| Slot: |
Superman 55 |
| Item: |
Superman 55 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1286969004
|
Owner Comments
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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| Slot: |
Superman 81 |
| Item: |
Superman 81 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
2013639015
|
Owner Comments
Superman #81 is referenced in Geoffrey Wagner’s “Parade of Pleasure” (POP) in the text on page 88.
Wagner, describing his research on superhero comics, provides the following description in a footnote on page 88 “Although I did not, in my research, discover a Superwoman comic itself, I discovered Superwoman in several other comics. In Superman no 81 this Amazon visits earth from Zor; she is called ‘Tharka’ and equally announces the new womanhood along with Wonder Woman – ‘Tharka is a mutation, a Zorian born ahead of her time, who has super-powers!”
Ironically, the story that Wagner referenced, “The Superwoman from Space”, is all about Superman helping Tharka save face by assisting her in accomplishing super deeds as, unbeknownst to her, her superpowers are inactive on Earth.
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