Harvey Cartoon StudiosRecensioni

Gwandanaland Comics’ Wertham’s Weapons: Volume 4 collects some of the comics Fredric Wertham used in writing his sensational book, Seduction of the Innocent, which led to the 1954 Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency hearings that temporarily killed the crime and horror comics of the 50s and inspired the major publishers to form the Comics Magazine Association of America and self-regulate through the Comics Code Authority. This volume reprints Planet Comics no. 53, Teen Age Dope Slaves no. 1, Crime Clinic no. 3, Crime and Punishment no. 3, Dagar Desert Hawk no. 19, Western Adventures no. 3, Murder Incorporated no. 8, and Black Cat Mystery no. 36. Gwandanaland Comics reprinted the public domain comics on high-quality paper such as that used in current reprint editions. Some of the scans are yellowed or have tears, but many of these stories do not exist in corporate archives like Marvel and DC’s early work, so this is the best way to access it. The project of scanning these works and publishing an accompanying volume featuring an index of references to Wertham’s use of specific stories or comic panels in Seduction of the Innocent makes this an invaluable resource for those studying comic book history. Planet Comics no. 53 includes fun stories in the style of Flash Gordon or H.P. Lovecraft’s “Dagon,” while Teen Age Dope Slaves is typical of exploitation drug tales like the 1936 film, Reefer Madness. Dagar Desert Hawk includes the titular character in two stories that borrow on Orientalist tropes and the cultural idea of Lawrence of Arabia, while also including some jungle girl exploitation stories. The other books are fairly standard genre faire, with the crime stories one expects from this period. Like the previous volume, Gwandanaland Comics included many of the original advertisements – for BB Guns, a Captain Marvel watch, stamps, and more – in their scans, making this an invaluable resource for those studying comic books of the 1950s.

Reading this issue reminds me of the 1995 movie where Devon Sawa played as Casper. Who wouldn't forget him in the movie because young girls like me fell in love with him when he appeared in the end. hahaha!

This comics brings nostalgic memories of my childhood in the '90s especially the movies and the T.V. shows. Thank goodness I was able to get my hands on this classic comics issue because this is indeed for keeps.