Seduced by Superman
Superman 55
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COMIC DETAILS
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Comic Description:
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Superman 55 Universal
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Grade:
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7.0
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Page Quality:
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CREAM TO OFF-WHITE
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Certification #:
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1286969004
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Owner:
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GAM
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SET DETAILS
Owner's Description
Superman #55 is referenced in Fredric Wertham’s “Seduction of the Innocent” (SOTI) in the text on page 33.
A central theme of Wertham’s SOTI is the negative influence that crime comic books have on juveniles and from his perspective superhero based books were a special form of crime comics. He particularly took issue when comic book publishers would reference material that provided an alternative view that comics were safe for children to read.
For example, on page 33 he references a story from Superman #55 (“Prankster’s Second Childhood”) and describes it as follows: “The Superman group of comic books is superendorsed. A random sample shows on the inside cover the endorsement of two psychiatrists, one educator, one English professor and a child-study consultant. One the page facing this array is depicted a man dressed as a boy shooting a policeman in the mouth (with a toy pistol). This is a prank – ‘Prankster’s second childhood.’ In the story there is a variant of the comic book theme of a girl being thrown into the fire: ‘Her dress will be afire in one split second! She’ll need Superman’s help!’” In addition to this reference, Wertham provides additional citations on page 33 to describe Superman #55 stories that teach immoral life lessons.
I have included a scan of the cover page from the “Prankster’s Second Childhood!” that contains the image of the police officer being shot in the mouth with a toy pistol.
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