tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31723906.post4263219208359458931..comments2024-01-28T22:17:29.551-08:00Comments on Pappy's Golden Age Comics Blogzine: Pappyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01977289662431694607noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31723906.post-25116784194535596992014-02-18T18:40:15.395-08:002014-02-18T18:40:15.395-08:00Bob, another story I read about Wright and Wertham...Bob, another story I read about Wright and Wertham was when Dr. W. accompanied Wright to visit a man in a local prison. When brought into the prison Dr. Wertham was asked to step aside, and then the guards searched Richard Wright. When Wertham asked what they were doing a guard said, "You know they all carry knives." Wertham was witness to the indignities that black citizens were subject to on a regular basis.<br /><br />I read The World of Fanzines by Wertham when it came out (1973?) because Ronn Foss wrote me to tell me he had been contacted by Wertham.<br /><br />I think what Wertham was extolling about fanzines was that they were part of a free press in a society that permitted such things.<br /><br />Although Wertham came from Germany before the Nazi takeover, he was aware of the depredations of that crowd, including book burnings, and while Wertham fought against comic books as being bad for children, on the other hand he appreciated fanzines. But they are different things, aren't they? I did appreciate his acknowledgment that fanzines were basically wonderful for all kinds of <br />reasons. If he apologized to comics fans I don't remember it; I remember he was still using comic books as the villains in his book A Sign For Cain.Pappyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01977289662431694607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31723906.post-46224335783660973672014-02-18T15:58:09.535-08:002014-02-18T15:58:09.535-08:00Wertham was an open minded liberal. He called me u...Wertham was an open minded liberal. He called me up in 1968 ordered a subscription to our fanzine Fanzation and got #3 4 5.<br /><br />Fanzation #3 had a Ditko letter on creativity he quoted in almost its entirety in his last book The World of Fanzines 1974 which is well worth picking up to compare to SOTI.<br /><br />In TWOF Wertham exonerates comic book fans that he was wrong re SOTI. he says so inside his last book, dying some months later, forgotten by most of the world by then in the mid 70s.<br /><br />It is interesting to learn recently Wertham falsified his data in SOTI regarding his case studies. Some one compared his actual files in his papers at LOC (I think) to the innards of SOTI<br /><br />Most all of Wertham's studies on comic book readers were done in his Harlem office. It would stand to reason he was friends with a guy like Richard Wright.<br /><br />I did not know this and am always delighted when I learn something "new" each day. This is the tid bit for today -:)Robert Beerbohmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02514676878677036242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31723906.post-76002002435230544982010-08-18T08:06:41.886-07:002010-08-18T08:06:41.886-07:00I have those Airboy reprints from Eclipse. I thoug...I have those Airboy reprints from Eclipse. I thought they did a pretty good job reviving the character and bringing him into the '80s, too. <br /><br />Eclipse had a good thing going. I'm sorry they couldn't continue.Pappyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01977289662431694607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31723906.post-26072982816227881392010-08-17T16:00:51.356-07:002010-08-17T16:00:51.356-07:00Airboy looks good in color, I've only seen thi...Airboy looks good in color, I've only seen this stuff in those late 80's black and white Eclipse reprints, of which I bought for the Black Angel stories... gotta love those kooky flyboy/flygirl comics.Mr. Karswellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15889717828895556186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31723906.post-46049405920653916582010-08-17T06:47:29.463-07:002010-08-17T06:47:29.463-07:00In late '40s thinking Wertham would have been ...In late '40s thinking Wertham would have been considered radical, hanging out with known leftists and working with black people. As for the modern definition of liberal, I don't know if he fit that exactly, because in my lifetime of observation liberals and conservatives have shifted somewhat in their outlooks and objectives.<br /><br />Richard Wright, the author of <i>Native Son</i> and <i>Black Boy</i>, an American expatriate to France, was considered a radical by the FBI, and Wertham was his friend. (See <i>The Unfinished Quest of Richard Wright</i> by Michael Fabre, published in 1973. Wertham's work against comic books isn't mentioned, but his social agenda is discussed along with his friendship with Wright.) He's become known to us for his work against comics, but he had a lot of things going on, including a strong stance on civil rights. Some of his work on racial segregation was used in <i>Brown v. Board of Education</i>, which ruled the "separate but equal" laws to be unconstitutional. <br /><br />That he was a grandstander is indisputable. He liked to have his name out there, liked to publicize his books which had sensationalized titles like <i>Seduction Of The Innocent, A Sign For Cain</i>, and <i>Dark Legend</i>.<br /><br />An interesting article about Wertham's career can be found <a href="http://www.thecomicbooks.com/old/fredricw.html" rel="nofollow">here.</a>Pappyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01977289662431694607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31723906.post-91956994802423629072010-08-16T08:16:31.508-07:002010-08-16T08:16:31.508-07:00If Wertham was liberal, G.W. Bush was muslim.If Wertham was liberal, G.W. Bush was muslim.cicisaurhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09712740282912716611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31723906.post-1952191549221505772010-08-16T04:40:53.055-07:002010-08-16T04:40:53.055-07:00Pendergast was an embarrassment to the Democrats, ...Pendergast was an embarrassment to the Democrats, having been convicted of income tax invasion in 1939, spending some time in prison. By the time Truman was sworn in as president Pendergast was dead.<br /><br />For the sake of historical accuracy there were ties between this old-time political boss and Harry Truman, but considering Pendergast's notoriety not including them in a comic book promoting Truman doesn't surprise me.<br /><br />Wertham, born in Germany, had become a U.S. citizen in 1927, but I don't know if he aligned himself with a political party.<br /><br />Is <i>The Story Of Harry S. Truman</i> available online? I've never seen it.Pappyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01977289662431694607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31723906.post-21306750276113094362010-08-16T02:35:30.330-07:002010-08-16T02:35:30.330-07:00Though Wertham was liberal, he was probably a Repu...Though Wertham was liberal, he was probably a Republican; his complaint in SOTI about the "Story of Harry S. Truman" comic (drawn by Jack Sparling) was its not mentioning Tom Pendergast, the corrupt Kansas City "boss" who aided Truman's career. Since the comic was published by the Democratic Party, the comic would certainly not include Pendergast.rnigmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01370724366178429029noreply@blogger.com