Censorship Does Not Pay
Crime Does Not Pay 64
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COMIC DETAILS
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Comic Description:
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Crime Does Not Pay 64 Universal
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Grade:
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7.5
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Page Quality:
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CREAM TO OFF-WHITE
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Certification #:
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0179801001
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Owner:
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GAM
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SET DETAILS
Owner's Description
Crime Does Not Pay #64 is referenced in Fredric Wertham’s “Seduction of the Innocent” (SOTI) on page 306. In this section of the SOTI, Wertham discusses how comic book publishers use various means and methods to avoid accountability and continue to publish comic books that are harmful to children (at least from his perspective). One such tool is the use of self-censorship codes that publishers developed in response to criticisms of comic book content. On page 306, Wertham references a comic book that published a code on the inside cover of the comic (he is referring to Crime Does Not Pay #63). He goes on to say that this code had a provision that stated that the publisher would not include illustrations that contained blood. Wertham notes that the publisher did not stand by this code as that very issue (Crime Does Not Pay #63) and the following issue (Crime Does not Pay #64) both contained panels with blood. The specific reference for Crime Does Not Pay #64 from the SOTI is as follows: “I looked for the following number of this comic book, after the one that had the code on the inside cover. Did they leave out the blood? No, that was shown again in four consecutive pictures. They left out the code”.In paging through Crime Does Not Pay #64, I was hard pressed to find “four consecutive pictures” with blood. I believe Wertham was referring to panels included in the first story entitled “Walter Legenza the Gangster” illustrated by George Tuska. In this story, Legenza and his crew rough up Lizzie Phillips and leave her for dead and there are four panels in close proximity that, if you stretch the definition, show blood on Lizzie’s face. I’ve include a scan of one of the pages that includes these panels (upper right corner) – now it’s up to you to decide if this broke the no blood code!
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