Timeline of the Anti-Comics Movement
SeductionOfTheInnocent.org Homepage     Comic Books referenced by Dr. Wertham in Seduction of the Innocent. Many have been identified by collectors, but many more are yet undiscovered.     Other items from the anti-comics movement of the 1950s: Love and Death, Parade of Pleasure, the Senate hearings, editorials, and more.     Other works by Dr. Fredric Wertham.     Dr. Wertham cited hundreds of examples of sex and violence in the comics of the 40s and 50s, but he didn't spot them all. Here are some of the most glaring examples he failed to mention in SOTI or during the Senate hearings.     Links to sites that have additional related information.     Frequently Asked Questions
               
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Timeline of the Anti-comics Movement
of the 1940's and 1950's

  • May 8, 1940- Sterling North's anti-comics article is published in The Chicago Daily News. It would later be reprinted in numerous newspapers throughout the United States.
     
     
  • 1941- DC Comics forms an editorial board to review its comics. Board members' names and credentials are printed inside DC's comics, in hopes of warding off accusations that their comics are unhealthy for kids.
     
  • March 19, 1948- Symposium "The Psychopathology of Comic Books" includes Seduction of the Innocent author Dr. Fredric Wertham and Love & Death author G. Legman.
     
  • March 27, 1948 (cover date)- "Horror in the Nursery" published in Collier's magazine, citing Dr. Wertham's work.
     
  • April, 1948 (cover date)- Time magazine reports on Detroit Police Commissioner Harry S. Toy, who examined comic books in his community. Toy indicated that they were, "Loaded with communist teachings, sex, and racial discrimination."
     
  • May, 1948 (cover date)- Lev Gleason publishes Biro & Gleason's code of self-censorship in Crime Does Not Pay #63 and Crime and Punishment #2.
     
  • May 29, 1948 (cover date)- Saturday Review of Literature publishes Wertham's "The Comics... Very Funny!", his first major nationwide criticism of comic books.
     
  • July 1, 1948- The Association of Comics Magazine Publishers adopts the first comics code.
     
  • July 24, 1948 (cover date)- Saturday Review of Literature publishes a rebuttal to Wertham's criticisms. 14-year old David Wigransky presented a compelling response to Wertham's article. Wigransky's letter was reprinted in Alter Ego #90.
     
  • August, 1948 (cover date)- Reader's Digest reprints selection from Wertham's Saturday Review of Literature article. Read it!
     
  • December 20, 1948 (cover date)- Time magazine reports on a comic book burning in Binghamton, NY.
     
  • February, 1949 (cover date)- Family Circle publishes "What Can YOU do about Comic Books?".
     
  • March, 1949 (cover date)- Marvel's comics contain an anti-Wertham editorial.
     
  • 1949- Love & Death by Gershon Legman published.
     
  • 1950- The Cincinatti Parents' Committee began rating nearly all comic books published. These ratings were published annually in Parents' Magazine.
     
  • 1950- The U.S. Government forms a special Senate committee to investigate organized crime. Among the topics of investigation were the effects of crime comics on the population.
     
  • 1950- Mister Mystery #3 contains an editorial in response to Wertham's charges.
     
  • 1951- New York State Joint Legislative Committe to Study the Publication of Comics issues its interim report.
     
  • November, 1953 (cover date)- Ladies Home Journal prints Wertham's article "What Parents Don't Know about Comic Books", which would later become part of Seduction of the Innocent. Read it!
     
  • March 1, 1954- The New York State Joint Committee to Study the Publication of Comics issues its report. Read it.
     
  • April, 1954 (cover date)- Crime SuspenStories #22 published, with a decapitation cover that would later be used during Bill Gaines' testimony before the Senate subcommittee.
     
  • April 19, 1954- Seduction of the Innocent published.
     
  • April 21-22, 1954 and June 4, 1954- Senate Subcommitte Hearings on Juvenile Delinquency focus on the evils of comic books.

     
  • August, 1954 (cover date)- EC publishes its famous "Are You a Red Dupe?" editorial.
     
  • September 14, 1954- EC Comics ceases publication of its three horror comics and two SuspenStories comics.
     
  • October 26, 1954 - The Comic Magazine Association of America adopts the original Comics Code.
     
  • November, 1954 (cover date)- Reader's Digest publishes "The Face of Violence," an anti-comics article.
     
  • March 14, 1955- The Senate Subcommittee issues its report, "Comic Books and Juvenile Delinquency," indicating that it finds the Comics Code to be a step in the right direction.
     
  • 1954- EC's last gasp.
     
  • 1955- Geoffrey Wagner's Parade of Pleasure published.
     
  • Jan-Feb, 1956 (cover date)- EC publishes its last comic book, Incredible Science-Fiction #33.