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The Undead Thread: Pre-Code Horror
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Started by precodekeith,

Favorite Pre-Code Publisher  

9 members have voted

  1. 1. Favorite Pre-Code Publisher

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10,235 posts in this topic

Jayman

Jayman

Posted
Posted
Is he taking the brain out, or putting one in?! insane.gif

 

I think he was just getting his 100,000 mile rotation! tongue.gif

Another thing that makes this issue classic in addition to the Wolverton story is a nice "anti-Wertham" article by the publishers. Seems they were starting to get the feel of the encroaching CCA and were defending their books.

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precodekeith

precodekeith

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OK, here's a big "THANK YOU!" to Jon, a.k.a. "originalisbest" here on the boards. He was aware of my PCH budget "plight," what with the baby/wedding & all, so he proposed a trade & it worked out great. Thanks! thumbsup2.gif

 

BTW- I'm still open to trades..... 893crossfingers-thumb.gif

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Jayman

Jayman

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Keith I was just going to take a picture of the editorial page from my Weird Mysteries # 5 as I did not want to lay it on the scanner. However the picture might not be all that clear so I re-typed it for readability. Enjoy!

 

..........................................................................................................

 

Well, things are really popping around this office. In the last issue of THE BLACKBOARD I asked you readers to drop me a line commenting on WEIRD MYSTERIES. To be truthful. I never expected such a tremendous response, which only goes to prove that you readers are genuinely interested in the magazines you read. And if asked, will write giving your ideas on how to improve each issue. The only thing I noticed is that most of the mail seems to come from the boys...what's the matter, don't girls read comic books anymore?

I was going to answer as many letters as possible in each issue but will devote this entire space to the discussion of just one letter. A letter that has caused quite a furor around here. Here are excerpts from that letter:

 

Dear Sirs;

Recently I came across a "comic" of yours entitled WEIRD MYSTERIES. Would you be willing to answer several question for me?

Why do you print trash like that?...How can you justify lowering yourselves and your readers by offering them the horrible fare that WEIRD MYSTERIES provides?

Would you not make more money by employing story writers and artists whose work would by its originality and wholesomeness create a demand that you as publishers would be proud to fill?

I thank you for whatever attention you may give my questions.

Very truly yours,

(Miss) LUCY HURLEY

 

A serious letter like Miss Hurley's deserves a serious answer.

First, let me say that the principle aim in publishing our magazines is to give the readers what they want to read. If we didn't do this, we couldn't (and wouldn't) remain in business.

The type of stories that we are publishing are not chosen by us arbitrarily, but rather after considerable research and investigation into what is marketable on the newsstands. If MYSTERY and HORROR are what the readers want then we are obliged to comply. In short then, it is the reader who determines what the publisher prints.

The implication in your letter, and on the part of many people and groups who have taken exception with the bulk of comic magazine material, is that it is "worthless trash" having harmful effects on the youth of our country...contributing even to delinquency. If you (and they) will take the trouble to analyze the so-called "prescribed" reading for children. I am sure you would conclude that comic magazine stories are no more unacceptable than they are.

For instance, let's study fairy tales;

 

1. LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD...in which a viscious wolf devours an old invalid woman and then attempts to do the same to her grand-daughter.

 

2. HANSEL AND GRETEL...in which a wicked witch attempts to roast alive two children in a red hot oven with the purpose of eating them afterwards.

 

3. SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS...in which a wicked queen assigns a woodsman to butcher Snow White. Failing in this, she then feeds the girl a poisoned apple.

 

There are many, many more...too many to go into in this limited space.

Surely, horror and violence in this form is no less harmful...IF HARMFUL IT IS...than what you find in comics. Let's remember that we, now adults, were raised on these fairy tales.

The crux of the matter lies in a child's upbringing. A child who is inclined to delinquency or other types of neurotic behavior does not need comic books to express these tendencies. Comics are no more contributory to a neurotic or psycotic personality than anything else in the child's environment.

Limitations of space stop the discussion at this point. However, we hope we have stimulated enough interest and thought so that other readers, especially parents, will write us their opinions on the topic. Please address your letters to:

 

THE BLACKBOARD

Gillmor Magazines, Inc.

175 Fifth Avenue

New York 10, New York

.............................................................................................................

 

917274-WM%235Text.jpg

 

The real defensive stance in this reply makes me feel (horror) publishers were already feeling the pressure starting to be applied by parents and teachers who were becoming aware of the content of some of these books.

Dr. Wertham's book Seduction of the Innocent was published in 1954 and WM #5 came out in 1953 although comic books were already gaining bad press.

 

(From the internet)

Once the popularity of comic books shot up through the introduction of Superman, they gained media attention, some of it bad. Here is an excerpt of an editorial from the Chicago Daily News book reviewer Sterling North that was printed in May 8th, 1940.

 

"Badly drawn, badly written, and badly printed - a strain on the young eyes and young nervous systems - the effects of these pulp-paper nightmares is that of a violent stimulant. Their crude blacks and reds spoils a child's natural sense of colour; their hypodermic injection of sex and murder make the child impatient with better, though quieter, stories. Unless we want a coming generation even more ferocious than the present one, parents and teachers throughout America must band together to break the `comic' magazine."

589a8e9085aa2_917274-WM5Text.jpg.973338f64253bd9209bddfc44befdacd.jpg

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