Number 1817: The desensitized

A illustration from First Love #35 (1953) is shown in Dr. Wertham’s anti-comics book, Seduction of the Innocent, with a panel lifted from the story, “Forbidden to Love Him,” drawn by Bill Draut.

As I have mentioned before, comics with panels in Wertham’s book are identified and prized. Dr. W. took this shocking panel out of the larger context of the story. It was because of that caption naming the comic as First Love I thought it was a man slapping his wife or girlfriend. As I found by actually reading the story, it is a father slapping his daughter for daring to love an Indian. The story is about ugly racism. It doesn’t make the image less startling or unpleasant, but Wertham did not bother to tell his readers the subject was actually racism.

That was one of his ways of selling his message. As far as a story on prejudice goes, it only has five pages to play out the drama, and for me an unrealistic conclusion.

Two more from the Pappy archives of SOTI stories. Just click on the thumbnails

Posted in: Pappy Comics