Number 2137: Beyond the veil

From the Public Domain Superheroes website: “Ginny Spears was a district attorney's secretary who became fed up with crime. She decided to become the costumed crime fighter known as the Veiled Avenger. Armed only with her bullwhip, the Veiled Avenger had no superpowers. She was not above using deadly force against her enemies, going as far as using her whip to make her foes shoot each other and themselves.”

Ginny’s career was short-lived, only four appearances: three in Spotlight Comics (numbers 1-3) and one in Red Seal Comics #16. In her short career the Veiled Avenger caught Dr. Fredric Wertham’s eye. See the link below.

This story, from Spotlight Comics #2 (1945), drawn by an unknown artist, has a panel showing a closeup of a man getting a knife in his neck. That is a first for me. I’ve seen knives plunging into bodies in crime and horror comics, but this is the first knife in the neck panel I have seen. I am not sure what it says about me, calling attention to it, or if I would want to know.

The infamous "drain this dame dry" panel used as an example by Dr Wertham. Just click on the thumbnail for the full story.

Number 601


"Outside the forbidden pages of deSade..."


Seduction of the Innocent by Fredric Wertham, M.D., is often mentioned in comic book circles but how many have actually read it? I read it a couple of times over 40 years ago and a lot of it is still vivid to me, especially in the illustration section with the out-of-context panels and covers. They were taken as examples from the worst comics Wertham could find.


"Veiled Avenger" is from St. John's Authentic Police Cases #3 (1948), and is a reprint from Red Seal Comics #16. Both of the appearances were long off sale by the time Wertham used them in his infamous 1954 book.

The whole silly story, art credited to Gus Ricca by the Grand Comics Database,  is best known for the first panel, page two (also the panel on top of this page). Dr. Wertham said this in a caption, "Outside the forbidden pages of deSade, you find draining a girl's blood only in children's comics." Like his other choices, he never gave any context to the panels, just used them for their shock value.

Wertham was not the only anti-comics crusader. There had been organized efforts against comic books practically since their inception. By the time Seduction was published the public clamor had reached a peak, and had even provoked senate hearings. The Comics Code was an industry attempt to keep comic books on the stands, because there were boycotts going on. The illustrations in Seduction, including this crazy "deSade panel," had a lot to do with bringing major changes to an industry.