SOTIcollector

I thought I was done with the thread, but then I dug this one up. From 1952, it's a great booklet called "Your Child and Radio, TV, Comics and Movies." Parents were concerned about more than just comics: they worried about all the media their kiddies were consuming. This little guide told them everything they needed to know about how to keep kids "safe". There's one glaring condition issue: the cover is completely split at the spine, but still attached. Basically, everything is split except the part that's held on by the staples. $30+$3 shipping and it's yours. SOLD

Thanks for your interest. That's all the copies of SOTI for this thread, so nothing more very soon. As you can tell, SOTI is my primary collecting focus, and I do turn up copies from time to time, so it's a good bet I'll be back with more at some point in the future.

Thanks again!

I'll start this thing off at $60.

Here's another cool SOTI-related oddity. You're familiar with Seduction of the Innocent, which came out in April, 1954, the same month the US Senate held hearings on the dangers of comic books. You might not know that Wertham's public crusade began in earnest years earlier, when his first big anti-comics article was published in the Saturday Review of Literature, May 29, 1948. He discussed how dangerous comics were for kids, prompting echoes from other critics of the comics, and putting the comic book industry on the defensive. That article is the reason you see anti-Wertham editorials in most of the Marvel/Timely/Not-yet-Atlas books from November, 1948 to July, 1949. Looking for an original copy of the Saturday Review of Literature from May 29, 1948? Good luck. Those are really tough to come by. Here's the next best thing. Wertham's 1948 article, "The Comics, Very Funny" was reprinted, without illustrations, in The Saturday Review Cavalcade. Wertham even got prominent billing on the cover. Here's a low grade copy of Cavalcade, yours for just $15. SOLD dinesh_s

Thank you!

Thanks!

And now we have Seduction of the Innocent by Dr. Fredric Wertham, first edition (from 1954), first print, first state (with bibliography). The good news is that it has the bibliography. More good news is that it's cheaper than the last one I offered. The bad news is that the condition is extremely rough. It's heavily worn, and the black cloth of the spine is absent. Glue stains remain on the cloth binding where tape was removed. Tape repairs inside FC and BC. Ex-library copy with library cards, stamps, and other markings typical of a former library book. The stain in the bottom margin of p. 355 that you see affects a number of pages, but I have no idea what it came from. Somebody closed a raisin in the book? Rear hinge loosening. Rip at the bottom of the page with the illustration of Thing #9 (face stomping). Name inside FC. Otherwise unmarked text. All 16 illustration pages are present, as is that elusive bibliography (pp. 399-400). The dust jacket is NOT ORIGINAL TO THE BOOK. The book is a first printing, and the dust jacket belongs to a second printing book. The jacket improves the look of the book by hiding the fact that the spine is missing, but it only improves it a tiny bit because the jacket is also in REALLY rough condition with amateur "restoration." (So amateur that I can't even type that resto word without putting it in quotes). The jacket has been taped along each edge, and somebody tried to "restore" a missing section (about 20%) of the front of the jacket, by taping a white piece of paper to it and writing out the logo in marker. I didn't get a photo of the interior of the dust jacket, but I think it's obvious in the photos where the taped-on piece is. Expect to see a lot of tape inside the DJ. A previous owner also used marker to "restore" the faded red text on the spine. This one's definitely for the budget collector, or it will serve as a placeholder for that day years from now when you find a better copy with the bibliography. $200 SOLD dinesh_s

Crimes by Women #9. This is one of Fox's sleaziest titles. Sure, around this time period Victor Fox got some amazing talent, like Feldstein, Kamen and of course Baker. This book, like many of Fox's other books, did not have top talent working on it. That's part of the charm of this series. Feast your peepers on the horrid artwork and sleaze that is Crimes by Women #9. Low grade book, as you can see. Snug centerfold and cover seems to be attached solidly at the staples. Ragged edges, a bunch of tape on the spine, FC hole near the spine, a BC hole, and the list of defects goes on. But, hey, it's a Crimes by Women, a series that has picked up a lot of steam in the last few years. $40. SOLD Black Bat

A couple more items tonight. A Crimes by Women and another SOTI first edition, first print, first state. Both LOW LOW grade... Coming up shortly.

What's that? Oh, I think I just heard it calling your name!

One big price drop on this one. Now $150. SOLD JRBaxter

Thanks, @Valliant, I'd very much appreciate that. I have lots of US related items and a couple UK ones, but I have nothing SOTI-related from Germany.

Awesome! Thanks for the pickup!

Next... I was going to post a raw VG Dagar #19. Then I saw that JBPEZ has a thread with a beautiful CGC 5.0 copy at a price I can't beat. So instead, I'll just post, for your entertainment, some interior pictures from that book. Enjoy! This image looks like it may have been inspired by the classic cover to Dagar #14.

It's in the sixth photo (the fuzzy one... I can take a clearer photo if you like).

