Comic Book Resources

Greg, that was an awesome post.

The fact that both speech bubbles seem to be coming from Bruces mouth makes the final panel even more bizarre.

I wonder which modern comics will look weird or ridiculous in 60 years.

And THAT'S why I always say that Dennys O'Neil and Neal Adams really created Batman!!! Before them Batman was something else.

Adding to the weirdness of that last panel - what's up with the plane flying by outside the window? Is it Gotham's vice squad's aerial division checking up on rich known pedophiles?

I think even out of context that first panel isn't that bad. I think there are much better examples of homoerotic Batman and Robin out of context panels.

The second panel though, that one is better, even though taken in context of the era it was in it still isn't that bad. This was an era where even teachers at certain schools were allowed to dole out corporal punishment to students.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_corporal_punishment#United_States

So I'm sure a legal guardian doling out corporal punishment raised even less eyebrows back then.

What, you've never been spanked by a wealthy playboy while wearing a cape, green briefs and Peter Pan booties?

Is that just me?

Wesley: You mean TODAY, or just in general?

That is truly bizarre. For so many reasons.

At least it wasn't part of the "Papa spank!" series that seemed to run rampant in vintage DC...

...but yeah, it's just as bad. "Speak up or you'll get a spanking!" seems a bit late if you've already got him over your knee, Bruce.

Fabio: I like your idea about Batman's creation.

creepy, out-of-context early batman panels should be a regular feature...hysterical.

that panel showed how crazy and different the early run of batman was not to mention how lax judging from the panel dc editorial was back then for now a days dc tried to publish something like that int he current bat books they would have some one screaming. batman is abusive to robin.

Part of the reason that last panel looks so weird to us now is that we don't hear too much about parents spanking children these days ("Time Outs" are far more common). And Golden Age Batman & Robin was definitely 50% parent-child and 50% big brother-little brother.

Roman: Ain`t that right? I remember when (a long time ago, about 25 years) I started to read the old batman stories from the 40`s and 50`s and i thought: WTF?!? I mean, I was a Marvel fanboy and just had finished reading TDKR and I was "Oh man! Batman is so cool! I have to read his early stuff!". What a disappointment...

I will not stand for any hate speech against the Zebra Batman.

It was a different time, and things seen in today's context weren't seen in that context all those years ago.

For instance, gay was a benign word back then. Today, it makes a specific reference. Even the Flintstone's theme song mentions having a gay, old time.

Different times, different connotations. And different contexts, too.

Johnny the Boy: "creepy, out-of-context early batman panels should be a regular feature...hysterical."

Oh, man you got my vote!

You know, now that DC is releasing these fairly regularly, maybe this will have to become a regular feature ...

I love that the old DC books, despite only really getting funny when your looking back on them (ie. they weren't meant to be funny), all have their own sense of humour.
Old Superman strips have him acting like a dick, Batman one's have him being really creepy, and totally into Dick.

I vote for this being a regular feature!

Classic.

Is there any explanation or acknowledgement in the story of the plane in the background? Or is that a painting hanging on the wall behind them, maybe?

Corey: Nope. It's completely ignored, so I have no idea if it's a window or a painting. It's just ... there.

Either Robin has a malformed bum, or Bruce is pulling pants and open...

Well, now we know that Frank Miller's All Star Batman isn't completely different from the source material...

@Greg Burgas - Even better!

I love how Bruce is all dressed up in a suit for the spanking...better than a smoking jacket I suppose...

Just a quick question. How many of you guys have read Seduction of the Innocent?

Just a quick question. How many of you guys have read Seduction of the Innocent?

I've tried to find it at a decent price, but for obvious reasons it hasn't been in print very much since the 1970s, and, ironically, the local library doesn't have it.

I was able to read portions of it when in college but it was almost never available at the college library. Predictably, a lot of his arguments, and the logic and evidence he used to back them up, were highly dubious.

I've never read Seduction of the Innocent in its entirety, but I will say the parts I have read were nowhere near as bad as detractors made it out to be. In fact I'd say many of Wertham's arguments were plausible and made sense. The witch hunt that followed was still excessive though.

Let me add though that from everything I read, Wertham himself did not want the witch hunt that ensued. He simply wanted a ratings system and regulation in place on more unsavory violent, sexist and racist comics, not the near destruction of the industry.

Our library had a copy of SOTI, so I was able to read the book 3 times. Some things, I have to say, Wertham hit on the money...other things were simply ludicrous!

To me what was most interesting about Wertham is that a lot of what I saw him condemning is not all that different than the stuff many PC prigs on this site complain about. He was very against sexism toward women and objectifying them, he was horrified by the rampant racial stereotyping, especially of Asians like in the WWII "Jap" stories and blacks in the vein of Eisner's Ebony White. He was very progressive and liberal. These are things people still complain about today both when reading the golden age works or when critiquing modern comic books. Wertham was obviously a force in getting rid of many of those unsavory elements. This is why it shocks me that so many fans aren't able to take a more balanced look at his legacy. He definitely had his bad parts, but I think the case against him is too one-sided and gets tainted by "winner's bias," meaning the pro-comics crowd dominant in pop culture today got to write the man's historical and cultural legacy.

Also, for superhero fans the guy was basically responsible for the resurgence of superheroes as a dominant genre.

I read Seduction of the Innocent back in the 80s. As I recall, Wertham had good arguments, but also demonstrated a penchent for taking things out of context.

He also didn't consider the era of the comics he provided examples from. For example, he demonized comics printed in the 40s and 50s, or set during WWII that insulted the Japanese and Germans. Even as a Japanese, I found that odd. America was at war, of course the "Japs" were evil.

As T mentions, Wertham was very progressive and liberal. Unfortunately, he expected the static printed word to also progress and liberate as the time and culture changed.

Theno

In the British weekly comics I grew up with, characters such as Dennis the Menace (no relation to your US version) Beryl the Peril, Roger the Dodger, (see a pattern here?) the Bash St, Kids etc regularly ended their escapades with a spanking either from a parent or just as often from some other authority figure like a policeman, teacher or park keeper. It's no wonder S&M is known as the English perversion.

I think what's weird about the Batman panel above is that the relationship between the two males (without even considering the homoerotic undertones) is able to slip so easily from serious crime fighting to larky punishment games. We 21st century post-modern sophisticates cannot be blamed for wondering what exactly is the intended message in this medium. By the way I think the picture on the wall is an early Lichtenstein (from his blown up comic strip period) obviously Wayne has already developed the 'camp' Pop Art sensibilities he would become known for later in his career. How ironic!