The Marvel Comics rating system is a system for rating the content of

comic books A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

, with regard to appropriateness for different age groups. In 2001,

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

withdrew from the

Comics Code Authority The Comics Code Authority (CCA) was formed in 1954 by the Comics Magazine Association of America as an alternative to government regulation. The CCA enabled comic publishers to self-regulate the content of American comic book, comic books in the ...

and established its own rating system for its publications. This was precipitated by the CCA refusing approval of the seal due to the strong depiction of violence in ''

X-Force X-Force is a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most commonly in association with the X-Men. Conceived by writer/illustrator Rob Liefeld, the team first appeared in ''New Mutants'' #100 (April 1991 ...

'' #116, a comic written by

Peter Milligan Peter Milligan (born 24 June 1961) is a British comic book writer who has written extensively for both British and American comic book industries. In the UK, Milligan has contributed to numerous anthology titles including '' 2000 AD'', ''Revol ...

and drawn by

Mike Allred Michael Dalton "Mike" Allred (born 1962) is an American Comics artist, comic book artist and writer. He is most well known for his Alternative comics, independent comics creation Madman (Mike Allred character), Madman and for co-creating and dra ...

. As well, by withdrawing from the CCA, this is seen as a move by editor-in-chief

Joe Quesada Joseph Quesada (; born January 12, 1962'' Comics Buyer's Guide'' #1650; February 2009; page 107) is an American comic book artist, writer, editor, and television producer. He became known in the 1990s for his work on various Valiant Comics books, ...

to lure more high-profile creators to Marvel Comics.X-Force #116 To Be Non-Code
– ICv2 – 27 April 2001 Modern ratings are usually found on the comic's UPC box.

System

The Marvel Rating System assigns each comic book one of the following ratings: *ALL AGES – Appropriate for all ages. *T – Appropriate for most readers, but parents are advised that they might want to read before or with younger children. *T+ TEENS AND UP – Appropriate for teens 13 and up. *PARENTAL ADVISORY – Appropriate for 15 and up. Similar to T+, but featuring more mature themes or graphic imagery. Recommended for teen and adult readers. *EXPLICIT CONTENT – Appropriate for 18 and up. Most Mature Readers books fall under the MAX imprint, which was created specifically for mature content titles. MAX and mature-themed titles continue to be designed to appear distinct from mainline Marvel titles, with the "MAX: Explicit Content" label prominently displayed on the cover.

History

The first Marvel rating system was implemented in 2001, following their publishing of an issue of X-Force without the approval of self-regulatory system the Comics Code Authority (CCA). The CCA deemed the issue too violent, and following this, Marvel removed its entire line from the scrutiny of the Comics Code. Their age rating system used the following categories: *ALL AGES *PG (Parental Guidance) *PG+ *PARENTAL ADVISORY/EXPLICIT CONTENT However, the

Motion Picture Association of America The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the Major film studios, five major film studios of the Cinema of the United States, United States, the Major film studios#Mini-majors, mini-major Amazon MGM Stud ...

complained, as it holds a trademark on such classifications as PG and PG-13 (see

MPAA film rating system The Motion Picture Association film rating system is used in the United States and its territories to rate a motion picture's suitability for certain audiences based on its content. The system and the ratings applied to individual motion picture ...

). Marvel thus switched to the following system (by changing the PG ratings): *ALL AGES *PSR (Parental Supervision Recommended) *PSR+ *PARENTAL ADVISORY/EXPLICIT CONTENT Beginning in June 2005, Marvel switched to yet another system: *ALL AGES *A Appropriate for age 9 and up. *T Recommended for TEEN AND UP UNLESS WITH PARENTAL SUPERVISION *T+ SUGGESTED FOR TEEN AND UP *PARENTAL ADVISORY *MAX: EXPLICIT CONTENT

References

Sources

"Comic Books Need A Better Rating System"
– Comic Book Daily 2001 introductions Marvel Comics Media content ratings systems {{Marvel-Comics-stub

System

History

See also

References

Sources