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SOTI

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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Beware #12

Youthful ⋅ 1952

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Beware #12
 
Low
$140
Mid
$420
High
$1.4k
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Key Facts

Referenced in text on pg 388 of Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comic Code Authority

Teenage Dope Slaves #1
Non-Key

Harvey ⋅ 1952

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Teenage Dope Slaves #1
 
Low
$8
Mid
$20
High
$65
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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

Mr. Risk #2

Ace Magazines ⋅ 1950

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Mr. Risk #2
 
Low
$10
Mid
$30
High
$100
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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

Gang Busters #3

DC ⋅ 1948

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Gang Busters #3
 
Low
$25
Mid
$75
High
$280
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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'

Diary Loves #31

Quality ⋅ 1953

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Diary Loves #31
 
Low
$10
Mid
$30
High
$100
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Key Facts

Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority

Reason: a story about a woman stealing a dress

Famous Crimes #19

Fox ⋅ 1950

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Famous Crimes #19
 
Low
$20
Mid
$60
High
$250
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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

World's Finest Comics #44

DC ⋅ 1950

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World's Finest Comics #44
 
Low
$90
Mid
$275
High
$1k
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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

Wanted Comics #29

Orbit-Wanted ⋅ 1950

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Wanted Comics #29
 
Low
$15
Mid
$50
High
$210
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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

Classics Illustrated #55

Gilberton ⋅ 1949

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Classics Illustrated #55
 
Low
$15
Mid
$50
High
$155
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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

Your United States

Lloyd Jacquet Studios ⋅ 1946

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Your United States
 
Low
$25
Mid
$75
High
$235
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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'

X-Mas Comics #6

Fawcett ⋅ 1951

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X-Mas Comics #6
 
Low
$80
Mid
$245
High
$890
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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)

Wonder Woman #49

DC ⋅ 1951

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Wonder Woman #49
 
Low
$115
Mid
$385
High
$1.1k
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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

Women Outlaws #1

Fox ⋅ 1948

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Women Outlaws #1
 
Low
$150
Mid
$500
High
$1.5k
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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'

Western Adventures #3

Ace Magazines ⋅ 1949

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Western Adventures #3
 
Low
$12
Mid
$35
High
$100
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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

Weird Science #19

EC ⋅ 1953

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Weird Science #19
 
Low
$85
Mid
$225
High
$850
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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

Weird Mysteries #7

Stanley Morse ⋅ 1953

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Weird Mysteries #7
 
Low
$350
Mid
$1.1k
High
$3.5k
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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

Weird Fantasy #16

EC ⋅ 1950

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Weird Fantasy #16
 
Low
$80
Mid
$230
High
$990
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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!)'

Web of Evil #1

Quality ⋅ 1952

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Web of Evil #1
 
Low
$230
Mid
$925
High
$2.3k
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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

True Crime Comics #1

Magazine Village ⋅ 1949

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True Crime Comics #1
 
Low
$100
Mid
$300
High
$1.1k
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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)

Trapped

Harvey ⋅ 1951

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Trapped
 
Low
$7
Mid
$20
High
$80
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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

Top Secrets #7

Street and Smith ⋅ 1949

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Top Secrets #7
 
Low
$30
Mid
$90
High
$300
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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

Tom Mix Western #9

Fawcett ⋅ 1948

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Tom Mix Western #9
 
Low
$12
Mid
$40
High
$125
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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

The Thing #9

Charlton ⋅ 1953

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The Thing #9
 
Low
$90
Mid
$275
High
$1k
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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

Terrors of the Jungle #17

Star ⋅ 1952

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Terrors of the Jungle #17
 
Low
$300
Mid
$1k
High
$3k
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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

Terrifying Tales #15

Star ⋅ 1954

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Terrifying Tales #15
 
Low
$50
Mid
$150
High
$700
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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

Tegra Jungle Empress #1

Fox ⋅ 1948

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Tegra Jungle Empress #1
 
Low
$80
Mid
$215
High
$775
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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

