Page:1954 Juvenile Delinquency Testimony.pdf/217

Rh on it when he says we, in effect, start youngsters on the crime comic and the horror book in their younger years, and then graduate them to the completely salacious type of pocket book thai. we have here and, therefore, influence them mght from the time when they are first interested in comics, right through their earlier years inte adulihood.

T think they both have a direct influence in various age vroups. J think the whole thing is combined.

The. You will treat with that later?

Mr. . Yes, sir.

The. I ain sorry I interrupted yor.

Mr. . That is perfectly all right. I am glad to have you do so at any tine.

Now, Mr. Hoover also specifically stated in that same letler to Sena- tor Kefauver, buck in 1950, that the availability of salacious literature and presentations of any type making mockery of democratic living and respect for law and order, are important causes leading to an un- healthy crime situation. among young people. 1

If there remains any doubt that comics ave offering sex, horror, per- version, disrepect for Jaw and a completely warped seuse of values. I should like to refer this committee te our report and to one of the most flagrant examples I have yet seen, a so-called comic entitled "Panic," and published by "Tiny Tot Comics," and the managing edilor ts Mv. William M. Gaines, who testified before your committee on a previous hearing.

The. I shall never forget his testimony nor his demeanor.

Mr. . I believe after you have read this comic book you will never forget this comic book, either, because I have been studying this subject very hard for a long time. I have never yet seen anything which equals this, nor which so well demonstrates the very type of evil that J believe we are Lrying to reach.

Now, if I may beg your indulgence for just a few moments, I would like, first, sir, to submit to you some photostats of sections of this par- ticular book, and I would like to muke reference to them very briefly, bearing in mind that this is published by Tiny Tot Comies.

In the first place, sir, you will notice that the very first sectionfirst, the cover, sir, is obvious. Then inside you will note that they say they frankly didn't think this kind of thing would sell; that they had published a predecessor called “Mad,” and they didn’t think it would sell, but they found it did, and they pnt out Panic. This is the first issue of Panic.

The first page of the first issue of this new comic book No. 3 of your photostats, is entitled “Sex and Sadism” department. Nose, this is for tiny tots, The chief character in the first skit is w man who appar- ently is a private cye. He comes in a room where a man has been badly mutilated. He says he will get the man and that the man will die, and that he will use dum-dum bullets which will go through his body and leave a very large hole.

His companion says, "You make me sick."

This is what is very important, sir.

The author of this thing then writes, "I make myself sick, but those idiots out there"meaning the people who read the book"buy this stuff; they eat it up; they love it; the gorier the better, this and sex."

Now, if there ever was a complete and utter demonstration of the