Key Collector Comics

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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Howdy Doody #6

Dell ⋅ 1951

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Howdy Doody #6
 
Low
$18
Mid
$55
High
$285
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Key Facts

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

Reason: insulting racial depictions

Haunt of Fear #19

EC ⋅ 1953

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Haunt of Fear #19
 
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: a gruesome baseball game played with dismembered body parts including the catcher's chest plate appearing to be naked breasts

Haunt of Fear #3 (17)

EC ⋅ 1950

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Haunt of Fear #3 (17)
 
Low
$450
Mid
$1.5k
High
$4.5k
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Key Facts

Origin of Crypt of Terror, Vault of Horror and Haunt of Fear

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

Reason: a character receives incompetent advice from a psychologist which leads to his death

Harvey Comics Library #1

Harvey ⋅ 1952

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Harvey Comics Library #1
 
Low
$800
Mid
$2k
High
$8k
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Key Facts

Iconic story ‘Teen-Age Dope Slaves’

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

Fugitives From Justice #3

St. John ⋅ 1952

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Fugitives From Justice #3
 
Low
$60
Mid
$160
High
$550
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Key Facts

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

Reason: sexual innuendo, reprint of Authentic Police Cases #6

Jon Juan #1

Toby ⋅ 1950

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Jon Juan #1
 
Low
$70
Mid
$225
High
$1.1k
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Key Facts

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

Reason: inappropriate wording characterizing the hero as a "superlover"

Frontline Combat #4

EC ⋅ 1952

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Frontline Combat #4
 
Low
$30
Mid
$90
High
$360
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Key Facts

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

Reason: Wertham uses this book as an example of creators using a pseudonym to publish objectionable material

Frontier Romances #1

Avon ⋅ 1949

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Frontier Romances #1
 
Low
$55
Mid
$165
High
$590
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Key Facts

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

Reason: a man spanking a woman, bent over his knee

Famous Crimes #7

Fox ⋅ 1949

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Famous Crimes #7
 
Low
$40
Mid
$120
High
$440
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Key Facts

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

Reason: story about a hero who robbed a bank and shot five men to death

Famous Crimes #3

Fox ⋅ 1948

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Famous Crimes #3
 
Low
$55
Mid
$170
High
$600
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Key Facts

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

Reason: excessive violence/electric chair panels

Exposed #7

D.S. ⋅ 1949

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Exposed #7
 
Low
$35
Mid
$105
High
$340
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Key Facts

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

Reason: Wertham considers a diagram explaining how to lock the inside of a window from outside 'a diagram for housebreakers'

Eerie Adventures #1

Ziff-Davis ⋅ 1951

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Eerie Adventures #1
 
Low
$200
Mid
$800
High
$2k
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Key Facts

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

Reason: a legal battle between Eerie and Eerie Adventures led to Wertham, author of Seduction of the Innocent, to believe the courts cared more about protecting the financial interests of publishers than the well being of the children

Exposed #6

D.S. ⋅ 1949

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Exposed #6
 
Low
$35
Mid
$105
High
$340
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Key Facts

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

Reason: Wertham considers a panel that diagrams a killer's plan offers instructions on 'how to prepare an alibi'

Dynamic Comics #17

Chesler Dynamic ⋅ 1946

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Dynamic Comics #17
 
Low
$65
Mid
$200
High
$725
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Key Facts

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

Reason: a woman wearing a skirt has one leg fastened to a chair and the other raised and tied to a box as a man approaches her with a hot poker

Dagar Desert Hawk #21

Fox ⋅ 1948

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Dagar Desert Hawk #21
 
Low
$50
Mid
$150
High
$540
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Key Facts

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

Reason: the hero displays racism after throwing bombs and a man from a plane while yelling 'bombs and bums away'

Dagar Desert Hawk #19

Fox ⋅ 1948

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Dagar Desert Hawk #19
 
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: erotic hanging

Crimes By Women #10

Fox ⋅ 1949

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Crimes By Women #10
 
Low
$90
Mid
$280
High
$900
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Key Facts

