Banned Comics at the NLI
The Monster of Frankenstein (British Edition). Arnold Book Company, London. Illustration by Dick Briefer. Image courtesy of James Bacon.
Join comic fan and scholar James Bacon as he reveals the history of banned comics through National Library collections.
Comics were banned in Ireland.
The worldwide "Moral Panic" about comics in the 1950's was different in Ireland, with an active censorship and distrust of foreign publications, the outrage ignited quickly. Comic scholar and historian James Bacon shares his investigations using comics and material from the National Library.
Please be aware that this talk may include themes of a sensitive nature. Recommended for ages 16+.
James Bacon is a comic fan and scholar from Dublin.
His first book, Irish Conflict in Comics was warmly received. His current work, A Sensual Cesspool of Iniquity, Comics and Censorship in 1950's Ireland will be published by Limit Break Comics this year. Previously his work For Steam Men: Myles na gCopaleen and Irish Rail was published in Flann O'Brien and the Nonhuman (Cork University Press).
His research in the National Library of Ireland has helped uncover which comics were banned.
If our team can be of any assistance, please contact us on learning@nli.ie.
