soti SEDUCTION OF THE INNOCENT - A PRIZE GIVEAWAY CONTEST AND MANY NEW DISCOVERIES! 0

[howardhallis]

Hello folks. Re-reading Seduction Of The Innocent and hunting down the original comic books as I read about them in the text was one of the best ways to deal with the existential horror of 2020. This project continues into the new year!

All of this could not be done without the great lostsoti.org website and SOTIcollector's research and info. Even with this valuable resource there are still some things that aren't mentioned on that site that I've found through my own digging and obsessive comic book detective work.

Before I get to these discoveries I propose a challenge to the board to find the only image in Dr. Wertham's infamous image gallery that has not been identified. It's shown below. First board member to find the comic gets a FREE COPY of Famous Crimes #19! It's not in the best shape (about a 2.0) but the book is rare, not available to read online, is mentioned in SOTI on page 96, and will be sent to the first person who posts the answer to this mystery for free (with postage paid)! Good luck! I hope someone figures it out after 66 years!

WHAT COMIC BOOK IS THIS FROM?

[howardhallis]

Now on to the discoveries. Let's start with a big one. The "eye gouging" case that might have inspired the whole "injury to eye" fetish Wertham had. A creepy incident is reported on page 87 from one of Wertham's "troubled" pantients:

The book in question that most likely inspired this kid to do what he did was Authentic Police Cases #3. Not only is the "scratch your eyes out" verbiage in there, but the scene is eerily similar to what the kid tried to do to the little girl:

 

Edited January 2, 2021 by howardhallis

[howardhallis]

Of course Batman #42 has a "scratch your eyes out" reference too:

[howardhallis]

The second discovery I made was from this quote on page 185:

I read through the entire series of Tom Mix Comics and not only are there no extended scenes of rope bondage in those books... there are very few women in those books at all! So I started looking at other comics that had Tom Mix on the cover that might fit the bill. After a lengthy search I found Crackajack Funnies #1 with the Myra North story shown below. I'm pretty sure this is the book Wertham was talking about. If so this would make it one of the oldest comic books referenced in SOTI, coming out in 1938.

[howardhallis]

The third discovery was pretty easy to find. Here's the text from page 30:

All I had to do was find a western comic that said "Your Favorite Western Star" on the cover with a gun ad on the inside front and back covers that also had an approval from a psychologist on the first page and a story with a guy bleeding from his mouth. The only issue that checks all those boxes is Tex Morgan #9.

 

Edited January 2, 2021 by howardhallis

[howardhallis]

Fourth discovery: This quote is from page 161:

Although the more common association with Wertham's "Robbing From A Blind Person" is thought to be the cover to Crime and Punishment #2, the protagonist in Tales Of Horror #6 seems to get away with the deed in this story. (Although he's punished later by a malicious genie).

[howardhallis]

Advertisements I found from chapter 8

From SOTI page 200:

 

[howardhallis]

From page 205:

[howardhallis]

From page 211:

[howardhallis]

From page 212:

[howardhallis]

From pages 215-216:

[howardhallis]

Finally, this arsenal description from page 216:

I could only find one ad with almost all the above weapons and here it is:

Edited January 2, 2021 by howardhallis

[Mmehdy]

great thread, thank you

[sfcityduck]

Have you advised SOTIcollector of your discoveries?

Edited January 1, 2021 by sfcityduck

[howardhallis]

1 hour ago, sfcityduck said:

Have you advised SOTIcollector of your discoveries?

I tried to "tag" him in this thread but couldn't figure out how to do it. I assume he'll see it soon anyway.

[OtherEric]

15 minutes ago, howardhallis said:

I tried to "tag" him in this thread but couldn't figure out how to do it. I assume he'll see it soon anyway.

Paging @SOTIcollector

[OtherEric]

4 hours ago, howardhallis said:

Before I get to these discoveries I propose a challenge to the board to find the only image in Dr. Wertham's infamous image gallery that has not been identified. It's shown below. First board member to find the comic gets a FREE COPY of Famous Crimes #19! It's not in the best shape (about a 2.0) but the book is rare, not available to read online, is mentioned in SOTI on page 96, and will be sent to the first person who posts the answer to this mystery for free (with postage paid)! Good luck! I hope someone figures it out after 66 years!

 

Have you considered scanning and sharing this before you give it away?  We could use it at the Digital Comic Museum.

[adamstrange]

Excellent research! Thanks for sharing the results. 

[Terry JSA]

10 hours ago, howardhallis said:

Hello folks. Re-reading Seduction Of The Innocent and hunting down the original comic books as I read about them in the text was one of the best ways to deal with the existential horror of 2020. This project continues into the new year!

All of this could not be done without the great lostsoti.org website and SOTIcollector's research and info. Even with this valuable resource there are still some things that aren't mentioned on that site that I've found through my own digging and obsessive comic book detective work.

Before I get to these discoveries I propose a challenge to the board to find the only image in Dr. Wertham's infamous image gallery that has not been identified. It's shown below. First board member to find the comic gets a FREE COPY of Famous Crimes #19! It's not in the best shape (about a 2.0) but the book is rare, not available to read online, is mentioned in SOTI on page 96, and will be sent to the first person who posts the answer to this mystery for free (with postage paid)! Good luck! I hope someone figures it out after 66 years!

WHAT COMIC BOOK IS THIS FROM?

Isn’t this “Stranger than Fiction” from Hunted #13? The police bear a striking resemblance to the one on the front cover. 

Edited January 2, 2021 by Terry_JSA

[buddy2]

6 hours ago, Terry_JSA said:

Isn’t this “Stranger than Fiction” from Hunted #13? The police bear a striking resemblance to the one on the front cover. 

@Terry_JSAI thought that too.  I reached out to @howardhallisvia PM yesterday afternoon and he indicated it wasn't Hunted #13.   The panel in SOTI illustration 16 (I believe) just beside the one Howardhallis posted is from Hunted #13.