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

Reason: instructs girls on how to avoid making mistakes when committing a crime

Crimes By Women #3

Fox ⋅ 1948

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Crimes By Women #3
 
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: cover art depicting women engaged in a gunfight with police

Crime Suspenstories #20

EC ⋅ 1953

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Crime Suspenstories #20
 
Low
$600
Mid
$1.8k
High
$6k
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Key Facts

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

Crime Suspenstories #19

EC ⋅ 1953

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Crime Suspenstories #19
 
Low
$160
Mid
$525
High
$1.6k
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Key Facts

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

Reason: a man pours the poison used to kill his wife down the drain and avoids being charged for murder

Crime Does Not Pay #63

Lev Gleason ⋅ 1948

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Crime Does Not Pay #63
 
Low
$18
Mid
$55
High
$180
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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 Comics #2

Crime Detective Comics #9

Hillman ⋅ 1949

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Crime Detective Comics #9
 
Low
$80
Mid
$200
High
$800
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Key Facts

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

Reason: Wertham is parodied on the cover, tied to a chair with tape over his mouth

Crime Can't Win #10

Marvel ⋅ 1952

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Crime Can't Win #10
 
Low
$30
Mid
$100
High
$300
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Key Facts

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

Reason: examples of how to commit multiple crimes

Crime Smashers #1

Trojan ⋅ 1950

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Crime Smashers #1
 
Low
$80
Mid
$290
High
$890
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Key Facts

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

Reason: a milkman stumbles upon a woman who has been 'raped and murdered' according to Wertham, author of Seduction of the Innocent

Crime Reporter #2

St. John ⋅ 1948

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Crime Reporter #2
 
Low
$110
Mid
$330
High
$1.2k
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Key Facts

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

Reason: a woman wearing a skirt has one leg fastened to a chair and the other, raised and tied to a box as a man approaches her with a hot poker

Reprint of Dynamic Comics #17

Crime Files #5

Pines ⋅ 1952

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Crime Files #5
 
Low
$25
Mid
$70
High
$225
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Key Facts

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

Reason: a seventeen-year old girl seduces a man, robs then kills him

Crime Does Not Pay #64

Lev Gleason ⋅ 1948

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Crime Does Not Pay #64
 
Low
$18
Mid
$55
High
$180
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Key Facts

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

Reason: Wertham criticizes the publisher of this issue who displayed the comics code logo but did not adhere to the rule that no blood is to be shown

Justice Traps the Guilty #58

Prize ⋅ 1954

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Justice Traps the Guilty #58
 
Low
$25
Mid
$75
High
$240
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Key Facts

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

Reason: violence toward the police

Crime Clinic #3

Ziff-Davis ⋅ 1952

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Crime Clinic #3
 
Low
$18
Mid
$55
High
$180
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Key Facts

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

Reason: a criminal mentors two boys, instructing them to punch a man that they robbed, regardless of his cooperation

Murder Incorporated #8

Fox ⋅ 1949

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Murder Incorporated #8
 
Low
$80
Mid
$215
High
$850
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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 with a pricing menu for delivering a black eye ($4.00), broken limbs ($10.00) or the 'whole job' ($100+)

Zoot Comics #14

Fox ⋅ 1948

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Zoot Comics #14
 
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: a girl nailed by the wrists to a tree with blood flowing from her wounds

True Crime Comics #2

Magazine Village ⋅ 1948

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True Crime Comics #2
 
Low
$210
Mid
$675
High
$2.3k
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Key Facts

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

Reason: a man threatens to stab a woman in the eye with a syringe and criminals drag two men to their death on a gravel road, optimal for 'erasing faces'

Classics Illustrated #43

Gilberton ⋅ 1947

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Classics Illustrated #43
 
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 describes the first eight pages of this comic as being gratuitously violent and a poor representation of the source material

HRN stands for Highest Re-order issue Number on back cover - the lower the number the earlier the printing. Generally a first printing will have an HRN that matches the issue number on the front

Crime and Punishment #3

Lev Gleason ⋅ 1948

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Crime and Punishment #3
 
Low
$20
Mid
$60
High
$190
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Key Facts

