Seduction of the Innocent, published in 1954 by psychiatrist Dr. Frederic Wertham was one of the most impactful events in comic book history, leading to censorship in comics and the establishment of the Comics Code Authority This category lists issues that were referenced in the book with Wertham's reasons for why comic books were damaging to the youth of America
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Key Facts
Referenced in text on pg 388 of Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comic Code Authority
Key Facts
Referenced in text on pg 388 of Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comic Code Authority
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: adolescent drug use, brought to the attention of the public led to lurid publications devoted to the subject
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: adolescent drug use, brought to the attention of the public led to lurid publications devoted to the subject
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: Wertham chides the writer of 'The Case of the Psycopathic Lady' for spelling psychopathic incorrectly
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: Wertham chides the writer of 'The Case of the Psycopathic Lady' for spelling psychopathic incorrectly
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: Wertham calls a map drawn by criminals 'a comic-book map for crime'
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: Wertham calls a map drawn by criminals 'a comic-book map for crime'
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: a story about a woman stealing a dress
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: a story about a woman stealing a dress
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: lynching praised as an acceptable form of justice and in another story a man slaps a girl then threatens to slam a board full of spikes in her face
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: lynching praised as an acceptable form of justice and in another story a man slaps a girl then threatens to slam a board full of spikes in her face
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: Wertham describes the relationship of Batman and Robin as homosexual describing a panel where Grayson sits beside Bruce Wayne who is lying down on a couch
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: Wertham describes the relationship of Batman and Robin as homosexual describing a panel where Grayson sits beside Bruce Wayne who is lying down on a couch
Key Facts
Reference in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the comics Code Authority
Reason: killing a policeman, a man shot in the stomach, a woman mugged then beaten to death with a hammer
Key Facts
Reference in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the comics Code Authority
Reason: killing a policeman, a man shot in the stomach, a woman mugged then beaten to death with a hammer
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: Wertham felt the adaptation did not capture the characterizations of the novel
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: Wertham felt the adaptation did not capture the characterizations of the novel
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: Wertham writes, 'a man hanged from a tree, a Negro in chains, a girl about to be raped and massacred...is that what you want your children to think is the history of your United States'
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: Wertham writes, 'a man hanged from a tree, a Negro in chains, a girl about to be raped and massacred...is that what you want your children to think is the history of your United States'
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: morbid fantasies - a story about humankind unable to use their legs (reprinted story from Captain Video #2)
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: morbid fantasies - a story about humankind unable to use their legs (reprinted story from Captain Video #2)
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: Wertham claims lesbian overtones between Wonder Woman and a child she adopts
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: Wertham claims lesbian overtones between Wonder Woman and a child she adopts
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: violent women 'giving children an image of American womanhood'
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: violent women 'giving children an image of American womanhood'
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: eye injury - a man throws gold dust in another man's eyes
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: eye injury - a man throws gold dust in another man's eyes
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority, a woman stabs her husband to death in his sleep after realizing he is an alien
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority, a woman stabs her husband to death in his sleep after realizing he is an alien
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: a woman is shown wearing only a bra and in another panel, a woman bites into a man's neck, drawing blood
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: a woman is shown wearing only a bra and in another panel, a woman bites into a man's neck, drawing blood
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: Wertham condemns comics as being poorly written citing editorial comments from this issue, 'Greetings, humanoids! Drag over a cyclotron and crawl in! (if we'da known you were coming, we'da baked an isotope!)'
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: Wertham condemns comics as being poorly written citing editorial comments from this issue, 'Greetings, humanoids! Drag over a cyclotron and crawl in! (if we'da known you were coming, we'da baked an isotope!)'
