Reggie and Me - The Kefauver Hearings, Day One

Before starting this project, I had never heard of an Estes Kefauver.  When Reggie suggested we include the "Kefauver Hearings" into our research, I assumed "Kefauver" was some far off Eastern European city-state with a courthouse in it.  Or maybe, it was a street in Washington, D.C. with a courthouse on it.  I really had no clue.  It's here I want to remind you that shortly before we started this venture, I paid for a college course about American Literature with a focus on comic books.  Kefauver never came up.

Like most folks, all I knew was the inch-deep, mile-wide on the Comics Code Authority:  From out of nowhere came a Boogeyman, who wrote a book (that I hadn't yet read)... bada-bing, bada-boom - the Code!  That's the easiest way to look at it... it's also the laziest.

Here was our game plan for this episode:

With this third chapter, many of the building blocks of what the "Chris and Reggie Channel" would become were established... but, we'll get there.

First, let's take a look at Panic #1 (1953)... founded by Al Feldstein, and published under Bill Gaines' (of EC Comics) Tiny Toy Imprint.  Panic was in the vein of MAD, which had launched two years prior.  It was unspectacular in many ways, however... it included this one story: a straight re-telling of The Night Before Christmas/A Visit From St. Nicholas, by Clement Moore.

This story featured some "visual embellishments" from Bill Elder... which sort of poked fun at the holiday, Santa, and many of the festive trappings.  Christians and Catholics were displeased at the, what they felt to be, "desecration" of the holiday... and its depiction as Pagan in nature.

On December 18, 1953 - the Governor's Council of Massachusetts called for a statewide ban on Panic #1.  Less than two weeks later on December 28, employees at EC Comics were arrested (presumably on indecency charges).  The charges would not stick... but, I'm sure the raid ruined their day.

Used to be, around Christmastime on social media... I'd see the cover of Panic #1 getting shared around.  I'd make a comment regarding how it was banned in Massachusetts... or how it was vital in the establishment of the Comics Code Authority.  I'd usually be "corrected"/"educated" by whoever posted it... and referred back to Seduction of the Innocent.  I've since given up trying.

Next, let's meet Senator Estes Kefauver (D-TN).  He was something of a shining star in the Democratic party... and was fresh off a failed bid for the Democractic Presidential nomination.  He actually managed to beat sitting President Harry S. Truman in the New Hampshire Primary in 1952!

Truman ultimately wound up withdrawing, as this would have been his third term in office.  The 22nd Amendment to the Constitution was still new at this point, and Harry would have been able to claim "grandfather clause" to run a third time.

Kefauver would win the bigger states in the primary, including New York, California, and Illinois... and yet, somehow lost the overall nod to Adlai Stevenson (I don't talk current-year politics, but you might compare this to something that happened during the 2016 Democratic Primaries).  Stevenson would lose his bid against Ike.  Two years after the Hearings we're about to discuss, Kefauver once again threw his hat in the ring... and fell short to Stevenson.  This time, however, Adlai chose Estes as his running mate.  Together, the lost to Ike.

So, Estes Kefauver was a "name"... it was just a name I'd never heard of!  Before getting into American politics, Estes graduated from Yale Law School... and would practice law in Chattanooga, Tennessee for over a decade.  Now, among Estes' main concerns was... taking down organized crime.  Come to find... many organized crime "families" had printing "interests"... and, one might have had some nebulous (or maybe not-so-nebulous) connection to DC Comics/National Comics founders Harry Donenfeld and Jack Liebowitz.

Reggie and I, from very early on in our partnership, always had our eyes on putting together a book.  The founding of DC/National... and the stories of Donenfeld and Liebowitz was at the top of our list.  I still have a folder full of Donenfeld information... including some bits and bobs from his FBI file.  That was going to be a wild ride.

Back to Kefauver.  He became something of a national celebrity for taking part in the first-ever televised trial: the Frank Costello case.  Frank Costello, by the way, is who Orson Welles' speaking pattern in The Godfather was inspired by.

The trial began in May, 1951... and would go on for several months.  It was aired live throughout twenty cities... causing sales of television sets to double.  It was estimated to have been viewed by 20-30 million Americans.  As part of a deal made with the Defense, Costello's attorney insisted that the TV cameras not show their client's face during his time on the stand... only his hands.  Look at that image above... do those look like innocent hands?

After this, Estes Kefauver was viewed as a "Crusading Crime-Buster"... and an opponent of "political corruption".  He would go on to appear on the popular game show What's My Line? and would even get a bit part in the Humphrey Bogart film, The Enforcer.  This was 1951... and three years (and a failed Presidential bid) had passed.  Kefauver needed a hit!

The United States Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency was put together by Senator Robert Hendrickson (R-New Jersey) in 1953.  On April 21, 1954 the hearings would begin in Washington, D.C..  Estes Kefauver would loom large throughout... and (crime/horror) comic books would be his primary target.

Richard Clendenen, the Executive Director of the United States Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency would open with the following:

• "The increase in craven crime committed by young Americans is rising at a frightening pace"
• The trial is not an "attack" on Freedom of the Press
• Claims to have received mail from parents regarding the "influence" crime/horror comic books were having on their children's behavior
• Statistics: Between 75-100 million comic books were sold every month
• Kefauver claimed that approximately 20 million of those were crime and horror

Exhibit A - Letter from R.H. Felix, MD.  Director, National Institute of Mental Health:

• “It is not my feeling that the solution to delinquency or emotional disturbances in children is to be found in the banning or elimination of comic books.  Rather, I feel that parents do have a responsibility for remaining alert to the kinds of reading material and viewing material, including the comics, being utilized by their children.”

Sound familiar?

Exhibit B - A Study of 1,313 gangs in Chicago (that we could not actually find... though, we never doubted its existence).  Whatever the case, this study posited that comic books did influence the behavior of these groups.  Again, I wish we had been able to find this piece of research, as we were sure it'd been a pip.  Many more pieces of anecdotal evidence were included, mostly with an anti-comics stance, before people were called to give testimony.

Dr. Harris Peck - Director, Bureau Mental Health Services - Children's Court:

• Wasn't convinced either way about the effects of comic books on behavior... or, at the very least, didn't feel strongly enough one way or another to go "on record".

