R. I. P. Comics Code Authority

The Comics Code is dead.

In ancient days the Comics Code almost killed comic books. But it seems that in the the end comic books have emerged from the dust as the victor.

The comics code has been pretty toothless and irrelevant since 2001, when Marvel decided to stop putting it on their books. But it carried on -- albeit in a limited form -- as long as DC (and to a lesser extent Archie) continued to use it.

Earlier this week DC announced that they would stop putting the stamp on their comics. Archie followed suit today. DC is instituting its own ratings system and Archie never really needed such a system in the first place.

What does this all mean? Honestly not a whole lot. In all honesty, the death of the Comics Code will make it easier for people to decide what comics to pick up from a company like DC. The Code had become so toothless and nebulous that there was no way to really tell what its being on the cover boded for the inside of the book.

Still, finding the Comics Code stamp on the cover of your comics was an iconic part of reading for around fifty years. Heck, there have even been Comic Code t-shirts. But in the long run, I'm not sure many of us will miss it. Or even notice that it's gone.