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: the famous death scene in Shakespeare's Hamlet is rewritten
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: the famous death scene in Shakespeare's Hamlet is rewritten
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: gratuitous violence (reprinted from True Crime vol. 1 #2)
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: gratuitous violence (reprinted from True Crime vol. 1 #2)
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: in response to the governor of New York praising this issue for illustrating the dangers of drug abuse, Wertham criticized his decision to veto The Crime-Comic Book Control Bill despite overwhelming support for it
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: in response to the governor of New York praising this issue for illustrating the dangers of drug abuse, Wertham criticized his decision to veto The Crime-Comic Book Control Bill despite overwhelming support for it
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: instructional diagram of how to inflict the most damage on an individual
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: instructional diagram of how to inflict the most damage on an individual
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: two boys find a box with a man's amputated hands inside
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: two boys find a box with a man's amputated hands inside
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: a man stomps on another man's face with cleats
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: a man stomps on another man's face with cleats
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: implication that the United States tests biological weapons on African natives
Reprinted story from Rulah the Jungle Goddess #21
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: implication that the United States tests biological weapons on African natives
Reprinted story from Rulah the Jungle Goddess #21
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: 'The First Americans' story, reprinted from Rulah, Jungle Goddess #22
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: 'The First Americans' story, reprinted from Rulah, Jungle Goddess #22
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: Tegra sprays fiery radium dust on the exposed breasts of another woman
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: Tegra sprays fiery radium dust on the exposed breasts of another woman
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: a policeman is shot in the mouth with a water pistol and also advertisements for B-B guns
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: a policeman is shot in the mouth with a water pistol and also advertisements for B-B guns
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: Super Duck is poised, ready to beat a rabbit with a baseball bat
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: Super Duck is poised, ready to beat a rabbit with a baseball bat
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: the hero slashes a giant across the eyes with a sword
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: the hero slashes a giant across the eyes with a sword
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: injury to eye
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: injury to eye
Key Facts
Biography of Harry S Truman
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: false account of history, Truman's inspiration to run for president incorrectly credited
Key Facts
Biography of Harry S Truman
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: false account of history, Truman's inspiration to run for president incorrectly credited
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: the adaptation used gratuitous violence to pique the interest of readers
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: the adaptation used gratuitous violence to pique the interest of readers
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: inspires sexual deviance, reprinted from Inside Crime #2
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: inspires sexual deviance, reprinted from Inside Crime #2
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: a man is severely beaten by the police while the real killer, a high-ranking cop, gets away with murder
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: a man is severely beaten by the police while the real killer, a high-ranking cop, gets away with murder
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: a plot revolving around a man encouraging Americans to not 'let foreigners take our jobs,' suggesting the world is a violent and hateful place
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: a plot revolving around a man encouraging Americans to not 'let foreigners take our jobs,' suggesting the world is a violent and hateful place
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: cover art shown with the caption - comic books are supposed to be like fairy tales=
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: cover art shown with the caption - comic books are supposed to be like fairy tales=
Key Facts
Cover art by Matt Baker
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: Wertham writes of the cover art, 'sexual stimulation by combining headlights with the sadist's dream of tying up a woman' -headlights a reference to her breasts
Key Facts
Cover art by Matt Baker
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: Wertham writes of the cover art, 'sexual stimulation by combining headlights with the sadist's dream of tying up a woman' -headlights a reference to her breasts
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: provides instructions to rob a drugstore
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: provides instructions to rob a drugstore
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: a female character expresses that a gentleman does not hit a woman with a blackjack, he uses his fists
Reprinted from Blue Beetle #56
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: a female character expresses that a gentleman does not hit a woman with a blackjack, he uses his fists
Reprinted from Blue Beetle #56
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: Wertham said, ‘adolescent boys call these Headlight Comics’ referring to the depiction of breasts
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: Wertham said, ‘adolescent boys call these Headlight Comics’ referring to the depiction of breasts
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: Wertham said, ‘adolescent boys call these Headlight Comics’ referring to the depiction of breasts
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: Wertham said, ‘adolescent boys call these Headlight Comics’ referring to the depiction of breasts
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: Wertham said, ‘adolescent boys call these Headlight Comics’ referring to the depiction of breasts
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: Wertham said, ‘adolescent boys call these Headlight Comics’ referring to the depiction of breasts
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: teaches the revenue potential in becoming a criminal (reprinted from Murder Incorporated #8)
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: teaches the revenue potential in becoming a criminal (reprinted from Murder Incorporated #8)
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: Wertham considers a panel of a killer bragging about murdering his own best friend just to make a buck is the philosophy of comic books
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: Wertham considers a panel of a killer bragging about murdering his own best friend just to make a buck is the philosophy of comic books
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: a couple is shown with bullet holes in their heads and stab wounds in their chests
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: a couple is shown with bullet holes in their heads and stab wounds in their chests
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: a woman is tied to a post and repeatedly lashed by a man whose love she denied
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: a woman is tied to a post and repeatedly lashed by a man whose love she denied
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: less of a condemnation of this issue and more of a critique on comics as a whole when a little girl being interviewed by Wertham mistakenly called this comic 'Corpsies'
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: less of a condemnation of this issue and more of a critique on comics as a whole when a little girl being interviewed by Wertham mistakenly called this comic 'Corpsies'
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: Wertham claims there is a hidden drawing of a nude female on a man’s shoulder
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: Wertham claims there is a hidden drawing of a nude female on a man’s shoulder
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: stories of bizarre acts of murder - a man kills his wife who is a werewolf
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: stories of bizarre acts of murder - a man kills his wife who is a werewolf
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: a woman with a whip talks about forcing a man "to come to me on his knees," inspiring sexual deviance
Key Facts
Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority
Reason: a woman with a whip talks about forcing a man "to come to me on his knees," inspiring sexual deviance
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