We're back to Wertham for this one, as "juvenile delinquency" (youth crime) was one of his favorite phrases, though he wasn't the first to suggest it in connection with the comics. It's an old, familiar argument: kids see violence, kids imitate violence, kids' violent lives land them in jail or worse. No one is arguing that entertainers should have no social responsibility at all-- but the roots of youth crime are far more complex. Under Wertham's influence, U.S. towns saw mass burnings of comic books and Canada actually outlawed crime-themed comics, both in the 1940s. The comic-book market tanked and comic books heavily censored themselves in the 1950s, but youth crime kept rising for some time after that, strong indications that Wertham's claims were bogus. Wertham, of course, never acknowledged this, continuing to publish screeds against the comic-book business until as late as 1968.
T Campbell has written quite a few online comics series and selected work for Marvel, Archie and Tokyopop. His longest-running works are Fans, Penny and Aggie-- and his current project with co-writer Phil Kahn, Guilded Age.
