Since the birth of the comic book industry, people have actively challenged or worked to ban comics. These challenges are often based on the content, be it the narrative, artwork, or overall theme. In the mid-1950s, German-American psychiatrist Dr. Fredrich Wertham wrote Seduction of the Innocent which forced companies like DC Comics and Marvel to seek approval from the Comics Code Authority.

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Today, certain creators no longer constrained by the Comics Code use the original graphic novel format as a popular vehicle to tell mature stories. Yet despite lessening constraints, the medium is still challenged by audiences who can't handle perspectives that confront their own worldviews or prejudices.

10 Bone By Jeff Smith Is A Hit With Kids, But Not Parents

Phoney, Fone, and Smiley Bone go on an adventure.

Bone, written and illustrated by cartoonist Jeff Smith and colored by Steve Hamaker, followed the adventures of Fone Bone, Phoney Bone, and Smiley Bone. Bone has been a mainstay on the list of banned/challenged books for years. Originally published in single issues, the series gained popularity in collected formats.

The first documented case of the series' removal from a school library was in 2009 when a parent claimed it was "unsuited to the student's age group." Since then, the series has been challenged on the grounds that it promotes drinking and smoking in the fourth book, The Dragonslayer. In 2012, The Great Cow Race was contested as being "politically, racially, or socially offensive" and filled with violence and horror.

9 Persepolis Chronicles Life In Iran During The Turbulent 1970s & 80s

An image from Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi.

In the 2003 graphic novel Persepolis, author Marjane Satrapi recounts growing up before, during, and after the Iranian Revolution. Satrapi explores her childhood, her rebellious, punk-loving teenage years in Iran, and growing tensions in Iran's political climate in the 70s and 80s. The graphic novel received many accolades, making the New York Times Best Sellers list in 2003.

Though highly controversial in the Middle East upon its release, the first documented challenges in the United States were not until 2013. Initial challenges targeted the few panels that depict torture techniques used on Iranian dissidents, while later contention revolved around Islamophobia following the events of 9/11.

8 This One Summer Is A Coming Of Age Story Focusing On Real Issues

CBR Banned Books This One Summer by Jillian and Mariko Tamaki

Released in 2014, This One Summer by Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki has received the dubious honor of being the most challenged book in 2016 by the American Library Association in their annual Top 10 Challenged Books list. The coming of age story centers around Rose, an ordinary teenage girl who, while on a family summer trip to the beach, finds herself processing new, unfamiliar feelings.

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The book has been the target of complaints and challenges due to the inclusion of LGBTQ+ characters, drug use, profanity, and mature themes with what some consider sexually explicit material. Jillian Tamaki's art style has also been the subject of many attempts to ban the book from school libraries.

7 The OGN Drama Is About Finding One's Identity In Middle School

CBR Banned Books Drama by Raina Telgemeier

Created by Raina Telgemeier, Drama explores the joys and tribulations of a middle school drama troupe. It has received many accolades, including a Harvey Award nomination, and is a regular on challenged/banned lists around the country. Drama usually doesn't receive the same media attention as other books that make these lists.

Chapel Hill Elementary School in Mount Pleasant, Texas, claimed the book contained "sexually explicit" content, citing the inclusion of two gay characters and a scene where two boys share an on-stage kiss. With accusations of promoting a hidden agenda inside a book marketed to young readers, Telgemeier responded, "Finding your identity, whether gay or straight, is a huge part of middle school."

6 Maus: A Survivor's Tale Is Controversial Again

CBR Banned Books Maus by Art Speiegelman

Maus: A Survivor's Tale is a Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel that focuses on creator Art Spiegelman's quest to learn about his estranged father's history as a Polish Jew and survivor of the Holocaust. The book is often banned for content that is "unsuitable for younger readers" and "anti-ethnic."

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The most recent incident of this book being banned took place in January 2022 when a Tennessee school board claimed the book contained material inappropriate for students, suggesting it should not be used in classrooms. Many see these continuing bans as further suppression of the Jewish voice.

5 Gender Queer Explores The Nonbinary Gender Identity

CBR Banned Books Gender Queer by Maia

Gender Queer; A Memoir by Maia Kobabe recounts the creator's journey growing up and exploring their nonbinary gender identity. Released in 2019, Gender Queer appeals to young adults wrestling with similar questions of gender identity.

Lion Forge, the publisher, marketed the book to mid-to-late teens and young adults; this and some well-deserved awards led to Gender Queer becoming a highly challenged graphic novel and rallying target for parents, school administrators, and even politicians. Despite these challenges, Gender Queer has become a go-to suggestion for readers grappling with coming out and struggles that nonbinary people face in today's society.

4 League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier Being Challenged Is Nothing New To Alan Moore

CBR Banned Books League of Extraordinary Gentlemen by Alan Moore

Legendary creator Alan Moore is no stranger to having his work challenged. Books like Watchmen and his Lovecraftian-inspired Neonomicon face social opposition, but it's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier, by Moore, Kevin O'Neill and Blake Oakley, that frequently appears on challenged lists. In The Black Dossier, the League hunts for the Black Dossier, an intelligence file about the founding and development of the crime-fighting group.

Moore includes excerpts from the dossier, such as postcards, maps, a lost play from Shakespeare, and the sequel to Fanny Hill, an 18th-century pornographic novel. Critics of the work cite the graphic sex scenes and "pornographic material" as grounds for why the graphic novel should be banned.

3 Critics Say Pride Of Baghdad Contains Sexually Explicit Material

CBR Banned Books Pride of Baghdad by Brian K Vaughn

Acclaimed writer Brian K. Vaughan teamed up with Nico Henrichon and Todd Klein to tell the true story of a pride of lions struggling to survive on the streets of Baghdad following an American bombing. Both Vaughan and the Vertigo graphic novel, Pride of Baghdad, have received accolades for the portrayals of civilians who find themselves in the middle of a war, and the concept of freedom.

The story, which features non-human main characters, made the ALA's Great Graphic Novels for Teens Top 10 in 2007 and Booklist Editors' Choice: Adult Books for Young Adults. However, the book is frequently challenged based on alleged content that is deemed sexually explicit.

2 Alison Bechdel's Fun Home Has Faced Challenges In Local Libraries And The Academic Arena

CBR Banned Books Fun Home by Alison Bechdel

Cartoonist Alison Bechdel garnered critical and commercial success with her autobiographical graphic novel Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, in which she recounts her childhood and strained relationship with her father, a closeted gay man. Bechdel also chronicles how she discovered that she was a lesbian. The story explores how these truths affected her self-image and how she deals with her sexuality.

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Fun Home has become an oft-challenged reading selection while being the first graphic novel to receive three challenges at the college level. Those challenging Fun Home cite the work as "pornography" and express concern that children might be drawn to it because it looks like a comic book and could "result in seedy people coming into the library and moving into communities," which is pure nonsense to say the least.

1 Neil Gaiman's Popularity Hasn't Stopped Critics From Trying To Ban Sandman

CBR Banned Books Sandman by Neil Giaman

Neil Gaiman's magnum opus Sandman from DC Comics' Vertigo imprint launched in 1989 and ran for 75 issues. The comic series and subsequent collected editions have been banned in libraries as critics cite "anti-family themes," "offensive language," and material "unsuited for age groups," especially when initially placed in the young adult section of libraries. The series was described as "pornography" and "garbage," by a Crafton Hills College (Yucaipa, California) student in 2015, saying the book should be "eradicated from the system."

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