Henry Edward Schultz - General Counsel - Association of Comic Magazine Publishers:

• He's here to discuss the first "Comics Code", which was in place from 1947-1948.  It stated the following:
• Sexy, wanton comics should not be published
• Crime should not be depicted in a sympathetic light
• No sadistic torture should be included
• Vulgar/obscene language forbidden.  "Slang" kept to a minimum
• Divorce should not be depicted as neither humorous nor glamorous
• No overt racism or anti-religious attacks

This "code" was not widely abided by... and, there wasn't really a "governing body" in place to enforce it.  Several of the publishers who did attempt to use it would quickly abandon the effort.  Ultimately, Schultz more or less claims that the CMPA seal was worthless.

Dr. Frederic Wertham, some guy we might know:

• More or less recaps Seduction of the Innocent, before veering into a rant about the merits of sex-education in public schools
• He just might've been "over" comics at this point
• Some Boogeyman, right?

Bill Gaines, Publisher EC Comics:

Worth noting that Gaines was sort of "Public Enemy Number One" here.  Not only was the Senate Subcommittee out to put him out of business... but, his fellow comics publishers seemed to be totally fine with his getting grilled here.  Gaines/EC was a giant of the newsstand at this point... and the smaller players wouldn't have minded one bit having EC taken out of the equation.

Also worth noting, Gaines was taking diet pills around this time... and was still reeling from his offices being raided and his staff being arrested.  He was kind of a blubbering, sweaty mess on the stand.  Kefauver himself took it to Gaines... questioning him about the cover of Crime SuspenStories #22 (May, 1954).  You know, this one:

This back-and-forth was the first time Reggie and I engaged in "voice acting".  I played Bill Gaines, while Reggie got his Estes on.  Gaines, on the stand, wasn't really able to keep up with Kefauver.  Estes showed a blatant disregard and dismissal of every rebuttal... and really illustrated how agenda-driven this entire clown-show was.  This hearing feels more and more like a means to an end... simply a way in which the Senate Subcommittee could say they weren't attacking Freedom of the Press... while in reality, I suppose that's something we could argue.

Walt Kelly, Milton Caniff, Joseph Musial - National Cartoonist's Society:

• They're here to discuss the National Cartoonist's Society's "internal code"
• They are not allowed to draw obscene or horror "stuff"
• They're basically here to run down popular EC artist Johnny Craig - the man responsible for that Crime SuspenStories cover included above.
• Craig would leave comics in embarrassment shortly thereafter

Murray Illson, New York Times:

• Wrote an article titled, Comic Books Help Curb Delinquency (April 17, 1954)
• Illson is not present, however his article is added into evidence
• This article is reliant on a small sample size and anecdotal evidence

That's marks the end of Day One of the "Kefauver Hearings" aka. the Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency.  We'll continue with more tomorrow.  It feels so weird to revisit this research.  On a personal level, I'm not sure I'd ever felt such "creative synergy" to this point.  This was a topic Reggie and I were both so passionate about... and the research, while sort of "all-encompassing" for the weeks and months we were doing it, never felt like a burden or a chore.

It's here where we'd learn something very valuable about the research process as it pertains to an audio offering.  I think it's safe to say we've all performed research... whether for school, work, or personal curiosity.  When you're writing an academic paper... there's (almost) nothing more demoralizing than spending several hours researching a particular "thread"... finding the information you seek... then realizing that, all the time you spent will ultimately result in like... I dunno, 2-3 additional sentences in your paper.

When you apply that sort of situation to audio... it's more of a 1:1 comparison.  We'd spent literally hours researching particular bits of this Trial (and everything surrounding it)... which, would wind up only adding five or so seconds to our production.  If this was something we weren't passionate about or enjoying... that'd probably have been enough to shut us down completely!  Instead... it only seemed to fuel us on more.

Some Chris and Reggie-isms established with this episode:

• Researching "side" information to provide as deep a contextual background as possible.  Connecting comic book history to real-world history
• Role-playing characters, reading dialogue
• Spending many hours looking for intricate details/confirming facts... which may only add a second or two to the actual broadcast

Reggie and Me - Seduction of the Innocent, Part Two

I want to start today by thanking readers of this site for indulging me in this change in direction for the time being.  It's been nearly a week since Reggie's passing... and, I feel as though taking the time to revisit and reflect upon our early days has helped me greatly with the coping process.  It still doesn't feel "real"... but, I suspect our residing on opposite coasts might have something to do with that.  Distance is a weird thing...

Today, we'll finally get into some of our notes regarding our deep-dive into the pages of Seduction of the Innocent (1954).  Another "craft-heavy/emotion-light" piece... but one that is vital in the foundation of my and Reggie's work.

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Yesterday, we looked at some anti-comics crusaders who predated Wertham, and floated the theory that our "Boogeyman" might've used some leading questions in order to ride that trend.  After publishing some thoughts on the subject in magazines and journals... Wertham wrote a book.  You may have heard of it... but, you probably haven't read it.  To make our program as complete as possible - we did.

For brevity's sake, I'm doing to refrain from going into full-on "essay mode", and just try and deliver the more salient points.

According to Frederic Wertham...

• The comics format was an "invitation to illiteracy"
• Comics create an atmosphere of cruelty and deceit
• Comics create a "readiness for temptation"
• Comics stimulate unwholesome fantasies
• They suggest criminal or sexually abnormal ideas
• By furnishing a rationalization for them
• Comics suggest the forms a "delinquent impulse" may take... while supplying details

And, perhaps most importantly, for the purposes of everything to come:

• Comic books may "tip the scales" toward maladjustment or delinquency

Wertham made the assumption that "the conquest of the American childhood by the [comics] industry was already an accomplished fact."  Living in the 21st Century, as we do... we can make that sort of statement regarding most forms of entertainment.  The television industry "conquered" the American child... the music industry... the video games industry... and, so on.  This isn't all that outlandish a statement... in and of itself.  Comics were everywhere... kids read them.  The words he chose to express that fact, however, suggest something far more sinister.

Perhaps taking a page out of Piaget or Vygotsky's theories of early childhood development, Wertham claimed that comics facilitate the concept that "children see solutions to to all problems as 'simple, direct, mechanical and violent'."  Children, who have not yet reached a particular stage of mental development may not yet be equipped with the ability to apply critical or abstract thinking.  Which is to say, if a child sees Superman punch a guy... they may see that as a feasible (desirable) solution to a problem.

