A few days ago, I mentioned I make my living as a freelancer. If you know anything about a freelancer's life, you've probably heard the phrase "feast or famine" in connection with it. That's because when the work gets paid for, we rush around paying all the bills, but when a long time goes by without payments coming in, we don't even buy the stamps to mail them. Not too long ago, a bigger-than-average payment arrived, so big I even got to visit Amazon,com before lapsing back into poverty mode.

Maybe I'll regale you later with a description of all the great stuff I bought, but I did get one thing worth writing about just from the back cover of one of them. Seal of Approval: the History of the Comics Code, by Amy Kiste Nyberg, states in that location that in the 1930s (when comic books as we know them started) "Parents and teachers accused comic books of contaminating childen's culture by luring young readers away from more appropriate material."

More appropriate material? What do you suppose comics are less appropriate than? The Police Gazette? Penthouse magazine? I realize I'm preaching to the choir here, but I'll stack Carl Barks, Walt Kelly or Scary Godmother, to name a modern example, against the best prose has to offer in the way of children's literature, and feel pretty darned comfortable about inviting the comparison.

This calls to mind a pet peeve. Years ago, I was talking with a librarian, who informed me that in their first few years, the Oz books were banned in many libraries as "inappropriate" trash. Which fits a general pattern I've observed over the years.

Teachers and librarians are always exhorting children to read — but when they come across something the kids like to read, they cluck their tongues at the younger generation's poor taste, and call it "inappropriate". It's like they think if reading isn't a chore, it can't be doing them any good.

Need I mention where I stand in this? I don't recall where I picked up this exact way of putting it, but an educator with a decent head on his shoulders once said the first thing to do is awaken the appetite for reading — then we can work on their taste.

Grumble grumble. I could go on and on about how anti-comics prejudice is harming our children, and given half an excuse will undoubtedly pick up the subject again. But for now, I think, I've made myself clear.

Don't you just hate it when people "review" books they haven't even read? Well, this isn't really a review, is it? Maybe I'll write one after I've had a chance to read it.

But it sure does sound interesting, doesn't it? A book-length history of the Comics Code. That one jumped off the screen at me, and was in my "shopping cart" as fast as my little mouse could put it there. I'll keep you informed about how well it lives up to the promise.

— DDM