Ellis, Doug :: 2019 Windy City Pulp and Paper Convention

The Catechetical Guild - "The Case Against the Comics" by Gabriel Lynn, 1944

Artist: Unknown (All)

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The Catechetical Guild - The Case Against the Comics by Gabriel Lynn, 1944 Comic Art

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Artwork Details

Title:	The Catechetical Guild - "The Case Against the Comics" by Gabriel Lynn, 1944
Artist:	Unknown (All)
Media Type:	Mixed Media
Art Type:	Other
For Sale Status:	For Sale at Auction on 4/12/19
Views:	1,146
Likes on CAF:	0 1
Comments:	0
Added to Site:	3/13/2019
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Description

This will be lot 95 in the Friday night auction at the 2019 Windy City Pulp and Paper Convention. Though not original art, hopefully it will be interest to some on this site. It's "The Case Against the Comics" by Gabriel Lynn, an extremely scarce pamphlet published in 1944 by The Catechetical Guild. This is the 32 page (plus covers) edition; there was another edition with fewer pages also published. An early work advocating the censorship of comics, predating Wertham’s “Seduction of the Innocent.” This warned against comics, which were fueling the rising tide of juvenile delinquency. And, of course, they were also a menace to chastity, as well as creating fear and distress in younger children. And superheroes, who act outside of the law, were viewed as un-American and a threat to democracy. Whereas the dime novels of the previous generation, such as Frank Merriwell, were good, wholesome reading. Among the things their study of 92 comic books and over 1000 examples from 27 newspaper comic strips during the period from August through October 1943 found were 216 major crimes depicted, 86 sadistic acts, 186 instances of vulgar behavior, 114 examples of suggestive art, 491 cases of vulgar speech (differentiated from the 194 examples of gross grammatical abuses), 161 physical monstrosities, 204 fantastic situations and actions and 246 un-American, vigilante activities.

The convention will take place on April 12-14, 2019 at the Westin Lombard Yorktown Center in Lombard, Illinois. As usual, we will have auctions on both Friday (April 12) and Saturday (April 13) nights. The Friday night auction consists of 230 lots of material from the estate of famed collector Robert Weinberg (including this piece of comic art, as well as some other comic art and other comic items), while the Saturday night auction begins with 100 lots from the estate of Glenn Lord, literary executor for the Robert E. Howard estate, followed by 56 lots from a few other consignors.

Images will shortly be posted on our website (www.windycitypulpandpaper.com) and will also be on our Facebook page (search FB for Windy City Pulp and Paper). The complete auction catalog is now available on our website, and can be downloaded at this link:

http://tinyurl.com/yxezoqgf

The website will also soon have details on absentee bidding, for those who can’t make it to the convention.

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About the Owner

	Doug Ellis ( 1 ) Premium Gallery Owner
Joined:	November 2004
Last Login:	January 2026
Website:	http://pulpvault.com
Country:	UNITED STATES
On CAF:	Artworks Commented On Liked Art Site Activity on CAF

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