Ready for an even slipperier slope?  "Comic books and life are connected.  A bank robbery is easily translated to the rifling of a candy store."  Again, we've seen this and heard this, most recently with violent video games... despite evidence to the contrary.  Like we say, perception is reality... and accepted narratives carry weight.

Wertham stated that comics led to what he called "moral disarmament".  These stories influenced how children defined concepts like "right" and "wrong".  Comics blunted the finer feelings of conscience, mercy, and sympathy.  They skew the view of human relationships, and stifles the influence of art and literature.  Again, nothing we haven't heard applied to [insert hobby/form of entertainment here].

Seduction of the Innocent, as stated... is an awful book.  It was written at a low-grade level in order to reach as wide an audience as possible.  It was bogged down in anecdotes... and, blanket statements.  This was 1954... there wasn't an internet.  There wasn't an easy way for a member of the target audience of this book to contest anything Wertham posited.  Wertham, for example, could say "All child drug addicts, and all children drawn into the narcotics traffic as messengers, with whom we have had contact, were inveterate comic-book readers."

See what he did there?  He made a blanket statement... wrapped in an anecdote.  All of these delinquents... that he had contact with... were comic book readers.  Hard to argue that point without access to his personal files, isn't it?  Plus, we've spent the past several days here talking up Wertham's credentials and legitimacy... who'd even think to contest this?  In 2020, skepticism is part of the learning process... in 1954, however... fewer people were going to "do the work".  Heck, by simply reading Seduction, many thought they already were.

Some comic book trends Wertham described included...

• The "injury to the eye motif"
• Advertisements for "violent toys" in comic books
• Damsels in distress... in fire
• History being rewritten
• Classic literature being modernized
• Femme Fatales

We'll delve deeper into a few of those...

The "injury to the eye" bit... is interesting, when you stop to think about it.  It's a pretty visceral thing... we theorized that this was a sort of pain that children and adults would both feel in a subconscious way when they see it.  The great generational unifier when it comes to pain infliction.  It doesn't take much in the way of force or skill to poke an eye out.  He uses this to further separate comic books from literature, by positing that there is no "literary counterpart" for eye-harm.

"Violent toys".  B.B. guns, knives... many of us have seen these sort of things advertised in old comics.  Times were different.

Girls being tossed in fire.  This is multi-layered... in that, not only does it depict a woman in danger, who must be rescued by a heroic male... it also had them tossed in a fire, where their clothes might burn off, leaving them... ya know, nakedish.

The rewriting of history is... kind of silly.  Well, sillier.  Wertham took issue with stories written to suggest that comic book characters were in some way vital to (American) history.  Consider Superman going back in time to save Benjamin Franklin from... I dunno, a bear attack or something.

Wertham also criticized the actual logo design of many crime and horror comics.  Remember DC Comics' "go-go check" books?  Those "checks" were a way to make DC's books instantly recognizable from the newsstand.  Crime books did something similar, in that a child could see exactly what the publishers wanted them to see from the newsstand peeking out over whatever book might be in front of it.  Words like CRIME, LAWBREAKERS, GUNS, and CRIMINALS would be prominently placed toward the top of the cover... easily drawing the eye of a passerby.

These crime comics, Wertham states, claim to be in accordance with a "comics code".  Remember, Wertham wasn't the first to criticize comic books... and, as we're (eventually) going to discuss... he didn't force or enforce the actual Comics Code Authority.  This "code" was from the A.C.M.P. (Association of Comics Magazine Publishers)... an organization Wertham dismissed as being real, on account that he could not locate them in the phone book.  Remember, times were different.

Crime comics are a bit of an easy target.  They were sort of the Grand Theft Auto of the day.  Let's talk about superheroes for a bit.  With many of these theories, today's "narrative" makes them seem far more salacious and sensational than they actually were.  The reality, as is often the case, isn't all that interesting nor exciting.

• Batman: "Like a wish dream of two homosexuals living together"

This is one of those concepts that comic fans usually cite when discussing this book (that they never read).  Something I see a lot when people discuss this theory, is "the Rainbow Batman".  Let's take a step back though.  The Rainbow Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #241 (March, 1957)... Seduction was written and published before that.  Also, the rainbow flag as an LGBTQ symbol didn't come into being until 1978.  But remember... the narrative has power.

What Wertham suggests here is that the relationship between Batman and Robin is pedophilic in nature... and initiated by Robin.  He felt that this relationship may embolden gay feelings.  Not make straight children/people gay... but, strengthen thoughts and questions that may already be there.  Wertham never stated outright that Batman was homosexual.

• Superman: "A disregard for democratic processes combined with the idealization of vigilantism."

When it came to Superman, Wertham "Godwinned" before it was cool.  He made the usual comparison to Nietzsche's concept of the Ubermensch... and suggested the "Big S" on his uniform may as well have been an "S.S."

• Wonder Woman: "physically very powerful, tortures men, has her own female following, is the cruel 'phallic' woman."

Is Wertham perhaps reading into things much?  Maybe.  Worth noting, Wonder Woman hung out with a group called the "Holliday Girls" (two L's).  Back in the 1930s, "Holiday Boys/Girls" (one L) were slang terms for gay and lesbian.

So, we've touched on Crime and Superhero comics... how 'bout Romance?

Wertham saw romance comics as setting false ideals for female readers, citing especially the concept of "love at first sight".  They were also viewed as problematic for male readers... in the more, uh, stimulatory way.  They were referred to as "headlight comics", for exactly the reason you suspect.  This whole piece seems to be predicated by... an anecdote that was reported to Wertham by a Newsagent, who reported he'd sold "thirty love comics to a sailor in his mid-twenties".

Wertham cited "love comics" as glamorizing and promoting misbehavior... in the name of romance.  You could steal... so long as it led to romance.  You could sock a dude in the mush... so long as it led to romance.  He also viewed these as promoting greed and consumerism.  That girl won't give you a second glance?  Go buy (or steal) something shiny for her!

With several genres covered... and with the realization that I've been writing this piece for over two hours at this point... let's jump ahead to "Comic Book Syndrome".  More anecdotes!

