s grade. At its start, however, it was an extremely limited service. Through a partnership with Top Cow, about 50 high quality copies of “Tomb Raider” #1 from December 1999 were signed by creators, then shipped direct to CGC. After they were slabbed with the new yellow label, they were returned to Top Cow who offered them to retailers an incentive program and sold others at conventions. CGC worked with other publishers on a similarly limited basis before getting their live signature program up and running at the May 2003 Wizard World Philadelphia.


//TAGS | Ghosts of Comics' Past

Drew Bradley

Drew Bradley is a long time comic reader whose past contributions to Multiversity include annotations for "MIND MGMT", the Small Press Spotlight, Lettering Week, and Variant Coverage. He currently writes about the history of comic comic industry. Feel free to email him about these things, or any other comic related topic.

EMAIL | ARTICLES


  • Columns
    Ghosts of Comics’ Past: 2003

    By | Jan 11, 2024 | Columns

    Multiversity’s history column is back with a comprehensive review of the comic industry of 2003.The year began with a series of changes at Diamond. The first was a response to super-discounted comics released in 2002, like “Batman: The Ten Cent Adventure,” the nine-cent “Fantastic Four” #60, and the thirteen-cent “Gen13” #0. These effectively gamed the […]

    MORE »
    Columns
    Ghosts of Comics’ Past: 1993

    By | Dec 4, 2023 | Columns

    The comics industry in 1993 can be best described as a slow motion train wreck. Some people saw it coming and sounded an alarm, but too many people believed they had time to make one last dollar before they needed to put on the brakes. Anyone who paid attention knew the wild growth from the […]

    MORE »
    Columns
    Ghosts of Comics’ Past: The Index

    By | Nov 13, 2023 | Columns

    This month marks the fifth anniversary of Multiversity’s history column. To make it easier for you to browse the 300+ historical events covered in past articles, I’ve created an index and organized it chronologically, and I’ll keep it updated as new articles are released. When an article focuses on a specific topic across several years, […]

    MORE »

    -->