Set Description
“Love & Death” (L&D) was published by Gershon Legman in 1949. Legman believed that American society was permissive of graphic violence as a consequence of its censorship and repression of erotica and sexual expression. His writings on this topic were originally published in the magazine “Neurotica” and he went on to consolidate his material in L&D.
Legman identified comic books as a prime example of the glorification of crime and violence within American culture and devoted the L&D chapter “Not for Children” to illustrate his theme. Within this chapter, he specifically referenced several comic books and these issues form the make up of this registry set.
Even though he was one of the first to publish material on the risks associated with comic books, Gershon Legman never gained the notoriety of other similar writers of the time such as Fredric Wertham author of the “Seduction of the Innocent”. In fact, due to the sexual nature of his writings, he was accused of violating obscenity laws by the United States Postal Service soon after publishing L&D. To escape prosecution, Legman left the United States to live in France where he spent several decades researching, writing and compiling data on erotica and bawdy humor. He died in France on February 23, 1999 at the age of 81.
