Sterling North (1940)trello1940

A Chicago Daily News article written by Sterling North gets considerable attention, an excerpt from the piece ‘A National Disgrace’ is below. “Save for a scattering of more or less innocuous "gag" comics and some reprints of newspaper strips, we found that the bulk of these lurid publications depend for their appeal upon mayhem, murder, torture and abduction—often with a child as the victim. Superman heroics, voluptuous females in scanty attire, blazing machine guns, hooded "justice" and cheap political propaganda were to be found on almost every page. The old dime novels in which an occasional redskin bit the dust were classic literature compared to the sadistic drivel pouring from the presses today. Badly drawn, badly written and badly printed—a strain on young eyes and young nervous systems—the effect of these pulp-paper nightmares is that of a violent stimulant. Their crude blacks and reds spoil the child's natural sense of color; their hypodermic injection of sex and murder make the child impatient with better, though quieter stories” Sterling North’s piece seemed to kick off a flurry of negative press articles about comic books, with titles such as 'Comics Assailed by Catholic Leader' (1945), Comic Books Injurious to Children, Mothers Decide (1942) and "Unfunny" Comic Books Assailed by A.A.U.W" (1941)

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