Dr. Werthless

Comic book fans have cursed Dr. Fredric Wertham’s name since his 1954 book Seduction of the Innocent ignited a moral panic around the connection between comic books and juvenile delinquency, resulting in widespread censorship that nearly destroyed the industry. But was Wertham driven by priggish disdain or by the very best of intentions? Schechter and Powell’s follow-up to Did You Hear What Eddie Gein Done? follows Wertham’s rise as a respected psychiatrist and his work with juvenile delinquents and provides a blow-by-blow account of his crusade against horror and crime comic books, which he accused of corrupting young minds. Refreshingly, the authors avoid painting Wertham as the one-note villain he’s popularly held to be by exploring aspects of his personality and career unrelated to his campaign against comic books, such as his commitment to civil rights, efforts to end segregation, and role in founding one of the first low-cost mental health care facilities in the United States. This results in a rich, layered portrait of a man commonly viewed as a villain.