The public hearings took place on April 21, 22, and June 4, 1954, in New York. They focused on particularly graphic "crime and horror"
comic books of the day, and their potential impact on juvenile delinquency. When publisher
William Gaines contended that he sold only comic books of good taste, Kefauver entered into evidence one of Gaines' comics (
Crime SuspenStories #22 [April-May 1954]), which showed a dismembered woman's head on its cover. The exchange between Gaines and Kefauver led to a front-page story in
The New York Times the following day. What none of the senators knew was that Gaines had already cleaned up the cover of this issue. Artist
Johnny Craig's first draft included those very elements that Gaines had said were in "bad taste" and had him clean it up before publication. Because of the unfavorable press coverage resulting from the hearings, the comic book industry adopted the
Comics Code Authority, a self-regulatory ratings code that was initially adopted by nearly all comic publishers and continued to be used by some comics until 2011. In the immediate aftermath of the hearings, several publishers were forced to revamp their schedules and drastically censor or even cancel many popular long-standing comic series. == See also ==