Anti Comic Propoganda 2 2

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Saturday Review

April 24, 1954; Vol XXXVII, No 17

THE SEDUCTION OF THE INNOCENT, by Fredric Wertham, M.D.,

Reviewed by Winfred Overholser, M.D.

 

 

Saturday Review

April 9, 1955; Vol. XXXVIII, No. 15

"It's Still Murder": What parents still don't know about Comic Books, by Fredric Wertham, M. D.

"Editor's Note: Saturday Review asked Dr. Fredric Wertham, whose article on terror comics in The Saturday Review seven years ago first called national attention to the growing problem represented by such publishing, to survey changes in the industry under the new code" [Referring to the code of good practices under Charles F. Murphy.]

 

 

 

[llll-migration]

ebay search Books > Magazine Back Issues > "WERTHAM"

 

Redbook 1963

Article - Redbook Dialogue

Alfred Hitchcock and Fredric Wertham debate TV violence

 

[Senormac]

My copy.....complete with bibliography. I myself am a Wertham sympathizer....but lets not go there. I've already been CENSORED once on a message board for offending the "all knowing, all powerful" Wertham haters...

 

My copy is a 100% re-publishment of the original book from 1954, complete with bibliography..... from 2004.....and is limited to 220 copies.... I picked it up for something around $80 on ebay.

 

One thing I would like to say in Werthams behalf......is he was definatley NO CRACKPOT !!! The guy had his mess together. He was NOT a comic hater....as a matter of fact.....he, like most adult americans at that time.....paid little to NO attention to comics and was also....TOTALLY AGAINST CENSORSHIP.......

 

So.....like I said above......lets not go there. Anyways.....why argue with me..... read it for yourself.....

 

 

 

[PokerKid]

ebay search Books > Magazine Back Issues > "WERTHAM"

 

Redbook 1963

Article - Redbook Dialogue

Alfred Hitchcock and Fredric Wertham debate TV violence

 

 

Wow, that would have to be a very interesting debate.

 

Thanks for all those who are sharing ... and how the heck did you guys get such nice copies of those Reader's Digests?

[MedicAR]

My first go-round at college, I had a long break between classes in the morning. I lived off-campus, so going home wasn't an option. I would study when I needed to, then head off to the library to find comic-related items in magazines and such. The downside was that they were usually on micro-fische, the upside is I made copies of all that I could find.

 

I'm off to the garage to find that sweet orange folder........

 

 

[catrick339]

I used to have a copy (No biblio page) in jacket. I got it at a used book store circa 1975 for five bucks, sold it mid-90's at a Chicago convention for $200 or so...seems like many copies have emerged since then.

[MedicAR]

All right campers, I just figured out the "Attachments" so look out!

 

The first is one of the earliest I found, coming from the New Republic in May of 1939, less than one year after Superman's debut.

 

Edited October 26, 2008 by MedicAR

[rodan57]

I wonder if Timely/Atlas's Martin Goodman's habit of publishing through multiple company fronts came back to haunt with multiple listings in Wertham's bibliography?

[Duffman_Comics]

All right campers, I just figured out the "Attachments" so look out!

 

The first is one of the earliest I found, coming from the New Republic in May of 1939, less than one year after Superman's debut.

 

 

Unbelievable.

 

Journalists were heading their pars about comics with "Wham" and "Pow" in 1939

 

I am just gobsmacked.

[welcomebackpotter]

Here is a web site that lists different publications that contain anti comic articles.

 

Anti Comic Publications Website

[MR.COMICBOOK]

I wonder what Wertham would say about videogames,movies,internet and tv?

 

 

[Senormac]

Probably not too much about Mario. Resident Evil however........

[Aces]

Anti Comic Propoganda

 

Just reading these boards is enough to scare the mess out of you to keep you from buying any comics.

 

[welcomebackpotter]

Senate Investigation Into Juvenile Deliquency and Comic Books Booklet

 

[JohnT]

My copy.....complete with bibliography. I myself am a Wertham sympathizer....but lets not go there. I've already been CENSORED once on a message board for offending the "all knowing, all powerful" Wertham haters...

