The 1955 Romance Comics Trial

by Daniel Best

In mid-1954 the Queensland Government set up a Board of Review, working under the Objectionable Literature Act of 1954 act. The board, consisting of four men and one woman, initially met once every fortnight with the view of examining all publications on sale in Queensland, barring newspapers, and ultimately to prohibit the circulation in Queensland of any material that they found to be objectionable. in late 1954 the Board banned romance comics as published by three Australian publishers. Only this time the publishers refused to accept the ban, a first for all concerned. The three publishers banded together to bring the appeal to the Supreme Court. Unlike earlier cases the appeal would consist of more than merely affidavits as for the first time in Australia, and perhaps in the world, a superior court listened to days of argument and a series of witnesses in order to decide whether a comic book had the power and influence to deprave the reader. This book provides the full details of what happened in court, when the publishers fought the censors, and won.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1512221317
• ISBN13: 9781512221312
• Release Date: April 2013
• Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 290 Pages
• Weight: 0.86 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"