#wertham

[mudwerks]

(via Crime SuspenStories #20 (EC, 1953) | Heritage Auctions)

Classic hanging cover by Johnny Craig, used in Seduction of the Innocent.

[dustrial-inc]

I got a letter from the government, it said they were suckers...

[mellamame]

[booksincomics]

BOOKS IN THE COMIC BOOKS : : 

Seduction of the Innocent by Fredric Wertham (from Haunt of Fear #27 [Sept. 1954]). Art by George Evans with colour by Marie Severin. Script by Carl Wessler.

[vintagegeekculture]

A 1948 Maclean’s article that discussed the moral panic around comic books at the time (Maclean’s is essentially the Canadian version of Time magazine). They quote none other than the infamous Dr. Frederick Wertham. Easily the weirdest part of this panic is the belief that comics keep kids illiterate and unable to move on to normal books. 

Dr. Wertham is often misremembered by comics fans. He is often remembered by posterity as a “family values reactionary” who went after crime comics, when he was nothing of the kind. Among other things, he was politically progressive. For instance, his best known achievement in criminal law is to get juries to be aware of the background of the accused, since rich defendants were more likely to get off on the insanity defense than poor defendants. 

[orderfromkaaos]

[bclaymoore]

Marvel Comics’ response to Fredric Wertham, circa 1949.

[bad-sounds]

Wertham - Body Jigsaw