Classics Censored
Classics Illustrated 43 (O)
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COMIC DETAILS
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Comic Description:
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Classics Illustrated 43
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Grade:
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7.5
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Page Quality:
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OFF-WHITE TO WHITE
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Certification #:
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0916116012
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Owner:
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GAM
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SET DETAILS
Owner's Description
Classics Illustrated #43 is referenced in Fredric Wertham’s “Seduction of the Innocent” (SOTI) on page 311. Wertham uses CI #43 as an example of his disdain for comic books that provide condensed versions of classic literature. From Wertham’s viewpoint, comic books that contain versions of classic stories deprive children of the benefits of reading and appreciating the true nature of classic literature. More specifically, with regards to Classics Illustrated #43, Wertham describes the comic as follows: “There is a comic book which has on its cover two struggling men, one manacled with chains locked around hands and feet, the other with upraised fist and a reddened, bloody bandage around his head; onlookers: a man with a heavy iron mallet on one side and a man with a rifle and a bayonet on the other. The first eight pictures of this comic book show an evil looking man with a big knife held like a dagger threatening a child who says: Oh, don’t cut my throat, sir! Am I correct in classifying this as a crime comic? Or should I accept it as what it pretends to be – Dickens’ Great Expectations?”Here again Wertham returns to the central theme of the SOTI – comic books lack redeeming value in that they are all essentially crime dramas that contribute directly or indirectly to misguiding youth. From Wertham’s perspective this analysis applies to both comic books that portray crime directly as well as those that do so with more subtlety such as those that masquerade as classic literature when, from Wertham’s point of view, they are actually crime based distortions of the classics.
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