Children Wertham spoke with/treated would state they felt guilty after reading violent comic books... and even guiltier by the fantasies they stirred up inside them.  The child is made to feel guilty by those around them for indulging... something we "growed up" comic readers might get from time to time, when people raise an eyebrow in our direction and ask "You still read those things...?".  Usually right after they ask "They still make those things...?".  The children will often resort to hiding their collection of violent/superhero comics in shame.  They also admit to spending money earmarked for other things on comics.  Well, I tell ya... I got lunch money most every day... and very seldom ate at school.

I believe at this point in our research, we ran into Nights of Horror... fetish comics drawn by Joe Shuster... which depicted members of the Superman cast... though, not outright... in rather risque and "adult" situations.  Nights was something we always planned on devoting an entire episode on... it was on our most recent to-do list as a Cosmic Treadmill After Dark (we'll talk about CT:AD somewhere down the line), so we didn't go too deep here.  This led to our researching Jack Koslow and the Brooklyn Thrill Killers... another very interesting piece of this puzzle, and more fuel for Wertham's fire.

In brief, the Thrill Killers were a gang of Jewish Neo-Nazis (yeah...) aged between 15 and 18, who killed and tortured several homeless people over the Summer of 1954.  Jack Koslow, their leader, claimed he'd gotten most of their ideas for their rampage from... comic books.  They'd even procured many of their tools of torture from the advertisements in those comics.  Koslow was very keen to discuss this with Wertham... which, is and was a bit suspect.

In a case of the broken clock being right twice a day... Wertham, the Social-Justice Warrior - addressed social injustice.  He cited women being used solely as "victims" in comics... and also, the minority characters always being depicted as inferior, wrong... and "bad".  Wertham said this informed the opinions and beliefs of impressionable youth... and would offer the following:

• Racial and ethnic stereotypes were given "nourishment" and "perpetuation" in comic books
• Children, when shown comics they haven't yet read... and asked to pick out the "bad man" - they would often immediately choose based on ethnic or racial stereotypes
• Juvenile gangs at the time tended to attack "dark-skinned others"
• White women were always drawn with their breasts covered, while "colored girls have their breasts fully exposed"
• Heroes were "Nordic-looking strongmen", which emboldened an impression of "human perfection"
• In this way, Wertham would compare comics to the Nazi magazine, Der Sturmer... which taught antisemitism 

As we'd mentioned several times to this point, this book relies on anecdotes.  We'll wrap up today's piece with some of those.

• To "pad" his numbers as they pertain to juvenile delinquency, Wertham classified such things as daydreaming, restlessness, masturbation, and nightmares as being signs of maladaptive behaviors... and therefore acceptable cases for his study.
• Wertham would cite cases from Bellevue and Queens County Hospital... from children and adolescents with histories of mental imbalance and illness, skewing the data in his favor
• "I like the one where a man puts a needle in a woman's eye" - a cherry-picked statement from a mentally disturbed girl, who had been admitted to Kings County Hospital for fantasizing about murdering her younger brother.
• More cherry-picked statements, this time regarding the Batman and Robin homosexual relationship claim:
• "I think I put myself in the position of Robin.  I did want to have relations with Batman." said a sixteen year old homosexual.
• "The only suggestion of homosexuality may be that they seemed to be close to one another." said his seventeen year old partner
• Wertham chose to omit "... like my friend and I." from that last statement.

There are plenty more "lies of omission" in this portion of the episode... and it gets rather dark.  A real sign of data manipulation... and how far a respected member of the psychological community may go in order to build his case.  Confounding variables are not addressed... things like socioeconomic status, living in abusive homes, living with alcoholism, other mental illness... all left out.  They don't serve the narrative... they don't make the case, and so... they don't make the cut.

Like we said... Seduction of the Innocent isn't a good book.  It's hardly worth a read, unless you're looking to discuss it deeply.  This second episode of Weird Comics History, focusing on the formation and foundation of Comics Code Authority... was a learning experience for both Reggie and I.  Many misconceptions and bits of "conventional/accepted wisdom" were challenged... as were our own perceptions.  This was such an experience we shared... and I humbly thank you all for allowing me to share it with you here.  This little reflection "project" is really helping me to process things.

Tomorrow, we'll go into some of the "behind the scenes" on the next chapter.  We'll meet Senator Estes Kefauver (D-Tennessee) and go through the 1954 Senate Hearing on Juvenile Delinquency... which, in actuality, was more of a root-cause of the Code than Seduction or Wertham... and yet, isn't cited or mentioned nearly as much.

Reggie and Me - Seduction of the Innocent, Part One

Yesterday, I began my reflection on Reggie and my first "big" project.  One of the "tent pole" series of the Chris and Reggie Channel.  I had expected it to be a "one and done" piece, however, I found I had a lot more to say about our craft than I thought I would.  Today, we will look even deeper into our methodology, and also discuss how quickly our little show, that we figured we'd only spend an hour or two a week working on... became quite a bigger part of both of our lives.

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Rather than be just two more comics podcasters who lambaste Seduction as being unfounded trash... we took the extra step and, get this... we actually read it.  So often, when Seduction comes up in conversation... people can tell you that it was bad for comics, but very few... even those who were purporting to "learn you something" could tell you anything specific.  Like Reggie said, we could do better than that.

Also like Reggie said, so long as we can site our sources, and back up what we say... we're okay.  And so, I suggested that we hit up the "ultimate source" for this subject.  The one people view as the root cause of the establishment of the Comics Code Authority.  We managed to "find" copies of Seduction... and we spent a better part of a week working our way through this book... while filling in our notes in the script.

Here was our "mission statement" for Episode 2:

I know to this point, we've been pretty... I don't want to say "pro-Wertham", but we haven't outright dismissed him or run him down.  Folks, Seduction of the Innocent... sucks.  I can say that as someone who actually put the work in and read it.  It sucks, but... it sucks on purpose.  It's not written as a peer-reviewed academic piece... it's written with very basic vocabulary, and is absolutely loaded with anecdotes.

The inherent "goodness" of Dr. Wertham is something that could be debated.  His intelligence, however... I think that's just something even the most fervent Wertham haters are going to have to accept.  This book had a message... and an agenda... and he knew how to cast as wide a net as possible so that his words could be heard.

Thing is... he was hardly the first person to posit that comic books led to juvenile delinquency.