 

My copy is a 100% re-publishment of the original book from 1954, complete with bibliography..... from 2004.....and is limited to 220 copies.... I picked it up for something around $80 on ebay.

 

One thing I would like to say in Werthams behalf......is he was definatley NO CRACKPOT !!! The guy had his mess together. He was NOT a comic hater....as a matter of fact.....he, like most adult americans at that time.....paid little to NO attention to comics and was also....TOTALLY AGAINST CENSORSHIP.......

 

So.....like I said above......lets not go there. Anyways.....why argue with me..... read it for yourself.....

 

 

I'm probably a Wertham sympathizer to the extent that some comics were definitley going over the line, but what is regettable is that things swung so severely in the other direction and we ended up with the ultra-sanitized comics that had to abide by the comics code. There's no doubt that Wertham's crusade ended up in censorship.

[Beau]

 

Thanks for all those who are sharing ... and how the heck did you guys get such nice copies of those Reader's Digests?

 

Old magazines are easier to find than old comics it seems. People stuff 'em in their attic and forget about them (comics just got thrown away ). I collect pre-1900 issues of 'Puck' which are usually in AMAZING condition for a newsstand paper product over a century old. I also love the ads for mail-order heroin.

 

Sorry for the thread derail, though it does remind me I need to get around to reading 'Seduction of the Innocent".

[Senormac]

I'm probably a Wertham sympathizer to the extent that some comics were definitley going over the line, but what is regettable is that things swung so severely in the other direction and we ended up with the ultra-sanitized comics that had to abide by the comics code. There's no doubt that Wertham's crusade ended up in censorship.

 

Isn't that where the expression....."one bad apple spoils the whole bunch" came from? I am sometimes amazed at how the actions of one single insufficiently_thoughtful_person can cause a law to go into effect limiting the freedom of the other 300 odd million of us. Or if nothing else.....costing us fees to continue being free.

 

One thing I never see from the comic people is, that if Wertham was totally wrong, off the mark and an insufficiently_thoughtful_person.......then what "WAS" the cause of juvenile delinquency at that time?

 

I think the WAR had more to do with it than was given credit......

One of the greatest tragedies to ever hit this world and Iraq is NOTHING by comparison.

[Mutant Manatee]

Wow, some incredibly interesting items guys, stuff I've never seen before. Thanks for posting them!

 

While I wouldn't characterize myself as a wertham sympathizer, I don't think that he was really the evil villain that people often make him out to be. Times were much, much different in 1954 than they are now. I attended a panel about Fredric Wertham at the 2003 San Diego Comic-Con that included footage of Wertham appearing on the Mike Douglas show in 1967. It was a real treat to see him in living color and to hear his German accent. Maybe he honestly believed in what he was doing, or maybe he was just seeking fame. That debate will continue for decades.

 

Anyway, here is my copy of SOTI, from an edition of 80 copies printed by Amereon House in 1999.

 

 

I ruined it as a collector's item by asking someone to write in it.

 

 

[Senormac]

Hey, thats cool. You don't wanna sell it now....it has way more collector value to you yourself. And money can't buy the memory you have of him signing it for you. Very nice !!

[cloudofwit]

Some of the things I like to collect are anti comic propoganda. If you have any please post them.

 

The first item has to be:

 

Seduction of the Innocent (1st print- no bibliography)

 

Wertham gave this away at a 1953 Baptist convention. Its a general overview of SOTI.

 

 

:hail: Nice thread.......Baptist convention......:think: Does anyone know Wertham's religious background? I bet those leaving that con were convinced that comics were "of the devil." It reminds me of logical fallacies and the ol' post hoc fallacy...the event of comic books eventually led to a rise in juvenile delinquency. Not that Baptists should be singled out--plenty of atheists, agnostics, and other religiously persuaded folks have been/are guilty of a lack of thinking. And back in the '50s and '60s they didn't even have the distraction of the world-wide Web or reality TV.