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

Reason: a criminal instructs his partner to punch a man in the eye using brass knuckles and to twist them upon impact

Underworld #2

D.S. ⋅ 1948

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Underworld #2
 
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 mother teaches her children to kill the police and a man chokes a high school girl to death because she denied him a kiss

Wild Boy of the Congo #10

St. John ⋅ 1950

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Wild Boy of the Congo #10
 
Low
$30
Mid
$85
High
$275
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Key Facts

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

Reason: on the back cover, a young man 'nude except for a well-filled loin cloth' could cause boys to become 'addicted to the homoerotically-tinged comic book'

Justice Traps the Guilty #13

Prize ⋅ 1947

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Justice Traps the Guilty #13
 
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: after witnessing the beating of an old man, a woman explains how she has become desensitized to witnessing the violence that used to disturb her

Strange Adventures #39

DC ⋅ 1953

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Strange Adventures #39
 
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: violence toward the police

First Love Illustrated #35

Harvey ⋅ 1953

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First Love Illustrated #35
 
Low
$18
Mid
$55
High
$165
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Key Facts

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

Reason: a man viciously slaps a woman yelling, "I'll teach you to do as your told!"

Nightingale

Once Upon A Time ⋅ 1948

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Nightingale
 
Low
$12
Mid
$35
High
$215
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Key Facts

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

Reason: Wertham writes, 'this book is the usual parade of invitation to sadistic perversion, race hatred and violence for violence's sake'

Captain Video #2

Fawcett ⋅ 1951

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Captain Video #2
 
Low
$60
Mid
$175
High
$550
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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 humans unable to use their legs

Crime and Punishment #2

Lev Gleason ⋅ 1948

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Crime and Punishment #2
 
Low
$18
Mid
$55
High
$180
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Key Facts

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

Reason: provides instructions on how to steal from the blind

Superboy #2

DC ⋅ 1949

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Superboy #2
 
Low
$230
Mid
$700
High
$2.5k
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Key Facts

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

Reason: Superboy usurps American History by being the aid to George Washington in the president's most famous moments

First mention of Smallville

Out of this World #2

Avon ⋅ 1950

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Out of this World #2
 
Low
$50
Mid
$155
High
$570
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Key Facts

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

Reason: Wertham cites poor writing, 'keep those paws to yourself, space-rat,' meant for those who 'find regular reading too hard'

Public Enemies #2

D.S. ⋅ 1948

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Public Enemies #2
 
Low
$25
Mid
$270
High
$225
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Key Facts

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

Reason: the main character believes that those who disobey his orders deserve to be killed feels guilty after murdering a deaf man

Authentic Police Cases #3

St. John ⋅ 1948

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Authentic Police Cases #3
 
Low
$55
Mid
$160
High
$600
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Key Facts

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

Reason: criminals drain the blood of a woman, reprinted from Red Seal Comics #16

My Life (Corliss Archer) #4

Fox ⋅ 1948

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My Life (Corliss Archer) #4
 
Low
$45
Mid
$140
High
$525
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Key Facts

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

Reason: specializes in highly accentuated and protruding breasts in practically every illustration

Brenda Starr Comics #4

Four Star ⋅ 1948

View Details  ⋅  View Series  ⋅  View Variants (1)
Brenda Starr Comics #4
 
Low
$150
Mid
$500
High
$1.5k
Buy it on eBay!

Key Facts

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

Reason: the cover 'has nothing to do with medicine and is unmistakably sadistic'

Beware #6

Trojan ⋅ 1953

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Beware #6
 
Low
$625
Mid
$1.7k
High
$6.2k
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Key Facts

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

Reason: a dead man is depicted with his face frozen in fear as onlookers notice his tongue has been ripped out

Authentic Police Cases #6

St. John ⋅ 1948

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Authentic Police Cases #6
 
Low
$570
Mid
$1.8k
High
$5.7k
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Key Facts

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

Reason: sexual innuendo of a woman speaking to a man saying, "ya ain't gonna shoot anybody with dat rod are ya?"

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