• Sterling North (May, 1940)
• "A National Disgrace (and a Challenge to American Parents)" - Chicago Daily News
• Referred to comics magazines as "a poisonous mushroom growth" and a "violent stimulant" for children
• This article, which might be our "patient zero" would be reprinted in over 40 newspapers and magazines of the day
• Remember, this is just two years after Superman makes his first appearance
• Stanley Kunitz (April, 1941)
• "Libraries, to Arms!" - Wilson Library Bulletin
• Compared comics to violent and narcissistic "Nazi training manuals".  Saw comics as an "aesthetic monstrosity" that stifled development
• John Mason Browne (1948)
• "Seeing Things" - Saturday Review of Literature
• Comics are... "the marijuana of the nursery; the bane of the bassinet; the horror of the house; the curse of the kids; and a threat to the future."

So, being anti-comic book was sort of "in the ether" back in the day.  If you stop and think about it, over time... most forms of entertainment aimed at children wind up getting blamed for delinquency or adaptation of poor habits.  Movies, television, music, video games, cartoons... and, of course comic books.  So, in a way: this is less anti-comic book (specifically), and more, perhaps looking for answers where there might not be any.

Which brings us back to Wertham.

One of our theories, as it pertained to Seduction... which, I don't believe we actually included in the show.  We wanted to keep the first four parts of this series mostly "editorial-free".  That theory was that, Wertham... in his daily work, might have heard from some children and adolescents that they had adopted some of their maladaptive behaviors from... a comic book.

Remember, we're up to post-War comics right now.  Superheroes were on the wane... replaced by more diverse offerings, including horror and... crime.  Among the biggest, were the Biro books from Lev Gleason Productions (Crime Does Not Pay).  Those old crime books were a passion of Reggie's... he really enjoyed them, and even sent me a copy of a Dark Horse book of reprints last year:

There were also the EC books, which had been passed down from Max Gaines to his son Bill.  Max's story is long and involved, but for brevity's sake... his EC stood for "Educational Comics".  He did not want to be associated with juvenile delinquency... and so, his comics are more literary... and Bible-based.  When he passed in a boating accident (1948), his son William took over the biz... renamed EC as "Entertaining Comics", and started putting out horror, sci-fi, and war books... among others (most with the word Weird in the title).

Now, if you've ever delved into psychological research... like, specific psyche research, you would eventually begin to see trends.  Trends are important in research, as they lead to best practices... and "established wisdom".  For example, much of the basis of profiling in Forensic Psychology, is predicated on seeing trends and generalizing from past research.

Back to Wertham... and again, this was just a theory we had.

We had the idea that Wertham, upon hearing from a handful of troubled adolescents that their behaviors were do to exposure to comic books... he might have attempted to generalize that to the rest of the young patients he treated.  This could/would invite, what we in the biz refer to as "leading questions".  Something the psychology community is all too familiar with.

Take Sybil (1976), for example.  A book that became a TV-movie about a woman with Multiple Personality Disorder (as it was referred to at the time... nowadays, it's Dissociative Identity Disorder).  This became something of a phenomenon... and wouldn't you know it, MPD diagnoses began to skyrocket!  Counselors, Psychoanalysts, and Psychologists all wanted their own "Sybil"... and so, "leading questions" were employed to get them.

So, say you're a kid in 1950... and you just got busted for stealing some candy... or maybe a bike.  The strange doctor with the thick accent offers you an "out" by asking if this was something you learned from a comic book.  Not knowing how to answer... you say "Maybe"... and that doctor's eyes light up.  You've given him what he wants to hear... and so, your punishment suddenly becomes less severe.  You have an excuse for your misbehavior... you no longer need to "own" what you did.

Again, this was just our theory... don't take it as anything more.

Wertham began discussing comic books in a meaningful way, as far as we could tell, in 1948.  There are some important quotes here that I'd like to include.

• Colliers Magazine (March 27, 1948):
• "Horror in the Nursery!" by Judith Crist
• "We do not maintain that comic books automatically cause delinquency in every child reader, but we found that comic book reading was a distinct influencing factor in the case of every single delinquent or disturbed child we studied."
• Studies were provided from Wertham's own Lafargue Clinic

Classic "correlation does not imply causation" at work here.  Wertham cites comics as being a "distinct influencing factor" in every delinquent he studied, while not being an "automatic" cause of behavior.  Now, this was the mid-late 1940s... comics were a rather ubiquitous thing, right?  It would probably be harder to find a child/adolescent who didn't read comics.  We see this as Wertham sort of "riding the wave" of the comics controversy that was being fomented at the time.

• "The Psychopathology of Comic Books" (1948)
• A symposium delivered by Wertham
• Later Printed in the American Journal of Psychotherapy
• Claims that children might identify with the heroes in the comics... and may project their own problems on to them.  If a hero kills a villain, the reader may equate their problems with the villain.  If the villain ends up maimed or killed... well...
• "The price being only a few cents apiece, and the distribution national, every city child can, and does, read from ten to a dozen of these pamphlets monthly, an unknown number of times, and then trades them off for others. If there is only one violent picture per page--and there are usually more--every city child who was six years old in 1938 has by now absorbed an absolute minimum of eighteen thousand pictorial beatings, shootings, stranglings, blood-puddles, and torturings-to-death, from comic books alone. The fortification of this visual violence with similar aural violence over the radio daily, and both together in the movies on Saturday, must also be counted in. The effect--and there are those who think it has been a conscious intention--has been to raise up an entire generation of adolescents who have felt, thousands upon thousands of times, all the sensations and emotions of committing murder, except pulling the trigger. And toy guns--advertised in the back pages of the comics--have supplied that."

This sort of thing might sound a bit familiar to you if you're play video games. Exposure to violent images... makes you violent. Of course, much of this has been debunked... and yet, anytime there is a violent outburst in society, video games are usually at least mentioned in passing. Perception is reality... no matter how much data flies in the face of it. The narrative is important... I don't have to remind you, we are talking about the "Boogeyman" here.

• Saturday Review of Literature (May, 1948)
• "The Comics... Very Funny!" by Wertham
• In this piece, which would be reprinted (in part) in Reader's Digest, Wertham provides anecdotes from his cases at the Lafargue Clinic.
• “I examine a boy of fourteen referred to the clinic for stealing. I ask him: do you think your stealing had anything to do with the comic books? And he answers: “Oh no, in the comics is mostly murder.” This is like the arguments used by experts under subsidy from the comic book industry.”

