So tldr manga industry might be exploding today

and that it for the Wertham repost I probally have more this weekend but feel free to ask if you want more context and I will do my best to answer, I'm going to get more quotes later this week but this book is a chore at the best of times

Getting back to this to show Wertham hypocrisy about all this he did actually make a difference between comic books and strips, though historically those within COMICS strips actually did worry about this and it led to one of the most tragic stores in comics.

Found that quote about Superman making Parents suck SO YOUR THE REASON MY FATHER WAS NEVER GOOD ENOGUH

The funny thing about this is we actually now have the real quotes form the gay dudes and it was gasp Tarzan and Namor all along?……honestly makes a bit more sense since those characters are just in their underwear

SEE WERTHAM DIDN'T WANT THE CODE...HE JUST WANTED THE GOVERNMENT TO CENSOR THEM!

To think this would lead to a black man losing his job.

Well guys hell froze over, I FINALLY AGREE WITH HIM ON SOMETHING....yeah fuck misleading ads. I WANTED REAL SEA MONKEYS!

oh hey it's Wonder Woman is a lesbian time! it's kind of funny how he frames the characters here because before this he was FRAMING Superman and Wonder Woman as counterparts and now it's Batman and Wonder Woman, THE GAYS

The thing I find funny about this is he goes to they are gay first instead of I don't know Daddy issues? Like Robin was following in the steps of Dick Tracy Jr, but DOES WERTHAM THINK TO TALK ABOUT HIM? NOOOOOOOOOOO

All right people we have reached the historical moment, after this DECADES of fan fiction, jokes, horrible deconstructions will be written, GARTH ENNIS IS BORN HERE HE HAS BEEN MELDED BY THE FIRES OF THIS MAN'S WRATH, NOW WE ARE A WITNESSING A BIRTH OF COMMENTARY

ah we are at Superheroes are gay, okay time for Batman and Robin jokes. Or at least the origin of them.

I'm going to read and post that article later but reading the book itself HE REALLY seems to HATE WONDER WOMAN SO MUCH, even compared to say Superman

Oh finally he ACTUALLY BRINGS UP MAYBE OTHER FACTORS BESIDES COMICS CAUSE THESE ISSUES! WOOOO....it's also the most fucking salacious passage so far in the book and almost sounds like he's just writing a crime book himself.

I should read this drunk. Like the way he just goes THIS ENTIRE FUCKED UP SITUATION....comics....not anything else that it could be....COMICS

All right I have to ask the gays this, did being attracted to a women ass make you gay? Sorry lesbians I can't ask you about this, I'm just wondering how womens butts made a dude gay if he's looking for them.

okay WE CAN'T ALLOW CHILDREN TO THINK SUPERMAN IS A GOD! OH JESUS WHAT NEXT THEY WILL THINK SANTA CLAUSE IS REAL?

Ah Captain Marvel MY FAVORITE CRIME BOOK,

My quote about Wertham why Wertham was really effective at the time

I don't go into all my hobbies but I do research on various topics besides comics, recently I've been listing to a podcast on lead poisoning in America and how it led to increased violence and it kind of puts Wertham issues into a different context.

I have to wonder a lot about these stories Wertham pulls because he only pulls out they read comics and without actual names or sources it's hard to really know if these are real or stuff he made up

one of the most confusing aspects is Wertham really goes out of his way to call Wonder Women not by her name, because if your a modern reader who doesn't know what year a character appeared, you would think they are actually talking about Supergirl WHO DIDN'T EXIST YET

I find this observation really funny because I've seen so many new readers try to read old comics and GET intimidated by the text in them being SO DENSE. Like pick up any comics and you can see that THEY REALLY wanted to make sure you knew the story and would GO OVER IT

TIME TO OUT LIBERAL WERTHAM, historically books were fucking expensive, this might seem moot now but back in the day classic books often were NOT sold in cheap paperback form, most kids could NOT AFFORD them so often avoided them and so...read what they could afford.

Oh his main target is crime and horror books they say, not anything else, nope HE'S GOING AFTER KIDS BOOKS THAT HAVE COMIC INSERTS HE JUST HATE THE FUCKING MEDIUM IT SEEMS

this is where we get into weird double think territory but like he says that comics are a mirror of a kids life, and he never stops to say that maybe the kids life is fucked up enough that he goes to those books, like it's only the comics causing problem not other factors.

