Is what you see what you get? A content analysis of the indicative nature of self-regulated comic book covers and their content

ABSTRACT

The comic book industry has a unique position since comic books are a form of media with no formal regulatory organisation to handle content management. Some publishers have adopted rating systems that are presented on their comics’ covers, while others have not. This study examines how representative comic book covers are of the content found within the inside pages of their issues from publishers that have no formal rating system. Given that comic books have evolved to include content targeted towards children and adults the question raised by the researchers is whether or not some form of content regulation is needed due to the potential of children being exposed to mature content. This study analysed the covers and contents of comic books from five different publishers that did not place any ratings on their comics. Findings suggest that the content on the covers of comic books was not indicative of their inside content in the majority of cases. In all of those cases, less mature content was found on the covers as compared with the inside content.

KEYWORDS:

• Comic books
• rating systems
• content regulation
• social learning theory
• content analysis
• comic book covers

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Marvel Rating System. In Marvel. Retrieved 31 January 2015, from http://subscriptions.marvel.com/store/ipd.asp?spid=1009

2. Ratings. In DC Comics. Retrieved 31 January 2015, from http://www.dccomics.com/ratings

3. Rating Categories. In ESRB Ratings Guide. Retrieved 31 January 2015, from http://www.esrb.org/ratings/ratings_guide.jsp

4. Content Descriptors. In ESRB Ratings Guide. Retrieved 31 January 2015, from http://www.esrb.org/ratings/ratings_guide.jsp

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Thomas J. Brown

Thomas J. Brown is currently a PhD candidate in the Communications Media and Instructional Technology program at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He has a BS in Communications Media and an MA in Adult Education and Communications Technology from IUP as well as experience working in the fields of education and video production. Thomas’s research interests include popular culture, television studies, film studies, as well as various areas of comic book studies.

Natalya Vodopyanova

Natalya Vodopyanova is currently a PhD candidate and a Teaching Associate in the Communications Media and Instructional Technology program at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She has an MBA from IUP Eberly College of Business and Information Technology and extensive working experience in teaching and business. Natalya’s research interests include women’s issues in business environments, gender stereotyping based on popular media productions, as well as Internet dependency, and the effectiveness of the use of electronic mobile devices on foreign language acquisition.