Well... there's a leading question right there! The rest of the article is much of the same, however also includes his line-by-line refuting of a list of "Twelve Points in Support of Comic Books". If I'm remembering right, he doesn't even really address those points... he more or less just sticks his fingers in his ears and says "No."

So, we're almost up to Seduction of the Innocent... but, first, let's recap a bit. Frederic Wertham didn't "come out of nowhere". He was an established and respected member of the psychological and intellectual community. He did a lot of good for society... which is a point we cannot forget. He helped a lot of people who otherwise would have been cast aside. The words he wrote were taken seriously... his symposium was was reprinted in the American Journal of Psychotherapy... a widely respected publication which still comes out four times a year to this very day. His pieces were reprinted in Reader's Digest... a widely-read publication... even to this very day (it's the largest paid circulation magazine in the world).

I've been writing for about an hour and a half at this point (and we haven't even started to discuss Seduction yet!)... using the notes we had put together in the Summer of 2016. This is just further evidence of how seriously Reggie and I were taking this project. How far we were willing to go in order to give an actual "fair and balanced" look at an event in comics history that has sadly been lost to a lazy narrative. A narrative that continues to be perpetuated.

We were spending many hours a day together at this point. This was the first time in a long time where I actually "made a friend". Reggie was working full-time and I was working part-time while a full-time student, which made this "destination research"... rather than "passive research". We had to make the time for this... waking up extra early, and/or staying up extra late. Maybe pushing aside some of our other responsibilities and/or hobbies. While we never assumed anything we would say might change any perceptions (and ultimately, it didn't)... we were passionate about getting this "right".

I had mentioned that this series of episodes was our first "big" project... and would inform much of how we would operate for the next several years... and, upon reflection... man, that's absolutely true. I feel in the years following this, we both matured as content creators and grew closer as friends and partners. It's weird... I think back to 2016... which, was only four years ago, and when I picture us... we were kids.

We weren't. Not by any definition... but, still... that's what I picture. A couple of kids starting on this monumental (to them) project... that would solidify into an amazing relationship going forward.

I think... that's all I have in me today... tomorrow, I promise, we'll actually get into Seduction of the Innocent. I thank you all for reading.

Reggie and Me - The Comics Code Authority

Today's piece is going to focus more on the "craft" of Reggie and my work.  This will likely be a less emotionally-charged article... but is important for me to share, in that I credit the creation of the work we're about to discuss as being the bedrock of most every creative endeavor I have engaged in since.  I owe much of those "nuts and bolts" to Reggie's vision... and confidence.  It might go without saying, that I'm not the most confident person when it comes to my "work"... to say I have an inferiority complex would be greatly underselling it.  Reggie... knew what he was talking about... what's more, he knew he knew what he was talking about.  This is a story about how he and I "zigged" when much of the established comics commentary community continued to "zag".

When we decided to break Weird Comics History out from being "just a segment" on the Weird Science DC Comics Podcast, we knew we had to launch in a meaningful way.  A month or so prior, once we got our first few segments done, we knew exactly the topic we'd want to discuss if and when we ever upgraded to standalone program... and that topic was a biggie.

The Comics Code Authority.

We were both fascinated by it and everything surrounding it... and, we were both kind of annoyed how any discussion of the topic would almost inevitably devolve into a bunch of angry comic book fans shaking their fists in the air complaining about "that damn Wertham!"  Ya see, there's a lot more to the story than Dr. Frederic Wertham and Seduction of the Innocent... not that all that many people seem to know that, given the usual shallow and reactionary coverage the subject gets.

We sought to fix that.

Did we find the perfect way to expand upon this story?  I don't know... maybe?  All I know is, the work we put into this initial multi-part episode, which ultimately weighed in at 7 hours, 35 minutes, and 11 seconds (and a bullet-point script in the triple-digits)... is still, even to this day, one of the things I'm most proud of being a part of.  I tell you one thing, it kind of ruined other podcasts for me.  But, we'll get there.

Reggie had the format down for this series of shows within minutes of us deciding to go through with it.  Five episodes... each focusing on a different piece of the CCA puzzle.

The First - Life Before the Code... here is a snippet of our "mission statement":

This was all I had to read to know we were going to be taking this in the direction I was hoping we would.  We never considered ourselves "provocateurs", but... talking about Wertham in a somewhat positive light?  That might make us Public Enemy Number One to the wider comics community (who would listen to our little pop-up show, that is).

Taking a step back.  During my first year as a sophomore in college (I was working full-time, had to space out my classes a bit) I was told I needed a humanities course.  I decided to take an American Literature class that had a focus on comic books.  The first quarter of that class was basically an inch-deep/mile-wide look at The Comics Code Authority... which could be summed up in two phrases:

• Seduction of the Innocent
• Trauma to the Eye motif

That was it... and, this was a class I was paying for.  This is what "civilians" think the Comics Code Authority was all about.  When I told that to Reggie, he laughed through his nose... and, told me we're gonna do better than that.  And, I can say without hesitation... we did.

We did so, by beginning our series with a somewhat disjointed first "chapter".  It was sort of split between discussing what comic books were during the Golden Age... and how things changed after World War II.  Then, we talked about the 99% of Frederic Wertham's life that had nothing to do with comics.  This... might not have been the best approach, at least if we look at this as a "single episode", but... maybe this was just a case of us "podcasting for the trade" realizing that, when it was all said and done, it would make perfect sense.

We put in the work.  We both loved research so much... and this was our first opportunity to engage in a "limitless" sort of way.  Prior to breaking out of our segment-form, there were a lot of rabbit-holes and story-strands we would shy away from... simply due to time constraints.  We never wanted to give "partial" information... so, if it was something we wouldn't be able to give full attention to... it was going to have to be "cut".  It wasn't perfect... but, it was what we had to do.

Here, however... as a standalone program, the sky was the absolute limit.  We had an "unwritten" rule of trying to keep the shows under 90 minutes (which wouldn't last long), but that's still plenty of time to fill.

And so, we did the research... crossed our T's, dotted our I's... and presented to the world: Frederic Wertham, Social-Justice Warrior.