Here's a cool one. How a Marvel book from about 1950 that you've never seen? Not a SOTI book, but a really cool rarity. As I can tell, there are no CGC'd copies and it's not listed in Overstreet. I've never seen one for sale online. It LOOKS like an uncut version of the Wisco/Klarer comics, featuring Marvel characters. But this one was actually intended to be distributed as it is, as you can tell from the back cover. Interesting to see the political incorrectness. "Here are some unfriendly Indians. Let's pretend to murder them. The penalty for being deemed unfriendly: genocide." Yes, it's in rough shape. But just try finding another. $225

Including my standard eBay writeup this time. About this copy of Seduction of the Innocent: First edition, first print, second state (meaning the bibliography has been removed), with dust jacket. I have taken numerous pictures and provided a thorough description, but I also welcome your questions if you’d like to know something more specific. Book: Unmarked except for pencil writing on front free end paper "April 19-54" and "50". Slight bleaching of the reds inside FC and inside BC. Some tan spots on the title page (I have no idea what this discoloration is from. See photos.) Some white spots on the black tape along the spine and FC/BC. Spine is snug, but there is a break along rear hinge (see photo). No bibliography. All typical pages present, including 16 pages of illustrations. Dust jacket: Fading to red text on spine. Some paper loss at top of spine and edges. $200 SOLD Comical_Situations About Seduction of the Innocent, in general: This is the book that nearly killed the American comic book industry in the 1950’s. It’s hard to overstate the impact this book had on the comic book industry. Dr. Fredric Wertham was a respected psychiatrist at the time, and he operated a mental hygiene clinic for children. In 1948, he first published his findings that determined comic books were harmful to kids. He embarked on a years-long crusade to stop the pernicious influence of comic books. There were comic book burnings in various American cities, and a number of cities banned comic books. The anti-comics hysteria reached its apex with the 1954 publication of Seduction of the Innocent, and a United States Senate investigation into the dangers of comic books. Parents were genuinely afraid that comic books would rot their little kiddies’ minds, and within a couple years the end result was that dozens of publishers were forced out of business, talented writers and artists were unable to find work, the publishing of horror comics was effectively ended, and EC comics had stopped publishing everything but Mad Magazine. While Wertham’s goal was to keep comics out of the hands of young children, one effect of the anti-comics hysteria that he whipped up was the 1954 creation of the Comics Code Authority. It was this organization that for years thoroughly neutered comic book content, ensuring that comics would be seen by the American public as strictly as kids’ fare. There are many comic books and comic-like books that have a profound influence on the comic book industry: Action Comics #1, Amazing Fantasy #15, A Contract with God, and the list goes on. However, it would be easy to make the case that SOTI has had a more dramatic impact on the American comic book industry than any non-comic book in history. Before you buy a copy of SOTI, from me or from anybody, be sure you know what you are getting. The first few editions of SOTI were: 1) First Edition, First Print, First State (Rinehart, 1954). Published with a dust jacket. Originally, SOTI was printed with a bibliography leaf (pp. 399-400). A few copies of the book were released with this leaf intact. A first printing is distinguishable by the R colophon on the publication page. 2) First Edition, First Print, Second State (Rinehart, 1954). Published with a dust jacket. The book’s publisher demanded that the bibliography leaf be excised, fearing lawsuits from comic book publishers. Most copies of the first print have no bibliography leaf; if you inspect one of these carefully, you can see a stub where pp. 399-400 should be. 3) First Edition, Second Print (Rinehart, 1954 or 1955). Published with a dust jacket. The first printing of SOTI sold out, so a second printing was created. The bibliography page was excised from all copies of the second printing. A second printing has two distinguishing characteristics: the R colophon is absent from the publication page, and the dust jacket reads “SECOND PRINTING” at the top left of the dust jacket’s front flap. 4) First UK printing (Museum Press, 1955). Published with a dust jacket, and printed without a bibliography. 5) Second US edition (Kennikat Press, 1972). Published without a dust jacket. This is the first edition that had the bibliography page intentionally included by the publisher. 6) Later editions (Amereon Ltd./Main Road Books). There are numerous later editions of SOTI, each claiming to be part of a limited print run of 220 copies. Don’t be fooled by this claim. While it’s possible that each printing is actually only 220 copies, the printings are extremely numerous. Every time the publisher sells out, they seem to print another “limited” batch of 220. That seems like “unlimited” to me.

True Love Problems and Advice Illustrated #11. CGC 7.5, cream to off-white pages. Not noted on the label, but this is one's mentioned in SOTI. No GPA sales in the last 15 years. Not sure of the timeline, but I think that one GPA sale was back before I discovered and reported that this is a SOTI book. $225

First Love #35. Pictured in SOTI. CGC 7.0. $225

Kewpies #1. One of the particularly tough to find SOTI books. $200

Parade of Pleasure by Geoffrey Wagner. US edition, 1955. With dust jacket, although obviously the DJ is rough. Some waviness due to moisture on the pages. All pages present, including the Marilyn Monroe photo. $350

Love & Death by Gershon Legman. Softcover, 1949. Predates SOTI by a full 5 years. $50

Gearing up for the next small batch, which I'll post this weekend, time permitting. There may be another SOTI with bibliography (much lower grade). There will be another first print SOTI without bibliography. Then a couple more slabbed and a couple more raw SOTI comics.