Just before getting a lawsuit from Catwoman.
Uncanny Origins #10
Marvel (June, 1997)
The Black Cat: “The Black Cat’s Path”
WRITER: Lysa Marie Hawkins
ARTIST: Marc Campos
COLORIST: Bob Sharen
LETTERER: Jack Morelli
EDITOR: Joe Andreani
Normally, Chapter By Chapter is me reading a fictional book one chapter at a time to study each part of the story. In this special review series however we are looking at Seduction Of The Innocent, a non-fiction book as the writer, Dr. Fredric Wertham, tries to make the case that comics were a bad thing for kids in the 1950s. The book had a huge impact on the comic industry and fans. We will examine what he is saying not exclusively by today’s standards, but the time in which the book was made to see where Wertham was right, and where he was horribly wrong.
The Contribution of Crime Comic Books to Juvenile Delinquency
“‘We do not know the cause.’ Is it not absurd to think of ‘the’ cause? Should we, over that, neglect the facts we have?”
– Adolf Meyer, M.D.
I am not so stupid as to think media has no influence on people, but I am smart enough to know the limits. I know plenty of horror fans who aren’t swearing allegiance to darker forces, or locking people into death traps meant to test their morality versus their survival instincts. I know plenty of first-person shooter players who DON’T shoot up places, and mistaking a “simulator” for a “training simulator” is a topic I’ve gone over before. Violent media is a topic that never goes away and the newer the media the more likely it will be credited not simply with influencing the idea of how to do evil but of being evil in the first place. This is what Wertham has been trying to prove to us in his rants against comics.
The problem is that Dr. Wertham has lumped so many comics together under the banner of “causing kids to do evil” that it’s hard to take him seriously. Any comic with any level of violence is lumped into “crime comics”, although apparently slapstick violence goes under his notice and some of his targets are not as bad as he says, meaning that if he is right about any of them it’s hard to see it. I have an idea about that but I’ll keep that under wraps currently until I’m sure I can pull it off.
This chapter is all about how comics push children to commit unspeakable acts of crime…although let’s be honest. Even last week’s chapter on illiteracy was about comics turning your kids into Al Capone (who was often celebrated by non-comics by the way). Wertham does not compartmentalize anything and want to beat this lesson into you. I’m betting even the chapter on sex will include acts of violent crime. The only standout here is that Dr. Wertham goes through the trouble of spotlighting crimes so violent I am loath to copy/paste them to a PG site, although I will link to the chapter because you need to read it for the proper context. So let’s get right to it:
Chapter Six: Design For Delinquency
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Hawkman pays a visit to Burning Man.
Hawkman #0
DC Comics (October, 1994)
“Eyes Of The Hawk” prologue: “Old Scores”
WRITER: William Messner-Loebs
PENCILER: Steve Lieber
INKER: Curt Shoultz
COVER ART: Lee Weeks & Steve Buccellato
COLORIST: Buzz Setzer
LETTERER: Albert DeGusman
EDITOR: Jim Spivey
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http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/jodie-whittaker-attends-the-national-television-awards-at-news-photo/464546225
Word is coming out from the BBC that the next Doctor on Doctor Who will indeed be female. Look, I’m sure Jodie Whittaker is a great actress, but as I’ve written before, making the Doctor a woman because people aren’t happy with a strong female Companion just doesn’t feel right. There are female Time Lords already. Should Romana. the Time LADY who became President, have a male regeneration at some point? The Rani? (And why has nobody brought the Rani back? I’m not asking for the Monk or the War Doctor…although the Monk might be interesting.) Does gender mean anything to Gallifreyans? And I mean biologically. I was annoyed by the whole loom business in the Lungburrow novel I got to read online before the BBC took it off their official site. You CAN make aliens too alien, and I stand by my commentary from the last regeneration. It’s all social politics over good character creation, although I’m sure you’ll still call me a sexist. I’ve written about that too.
And no, I wouldn’t care if the Doctor was a different skin color. Heck, make Lenny Henry a canon Doctor! He’s one of the few characters you can get away with that. Also James Bond, but we all assumed he’s a Time Lord too. And I’m sure there are calls for a female James Bond actually being James Bond somehow instead of a lady spy in the Bond mold.
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I didn’t get a chance to work on the comic, partly because I didn’t get a good idea for the next comic until it was too late to work on anything. I went to a family gathering, the last scheduled for a while, and that took up the time after I came up with the idea. Also while there I hit my head (long story, but my fault) and it still hurts. (Don’t worry, I was able to get home and stuff and I think I’m fine.) I didn’t want to do anything today but rest my skull. I did finally get to watch that The War Of The Worlds DVD and the movie is just as good as I remember it. I want to go back and listen to the commentary tracks and other special features, but I watched the “making of” feature and it’s quite interesting.
But on this week. Fredric Wertham continues to haunt us. On the comic reviewing front, I need a replacement for Dragon Ball Z‘z Wednesday slot and I realized that, while I’ve reviewed the Modern comics run from the 1980s and the Dynamite issues I regret buying from the 2000s, the only Image/Devil’s Due run I’ve touched is the final issue of A Legend Forged. That means that the new Wednesday retro-comic review is the Devil’s Due run on Voltron: Defender Of The Universe, proof that I can enjoy a reboot if done right and well-produced rather than one or the other. So I’m looking forward to re-reading that series. Otherwise no changes. Still more Zero Hour aftermaths and all the rest.
At least I know my headache isn’t coming from Seduction Of The Innocent. This week anyway.
Chapter By Chapter Special: Seduction Of The Innocent ch. 6 part 2
Context is important in writing. You have to get across to the reader what is happening or at least how the characters perceive it. Changing the context changes how it’s viewed. In politics this is used to great effect to turn people against someone who doesn’t share their views, be it a politician or a commentator. I’ve seen people say one thing on one show, something completely different on another show, and it’s the exact same clip. This is also used by attorneys to get their client off or push for maximum damages. Altering the context is the heart of spin doctoring.
And that’s honestly what I’ve seen done here. I know who Superman, Wonder Woman, and Blue Beetle are. Sheena and Classics Illustrated I know by reputation. The kinds of literature Dr. Wertham believes are the only things kids should read I also know from experience or reputation because they are part of other stories, including stories in comics, and I could make plenty of complaints discouraging reading these books. Heck, some groups do! How many times have you heard about attempts to get Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn out of school libraries because of the use of the “N-Word” or because of their antics? And they aren’t the only books targeted, but they are books intended for kids to read or have become so simply because they’re about two boys who are friends in spite of public opinion due to Huck’s history.
Wertham isn’t trying to improve comics, at least not at this stage. He is out to eliminate comics from storytelling or somehow ban kids from reading anything not involving Mickey Mouse…although I’ve read a few Mickey Mouse comics that would fall under Wertham’s “crime comics” banner, so I keep wondering how much actual attention he’s been paying to comics?
Get refreshed folks because now we’re on the subject of kid crime not existing before comics.
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Posted by ShadowWing Tronix on July 18, 2017 in Comic Spotlight, Seduction Of The Innocent and tagged book review, Chapter By Chapter, commentary, Dr. Fredric Wertham, Seduction Of The Innocent.
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