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A review by benedward
The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How it Changed America by David Hajdu
5.0
"I think Hitler was a beginner compared to the comic-book industry!" - Frank Wertham
His solution to these terrible Hitlerian books? Burn them. Wertham wouldn't be the first or last famous psychiatrist to fail to notice his own hypocrisy.
The Ten Cent Plague is an excellent and detailed account of a period of madness, and censorship that gripped America during the late 40s and 50s.
I'd actually recommend everyone read about this period of time. Outside of comic book circles the extreme censorship that took down an industry loved by millions seems to have been mostly forgotten. Reputations were destroyed. Livelihoods were taken away. All in the name of protecting the children who promptly turned right around and consumed their objectionable material from television instead.
It's amazing what people will do to save the children from the corrupting influence of media. Imagine what they could do if they decided to fund schools, daycares, rec centers, mentorship programs, or God forbid just spend a little time with them...
His solution to these terrible Hitlerian books? Burn them. Wertham wouldn't be the first or last famous psychiatrist to fail to notice his own hypocrisy.
The Ten Cent Plague is an excellent and detailed account of a period of madness, and censorship that gripped America during the late 40s and 50s.
I'd actually recommend everyone read about this period of time. Outside of comic book circles the extreme censorship that took down an industry loved by millions seems to have been mostly forgotten. Reputations were destroyed. Livelihoods were taken away. All in the name of protecting the children who promptly turned right around and consumed their objectionable material from television instead.
It's amazing what people will do to save the children from the corrupting influence of media. Imagine what they could do if they decided to fund schools, daycares, rec centers, mentorship programs, or God forbid just spend a little time with them...