Any comic book fan that takes the medium seriously as an art form, that researches the medium’s role in American history and pop culture, is aware of the name Dr. Frederic Wertham. In 1954, Wertham famously wrote a book called Seduction of the Innocent, an indictment against comic books that claimed they were a major factor in the apparent rise of juvenile delinquency in a post-World War II America.

Though Wertham was prone to hyperbole, once saying “Hitler was a beginner compared to comic books,” his accusations came in the midst of a rising fervor – mostly propagated by sensationalist media – concerned about childhood crime. This put comics of the era on trial and ultimately resulted in the creation of the Comics Code, a seal of approval that the comic book industry used to self-regulate its content and assure distributors and parents that the content inside was wholesome (the code was officially out of use by 2011).

…