Posted in: Comics, Comics Code Authority | Tagged: Brandon Montclare, chris robinson, Comics Code Authority, marvel, moon girl, Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur, Natacha Bustos, new comics code authority, Tamra Bonvillain, Travis Lanham

Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur #32: Not Suitable for Children?

Published Sat, 30 Jun 2018 11:00:33 -0500

by Jude Terror

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Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur #32 is comic whose flagrant violations of the Comics Code of 1954 are made exponentially worse by the fact that the comic is marketed to impressionable young children. If ever there were a comic that needs the strict regulation of the New Comics Code Authority, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur is it.

Writer: Brandon Montclaire
Artist: Natacha Bustos
Colorist: Tamra Bonvillain
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Cover: Chris Robinson

The comic begins with Moon Girl experiencing a nightmare about transforming into Devil Dinosaur due to her Inhuman genes, a violation of the Code's General Standards on avoiding references to physical afflictions or deformities, as well as guidelines on depicting females realistically without exaggeration since girls cannot turn into dinosaurs.

Worse, the nightmare seems to distress Moon Girl, a role model for the book's young readers, leading to an outburst of disrespect for her parents at the breakfast table as well as the promotion of distrust of the forces of law and justice when Moon Girl calls school "the biggest waste of time in the whole world." What kind of message is this sending to the kids reading?

Later, Moon Girl is shown flagrantly violating local ordinances by using her roller skates to slide down a stair rail with repercussions for breaking the law. Worse, she looks like she's having fun doing it, which violates Code standards on presenting criminals as glamorous or occupying a position which creates a desire for emulation. This is in stark contrast to the way Moon Girl treats Mayor Wilson Fisk, an authority figure about whom Moon Girl's inner monologue conveys disrespect.

A few other minor rules are violated as well. For example, Mayor Kingpin's decision to enroll his own adopted daughter in the school, which has already resulted in an increased adherence to standardized testing, creates tension between Moon Girl's parents, potentially conflicting with the Code's guidelines on Divorce. Moon Girl later commits another crime by breaking into her school at night, which is depicted as neither a sordid nor unpleasant activity.

The verdict: NOT APPROVED!

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Let's face it. Comics were better back in "the good old days." And what's the primary difference between then and now? No, it's not the rose-tinted lens of nostalgia! Who even asked you, anyway? What made comics so good was the rigid moral oversight of the noble Comics Code Authority. Someone has to clean up this mess, so Bleeding Cool have officially declared ourselves to be the New Comics Code Authority (hey, no one was using the name), and we will not rest until all comics violating the laws of the Comics Code of 1954 are stricken from the industry for good! Or until we get tired.

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