BUT the point stands, that there were still multiple genres available under the Code. The horror ones often doubled as crime comics, where a ne'er-do-well would get some horrible supernatural come-uppance.
And you are forgetting one major thing - up until my generation, comics WERE considered "for kids". Exclusively. But my generation never fucking grew the fuck up, because we're a bunch of fucking slackers. :P
Also, the Hayes and Comics Codes weren't meant to make everything "for kids" (in the sense of, say, Sesame Street or Saturday Morning Cartoons, it was meant to make everything "one size fits all", that is, appealing to adults as well as safe for kids. Which actually forced writers to be clever and use their brains a bit, rather than just spewing out blatant sex, gore, and fart jokes, because it's easy.
Hell, one of the funniest moments in FAMILY television is one of the dirtiest jokes ever - the "Finger Prints" joke in original Animaniacs ... TOTALLY flew over the heads of my own children as I sat there laughing my butt off ... after a beat or two while I processed what they had just said.
BUT the point stands, that there were still multiple genres available under the Code. The horror ones often doubled as crime comics, where a ne'er-do-well would get some horrible supernatural come-uppance.
And you are forgetting one major thing - up until my generation, comics WERE considered "for kids". Exclusively. But my generation never fucking grew the fuck up, because we're a bunch of fucking slackers. :P
Also, the Hayes and Comics Codes weren't meant to make everything "for kids", it was meant to make everything "one size fits all", that is, appealing to adults as well as safe for kids. Which actually forced writers to be clever and use their brains a bit, rather than just spewing out blatant sex, gore, and fart jokes, because it's easy.
Hell, one of the funniest moments in FAMILY television is one of the dirtiest jokes ever - the "Finger Prints" joke in original Animaniacs ... TOTALLY flew over the heads of my own children as I sat there laughing my butt off ... after a beat or two while I processed what they had just said.