DIAGRAM FOR DELIQUENTS (review) at FORCES OF GEEK
equart takes on the Senator McCarthy of comics, Dr. Frederick Wertham in their latest deep dive into comic book history.
Longtime fans of comics are familiar with the Comics Code Authority stamp on nearly every comic book cover until very recently, and those with a sharp sense of comic book history are familiar with Wertham’s damaging 1954 book,Seduction of the Innocent.
The book blamed comic books and other media for the rising problem of juvenile delinquency in the United States and spearheaded regulation for the funny books.
1954’s comic book hearings in front of United States Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency had Wertham as the key witness.
From censorship to juvenile delinquency to the severed heads in EC Comics,Diagram for Delinquents looks at the tarnished side of the Silver Age and how one man changed the face of comics and book publishing forever.
This documentary explores the nature of the censorship in the 50s and the lasting effects of how the Comics Code continues to ripple into how publishers make decisions to this day.
Wertham’s motivations are explored and his little known contributions to the African-American Civil Rights Movement are also spotlighted, showing that the man was complex, compassionate and not as much of a demon as everyone may perceive.
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