Talk about a crisis of confidence.  Even in spite of all of our research... everything we found out by digging through old journals, old court documents, old research papers... it still felt as though we were doing something "wrong", since everything we were delivering kind of flew in the face of the "conventional wisdom" and established narrative surrounding Wertham.

There were times I sorta wanted to pull back.  I was still very young in this hobby, and felt I wasn't "established" enough to present this information.  Heck, it's a half-decade later, and I'm still not.  Reggie... man... he was confident.  He knew we knew our stuff... and we could site our sources if and when we were questioned.  He told me, flat out, there were going to be people out there who absolutely hate this... and, by extension... there are going to be people out there who absolutely hate everything we do.  We don't worry about those people.

So long as we put out work that we're proud of... and can back up... that's all that matters.  Once again... he was right.

For that first episode, we presented Wertham as a highly-educated and caring man.  We wanted to establish that there was a reason why people of the day put so much stock into his words.  He didn't just "come out of nowhere" as an anti-comics activist... as much as it hurts the easy/lazy narrative, Wertham isn't... and wasn't "the Boogeyman".

We talked about the Lafargue Mental Health Clinic, the first Mental Health facility in Harlem, New York... which emphasized providing low-cost services to the poor (visits would cost 25-cents).  Completely unsegregated (in staff and patients)... in 1946.  Any guesses who might've started it?  Yup, the Boogeyman.

We discussed Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, which established that segregation in schools was Unconstitutional.  Any guesses who might've provided research and testimony for that landmark decision?  Yup... him again.

We didn't want to come across as Wertham "cheerleaders" or anything... we simply wanted to establish him as a credible figure of his time.  There was a reason why his words carried so much weight.  So when his interview in Collier's Magazine (1948), his various comics symposiums, and Seduction of the Innocent (1948) did come out... they hit like hammers.

Which, took us into Part Two of our series: Seduction of the Innocent.  But, I think we'll talk about that tomorrow... I really wasn't expecting to go this long talking about a single episode... but, it was very important one, on several different fronts.  It allowed me to show a little bit more of Reggie the Mentor.  How his confidence, and the way he carried himself as a content creator... it was contagious.  Together we broke away from the "narratives"... we took the extra steps, we put in the work... and we uncovered historical pieces that, maybe don't get enough mention.

We never viewed ourselves as provocateurs... nor sensationalists.  We only wanted to paint as clear a picture of the "gestalt" of the day... and, I'm completely biased, but I think we did a damn good job.  The only complaint I could possibly have is... it sorta ruined comics podcast listening for me.

I want to thank you for reading.  This piece was more "process heavy", but... in the overall scheme of things, this is and was a very important piece of my relationship with Reggie.  There was a lot of learning in this first episode... for both of us.  Although Reggie was most definitely the "pro" during this series, he encouraged my contributions... he validated them... he made me feel like we were a team.  In standing outside the greater Weird Science podcast, he made sure I knew that we were partners in this project... equals.  This was a good time in my life.  I miss it dearly.

Reggie and Me - All Aboard The Cosmic Treadmill

Before starting today's piece, I want to thank everyone for their wonderful comments and memories you've shared.  I will eventually respond to every one personally... right now, I'm just trying to to be off-line as much as possible.  Really just need to be "away", ya know?  If I haven't responded to your condolences, it's certainly not because I don't appreciate them... I'm just not ready to immerse myself in the "now".  Rest assured, everything I have seen... has gone a long way toward helping me to realize and appreciate what it was we had... rather than focusing solely on what we lost.  Smiling-tears.  Thank you.

--

Yesterday, I shared how Weird Comics History came to be... and ended off with us sort of "outgrowing" our segment on the Weird Science DC Comics Podcast.  We had some very big plans for that program, and it was about to become a standalone offering... which we'll talk more about another time.  Today, we're going to talk about our "replacement segment".

We both enjoyed contributing to the Weird Science podcast... heck, Reggie was just as important to the overall program as the main hosts.  I was okay just being along for the ride... and I was more than happy and appreciative of having our little "corner" of the show.  And so, when Weird Comics History hit "critical mass" and became its own thing, we put our heads together trying to think of other ways we could still have that "corner".

As the reverberated saying goes, we went "Back to the Past"... to the original suggestion for our segment as it was pitched.  We would cover some stories out of the yesteryear of (DC) comics.  We figured, somewhat naively/foolishly, that this would be a segment we could easily "crack out" in under fifteen-minutes.  And, hey... all we're doing is talking about an old comic book (dot, dot, dot) how hard could that be?

Well... we'll get there.  First, however... we need a book to discuss.

One of the listeners of Weird Science (who I cannot remember by name at the moment) was new to DC Comics fandom, and had become quite interested in Booster Gold.  This listener was also one of the very few at the time who reached out to tell us how much he enjoyed Weird Comics History... he asked if we might do a "History of Booster Gold", and... we figured what better way to launch our new "side" segment?

And so, Booster Gold #1 became the book we were going to cover.  Considering how (relatively) heavily scripted Weird Comics History was becoming (though, nothing compared to what it would be), we figured our little "retro-segment" ought to be a bit more "off the cuff".  Keep in mind, as we were working on this... we were also shoulders-deep in research for the launch of the standalone Weird Comics History.

I'm sitting here, welled up... and laughing at how... going into this, we didn't want to make it "a job", ya know?  We never planned for this to become something so much bigger (relatively speaking, of course) than this.  This was gonna be an hour a week... maybe two... and that's including the recording session!

Anyway... we set a recording date, and both planned to have Booster Gold #1 read and ready to discuss.  What was to follow... friends, if there was ever a piece of "lost" Chris and Reggie audio I could hope to find... this would be it.  This was the absolute worst thing ever.  But, we'll get there.

First, we needed a name for the segment.  I've never been good at naming things... and, honestly, sorta "lucked" into Chris is on Infinite Earths.  People think it's clever... I'm just lucky my name happens to be Chris, ya know?  As we started the recording... we usually let it run for a few minutes before "getting into it"... and, during that time... we were spitballing names for the segment.  Finally, I suggested "The Cosmic Treadmill", since we were on a DC Comics Podcast... and, it just seemed to make the most sense considering our "time-traveling/back to the past" mandate.