Oh this old nugget, I'm not sure If I can find that this case happened that said, there are of courses cases of this happening, kids can put themselves in dangerous situations but those are often outliers you know. Either way I've always heard a story like this.

GUYS I MIGHT HAVE THE COMIC BOOK SYNDROME.....IT'S TERMINAL......

after a while you start to kind of become numb to this because on some level it's him going over and over again that SEE HOW THESE KIDS ACT FROM COMICS, but it's hard to tell if it actually is from comics or other factors since again HE NEVER BRINGS UP POSSIBLE OTHER FACTORS

Seduction of the innocent by Frederik Wertham I've been doing a read through to help find quotes and history, this was used to start a wave of anti comic book sentiment that would end in the creation of the Comic code Authority.

TIME FOR BLUE BEETLE SLANDER! Oh god I love how we now know this is one of the talks he faked. My god. We need a Blue Beetle who can turn into a beetle, time TO TAKE BACK THIS CONCEPT

Just a small post on Wertham's political leaning and this gets complicated because it's very easy to assume he was a conservative pundit but he was not, he was very anti-racist, tried to help kids and built his platform on that, that said this is where you have to ask a question.

What’s annoying reading this is by this logic, mythology, and Peter Pan are just as bad. Like does he actually compare content? Does he think flying men are unique to comics? He can’t right?

Follower made a point to me that JJ was probably a Wertham parody which comparing his rhetoric is very believable. Maybe Wertham greatest contribution to comics is him providing plots to superheroes. I heard the idea before but you know jj I’m so used to now it’s easy to forget that aspect

......I'm trying to wrap my head around this and I can't.

Oh wow it's the Tarzan comics that are VIOLENT pieces, not the movies, or the novels.....or the comic strip....not it's just the comic.....yeah Wertham........DEAR GOD HOW FULL OF SHIT IS HE? I feel like an editor trying to catch mistakes BUT THERE IS SO MANY

It's fun looking over what comics Wertham is talking about because MY GOD dude sure loves to be like HOW DARE SUPERBOY REWRITE HISTORY HOW DARE HE! It's like......is this really causing crime?

People often talk up how Wertham called Wondy a lesbian but never bring up the slander where HE NOT only goes SHE'S JUST SUPERMAN WITH BOOBS, but also creates these fantasies where she tortures men in her comics. Like.......what are you actually reading?

Superman is bad because he makes us THINK PEOPLE CAN REALLY FLY!

AH WE NOW GET TO EVERYONE FAVES, I LOVE HOW SUPERHERO COMICS TEACH ONLY SUPERHERO CAN SAVE YOU! YUP BECAUSE KIDS LIKE TO THINK THEY ARE THE PEOPLE BEING SAVED AND NOT DOING THE SAVING.

EVERYTHING IS CRIME COMICS EVERYTHING! Dear lord.

Okay so he cites a book here, if you take his words at A glance you might think the comic is JUST teens getting high on dope and hurting, but the comic is more or less a PSA piece kind like you would see in a after school special. Last page from the comic by comparison

You have to wonder about Wertham being alive in the era of true crime podcasts.

It's important to remember when Wertham is talking about these comics they...look like this, while sure some pushed the boundaries, they are really tame to what came later and beyond. Hell by the 70's it feels like everyone now knew how to draw a punch

Oh hey it's first mention of Superman YAY I can't wait to read about how fucked up he was in the 50's.......where he teams up with Perry Como.....truly what corrupts the youths of the 1950s....yup

It's worth noting here I try to be careful on what Wertham is talking about because he doesn't cite a comic or issue, it's HARD to know if he is right because there is ENOUGH distortion in his view you wonder if this a real book IT MIGHT be....or he is not talking context

Honestly I feel like I read this before just with Grand Theft auto instead of comics. The more things change you know....

*Except the ones I lied about......

I remember someone months back cited this AS AMERICAN comic problem but as this introduction by THE SON OF WINSTON CHURCHILL...I THINK....I tried to look him up, this also went into British comics as well. Man Wertham fuck everyone over why don't ya.

Some friends are asking me about quotes from Wertham so that means my annual try to read seduction of the innocent task must begin, I never READ the full thing, it's a work of pure malice to me KNOWING about the era and what it led to and what came out about Wertham later.