Superman #55

DC ⋅ 1948

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Superman #55
 
Low
$100
Mid
$300
High
$1.1k
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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

Super Duck #22

Archie ⋅ 1948

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Super Duck #22
 
Low
$10
Mid
$30
High
$90
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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

Strange Worlds #2

Avon ⋅ 1951

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Strange Worlds #2
 
Low
$135
Mid
$400
High
$1.4k
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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

Strange Mysteries #10

Superior ⋅ 1953

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Strange Mysteries #10
 
Low
$25
Mid
$85
High
$450
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Key Facts

Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority

Reason: injury to eye

The Story of Harry S Truman #1

Commercial Comics ⋅ 1948

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The Story of Harry S Truman #1
 
Low
$15
Mid
$55
High
$150
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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

Stories by Famous Authors Illustrated #6

Seaboard Publishing ⋅ 1950

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Stories by Famous Authors Illustrated #6
 
Low
$20
Mid
$70
High
$200
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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

Spook #24

Star ⋅ 1953

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Spook #24
 
Low
$250
Mid
$800
High
$2.5k
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Key Facts

Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority

Reason: inspires sexual deviance, reprinted from Inside Crime #2

Shock Suspenstories #4

EC ⋅ 1952

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Shock Suspenstories #4
 
Low
$80
Mid
$250
High
$875
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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

Sensation Comics #81

DC ⋅ 1948

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Sensation Comics #81
 
Low
$100
Mid
$300
High
$1k
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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

Reform School Girl

Realistic ⋅ 1951

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Reform School Girl
 
Low
$1.2k
Mid
$4.3k
High
$12.5k
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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=

Phantom Lady #17

Fox ⋅ 1948

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Phantom Lady #17
 
Low
$7.5k
Mid
$24k
High
$75k
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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

Perfect Crime #11

Cross ⋅ 1951

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Perfect Crime #11
 
Low
$20
Mid
$65
High
$210
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Key Facts

Referenced in Seduction of the Innocent, led to establishing the Comics Code Authority

Reason: provides instructions to rob a drugstore

Murder Incorporated #9

Fox ⋅ 1949

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Murder Incorporated #9
 
Low
$90
Mid
$325
High
$980
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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

Meet Corliss Archer #3

Fox ⋅ 1948

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Meet Corliss Archer #3
 
Low
$40
Mid
$150
High
$400
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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

Meet Corliss Archer #2

Fox ⋅ 1948

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Meet Corliss Archer #2
 
Low
$50
Mid
$200
High
$500
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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

Meet Corliss Archer #1

Fox ⋅ 1948

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Meet Corliss Archer #1
 
Low
$100
Mid
$300
High
$1.1k
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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

Martin Kane #4

Fox ⋅ 1950

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Martin Kane #4
 
Low
$35
Mid
$100
High
$330
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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)

Lawbreakers Always Lose #7

Marvel ⋅ 1949

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Lawbreakers Always Lose #7
 
Low
$50
Mid
$150
High
$500
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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

Law Against Crime #3

Essankay ⋅ 1948

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Law Against Crime #3
 
Low
$120
Mid
$400
High
$1.2k
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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

Killers, The #1

Magazine Enterprises ⋅ 1947

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Killers, The #1
 
Low
$400
Mid
$1.2k
High
$4.5k
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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

Kewpies #1

Eisner ⋅ 1949

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Kewpies #1
 
Low
$25
Mid
$75
High
$245
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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'

Jungle Comics #98

Fiction House ⋅ 1948

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Jungle Comics #98
 
Low
$35
Mid
$100
High
$315
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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

Journey Into Fear #15

Superior ⋅ 1953

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Journey Into Fear #15
 
Low
$180
Mid
$600
High
$1.8k
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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

Inside Crime #2

Fox ⋅ 1950

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Inside Crime #2
 
Low
$20
Mid
$60
High
$200
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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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