The Press: Horror Comics (Contd.)

After trying six months of voluntary self-censorship of comic books by the publishers themselves. New York state decided that self-censorship is not enough. Last week Governor Averell Harriman signed into law a bill making it a crime (maximum penalty: $500 fine, one year in prison) to sell "obscene and objectionable comics" to minors, or to use such words as "crime, sex, horror, terror" in comic-book titles. The protests of comic-book publishers were joined by book and newspaper publishers; they pointed out that the wording of the law was subject to loose interpretation as to what is "objectionable." They also opposed even more strongly the part of the law that makes the sale of paperbacks to minors a crime, if the cover picture is "devoted to illicit sex or exploits lust."

The new law must still stand a test in court. Once before when the New York state legislature passed a similar censorship law, the U.S. Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional.