Library of Congress Opens Records of Anti-Comic Book Shrink

eldavojohn writes "Some light is being shone on comic book history today as the Library of Congress opens up the 222 boxes of a German psychiatrist's evidence and papers against comic books. Dr. Fredric Wertham is well known by comic book fans as the author of Seduction of the Innocent, a bestselling book linking comic books and juvenile delinquency — leading to a full blown congressional investigation (some say witch hunt) of the comic book industry. Wertham was long involved with criminal trials before campaigning against comic books and promoting industry and government censorship for children. Ars adds a little more context for the younger crowd and notes that he later tried to move against television violence but couldn't find the publisher backing he had against comic books."

Inaccurate Headline & Summary

[Blackeagle_Falcon]

It's not Congress opening up these records, it's the Library of Congress.

Re:Ah yes, Wertham

[jandrese]

Tied an artists hands a little bit can be good, but the code was a straitjacket--especially in the original incarnation. And attempting to publish without the CCA logo was suicide. Many distributes wouldn't even carry your product, and towns enacted ordinances making non CCA tagged comics "adult material" and illegal for distribution inside of the town boundaries. It took decades for the industry to recover, and even now comics retain the stigma of "kids stuff about moralistic superheroes and fluffy animals", despite the eventual backlash and proliferation of adult targeted (and non CCA approved) comics during the 80s and beyond.

Re:Ah yes, Wertham

[DMiax]

Actually, it was just Hays code [wikipedia.org] all over again. Funny how these things happen at decades of distance for different mediums. Let's see if the plot repeats with videogames...

Public domain golden-age comic downloads

[dameron]

Golden Age Comics [goldenagecomics.co.uk] has many of these pre-code comics in friendly formats (i.e. not pdf) and available free downloads. Registration is required, however, as they are quite strapped for bandwidth, especially considering a single comic can easily be 30-50mb.

They also have a donations page [paypal.com] if you're feeling generous wrt the free service they provide.

So check out some of these pre-code comics, they vary in quality immensely, but it's an interesting look back at what was considered vulgar and damaging to children 50+ years ago.

Re:Congress: The New Superhero!

[Wyatt Earp]

It is not accurate to lump him in with Jack Thompson, did you read the article linked to Ars?

In the 1940s he opened an outpatient mental health clinic in Harlem for the poor.

"Wertham was an eloquent critic of Jim Crow segregation. His research on its harmful psychological effects was cited in the 1954 Brown versus the Board of Education Supreme Court case. And he spoke out for the welfare of people behind bars, including Ethel Rosenberg, who was eventually convicted and executed for espionage, along with her husband, Julius."

He was trying to help society and try to make the world a better place, he just added 2+2 up and got 5.321 when it came to violence and comic books.

Re:How far back you want to go?

[kungfugleek]

You skipped movies and playing cards (the standard kings, queen, aces, spaces, clubs kind -- they were/are viewed as being too tarot-like or too close to gambling).

Re:Demonization?

[dargaud]

I wouldn't call all all those super-hero comics 'adult oriented'. In 99% of the cases, their stories are so puerile that only children would want to read them. Or maybe brain-damaged adults. I've read about 10000 adult comics. By adult, I mean not porn or gore, but the same kind of 'adult' who enjoys a good drama movie that is clearly not intended for children. But those kind of comics, while thriving in other countries, are almost non-existent in the US.

Re:Ah yes, Wertham

[jythie]

Hard to say if showing backbone would have worked. They were a weak and unpopular industry in the middle of a moral panic in an age where blasphemy was still a punishable offense. The few publishers that did try to stick up for themselves were tarred and feathered and, more importantly, did not survive as companies.

Seldane is a bad example

[Mathinker]

> IIRC correctly, Seldane was the sinus medication prescribed by a
> doctor that could cause heart stoppage in a very small percent of users

Seldane (terfenadine) is a bad example, because it was discontinued because it became possible to use fexofenadine instead. Fexofenadine, being terfenadine's active metabolite, has all of the biological activity of terfenadine but without the cardiotoxic drawbacks.

Re:I like Adam Smith's critique of small governmen

[spun]

I would say that it is fair to ensure that everyone gets at the bare minimum, clean water, enough to eat, shelter, and free medical care. If you want more than that, work for it. I don't think everyone should be rewarded equally, people who do more should get more.

But what is 'more?' If it were only tangible things like mansions and yachts, I would be fine with that. But what more really means, beyond a certain point, is more ability to control other people's lives, and that is not fair. Just because you are excellent at deciding what to invest in should not give you more control over other people's lives and livelihood.

You can't really use Russia as an example of socialism, as they didn't have that style of governemt. They were an oligarchy. Anyone can claim to be anything they like, for example, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is neither democratic, nor a republic. Why not use real examples of socialism, like most of Europe?

I'd say your theory about our education system is off the mark. I certainly don't recall schools teaching me anything like the lessons you claim they teach. I recall being taught that if you work hard, you will succede, but that does not appear to be true for most people. Hard work is important, but going to the right schools and knowing the right people will make you a success even without the hard work, and hard work without luck or contacts just leads to a long life slaving for someone else.

A government system must not assume corruption on the part of all human beings, lest it encourage just that. We must recognize that most people are not corrupt. In fact, most people value fairness and reciprocity over their own self interest. Only when they see that everyone around them is acting unfairly will most people begin to act unfairly themselves, in self defense.

The problem is and always has been the sociopaths who have faulty empathy and no capability for remorse. The vast majority of people do not need laws in order to be good people. They just need the ability to punish unfairness. And in a vastly unequal society, the poor simply don't have the ability to punish the rich when the rich act unfairly. They aren't even part of the same society. The rich can do whatever they like to the poor.

This is the problem. When some in society can impact the lives of others without being impacted themselves, they do not have to take the interests of the others into account. The power of the rich insulates them from even having to understand or empathize with the poor. The rich tell themselves a comforting myth, and no one has the power to stand up and make them understand that their myth is a lie: they did not achieve their position through excellence alone, but through systematic unfairness they took advantage of.