It has never been easy to publish comic books for all ages in
America. While other countries incorporated the medium into their
reading habits long ago, comics and graphic novels have remained,
here in the States, the domain of the young --- at least in the
popular mindset. And while many have pointed out that comics have
grown up --- and that there’s a wealth of material available
for all age ranges --- it’s more accurate than not that
comics grew up a long, long time ago…and they paid a great
price for it.

David Hajdu takes a look at that dark time in THE TEN-CENT
PLAGUE, his insightful examination of the effect of McCarthyism on
comic books.

Prior to the investigation, comics were expanding at an amazing
pace. Sales were high, and a wide variety of books were sold,
ranging from superheroes to romance to horror to true crime.
It’s those latter two that seemed to push the envelope a
little too much for some people’s tastes. With J. Edgar
Hoover and other law enforcement officials openly discussing their
fear of a growing amount of juvenile delinquency, parents all over
the country were fearful. And ready to listen to some (perhaps
well-intentioned) fear-mongering from Dr. Fredric Wertham, a
psychiatrist who headed up the Association for the Advancement of
Psychotherapy. Wertham considered comics a source of evil, having a
detrimental effect on the impressionable minds of the young, and it
didn’t take much for him to convince Congress, teachers and
parents of the same thing.

Those of us who grew up reading comics heard a lot about Wertham
--- he was the reason every issue we bought contained a seal
stating it was “Approved by the Comics Code Authority”
--- but the majority of new graphic novel readers might be unaware
of his work. His famous “Seduction of the Innocent”
became a catchphrase among comic readers, and it sums up the heart
of his argument. As Hajdu fairly presents, Wertham wasn’t the
oppressive censor he was often made out to be. In fact, he was
somewhat progressive in his views. He truly believed that comic
books were causing irreparable damage to the psyches of American
youths, and he took it upon himself to lead the charge against
them.

The result was a seriously weakened industry that couldn’t
tell all the stories it wanted to tell. Creativity was limited, and
sales were affected as a result. It has taken decades for comics
publishers to make the headway needed in the States to change all
that --- most notably through underground comix beginning in the
’60s and after a “British Invasion” in the
’80s ushered in a new direction (and attracted an older
audience).

Hajdu has a natural storytelling ability that keeps all of this
subject matter from ever getting too dry. He wisely avoids
heavy-handedness in favor of a more objective approach, smoothly
presenting opposing sides with empathy.

Graphic novels continue to draw a wider and more diverse
audience day by day. The throngs of new readers now drawn to the
medium will learn much about the art form in this dense work. That
understanding may help them see how graphic novels even now
aren’t that far removed from that seemingly long-ago time.
And many more will wonder where the art form would be now if it
hadn’t been stifled just when it was beginning to branch
out.