This got a sharp "hmm" from Reggie... which told me we were on the right track.  When we actually started the segment, and Reggie introduced us... "The Cosmic Treadmill" became Chris and Reggie's Cosmic Treadmill.  The addition of our names... I dunno, made me feel a bit uncomfortable.  Reggie was adamant.  It was our segment... and we were going to stamp our names on it, dammit.  He, as was often the case... was right.

I can't tell you how many scripts I started in Google Docs that would be titled "Cosmic Treadmill, Episode [whatever]".  When I'd pop back in, without fail... he would add "Chris and Reggie's" to the title.  Every single time.  Like I said, he was right.  I think I might've just felt funny that my name came first.  I assumed people would think I made that decision.  That's the guilty Catholic in me.  I told you all it would be a running theme.

So... back to Booster Gold #1.  The only thing we had written for it was an introductory "blurb"... sort of in the vein of the rest of the Weird Science program.  Each review would be proceeded by a "blurb", just giving the skinny on what they were about to talk about.  This format didn't last long for us... but, we'll get there.

Anyway, post-blurb reading... we were sorta just out there, without a net.  What followed was about five-minutes of the worst sort of podcasting you could never hope to hear.  Think about all the "bad comics podcasting" tropes that are out there... I swear we checked off every box.  We were talking over one another... we loudly flipped pages in the book we were supposed to be knowledgeable about... we corrected one another, when we misspoke.  It was just garbage.

In fact... we probably didn't make it five pages into the issue before we paused... and, at the same time said "THIS SUCKS."  What a relief it was that we both thought so.  Also, what a revelation... that, we were both learning a bit of a lesson here.  Neither of us knew quite how to "lead" this sort of "dance"... this was going to be a learning process.  There were going to be missteps... and I was just so happy we'd be ironing out these kinks together.

Again... I wish I had this recording.  Not only for the "birth" of the Cosmic Treadmill name... but, for the absolute laugh riot that followed our first attempt.  We were making fun of ourselves for... well, sucking.  This wasn't good... we knew it wasn't good... but, we knew we could make it good.

We decided to reconvene the following day... with a script.  Certainly not a "script" in the sense of what a Treadmill episode would eventually get... but, a decent enough "safety net".  I'll include that script here...

Dated June 30, 2016:

You might be able to see some of the "seeds" of what Chris and Reggie's Cosmic Treadmill would become.  We try to get into the "gestalt" of when the issue came out... we get into Booster's origin a bit.  We just had to keep it as "tight" as possible, since it was still only a segment in a much larger show.  This is the episode as it finally turned out:



Again, I'm not asking for you to listen to this... it's more here for me, if and when I revisit this down the line.

Chris and Reggie's Cosmic Treadmill... originally intended as just a "side thing" for the Weird Comics History brand.  But... something happened.  People began to respond to the Treadmill in a way that only a relative few people did with History.  People actually seemed to like it.  We weren't, by any means, "destination listening", but I think it was safe to say we weren't being "fast-forwarded thru" nearly as much anymore.  It was one of those bittersweet things, initially... since our hearts and interests were definitely more into History.

Which is why... Chris and Reggie's Cosmic Treadmill eventually began to include great big heaping dollops of (weird comics) history.  That, of course, meant that the segment... was going to grow... and, once again... we outgrew our segment-size.

We actually received a complaint that our segment was running too long.  It was regarding our Sugar & Spike coverage... which, neither of us were all that happy with how that one turned out to begin with.  Reggie actually kept this complaint from me for a little while... he didn't want me to know that there was even one person out there that didn't appreciate what we did.

Now, getting a complaint on top of us just growing too long, only made our decision to spin Chris and Reggie's Cosmic Treadmill into its own standalone program that much easier.  But, that's a story for another day.

Before signing off, I want to thank you all for allowing me to indulge in and share some of my memories with you.  I'm not good at much... coping and dealing with reality very much included.  This exercise is helping me more than I expected.  It's all about being thankful for what we had...

Thanks again.

Reggie and Me - The First Weird Comics History

I wanted to share the story of how Reggie got me into podcasting.  I know this isn't the sort of content people expect from this site... and I apologize.  Comics really don't have much meaning for me right now... and the thought of writing about them, just doesn't feel right.  In fact, writing anything at all doesn't feel right.

This is the first time I've lost a friend this way.  The first time I've lost someone I'm close to... who is also close to me in age.  The pain of losing someone also comes with that strange (and perhaps somewhat selfish) clarity that nothing's guaranteed.  I want to spend some time remembering my friend and reflecting on our relationship.  If that's not the sort of thing you want to read, again, I apologize.  I really do.  This is just me working things out... getting some of these stories and memories out of my head.

I want to take you back to probably late March of 2016.  I was a couple months into my blogging "career" here... and it had been a little while since I'd begun "sharing" my stuff on social media.  I learned via the Weird Science show that Twitter was a good way to get engagement... and so, that's where I went.

I've told the story before about how I actually started blogging.  It's really not relevant to this discussion, except for one detail.  For my earliest posts, I copied and pasted them to the short-lived Weird Science DC Comics message board.  Where they sat, largely unread... and only ever commented on by one person.  He loved the fact that I included discussion of the old comic ads at the end... which would go on to be, what I believe to be, one of the "trademarks" of the site.  Or, at least something that I'd include, that not many other "comic book reviewers" did.

Back to Twitter.  I shared my stuff, where again... it largely went unread, and very seldom commented on.  Back then, I used to actually send Direct Messages to anyone who would "retweet" me in order to thank them.  And so, it became almost routine for me to send Reggie a "thank you" message... immediately followed by a "sorry to keep bugging you" message.  He assured me, time and again, that it was no bother... but, the guilty little Catholic that I am, I always felt like I was putting him out.  That would become something of an inside joke going forward.

So, back to late March, 2016.  DC Comics was just about to release a miniseries based on the 1993 Annual event, Bloodlines.  The guys at Weird Science wanted to put together a piece talking about the history of the event... just in case it provided any necessary context for what was to come.  Thing is, nobody wanted to actually write that piece.

One day I woke up to a message... from Reggie.  The first one that I didn't provoke.  Knowing that I'm somewhat knowledgeable about DC Comics history, he asked me if I'd mind writing a piece about Bloodlines for the site.  At the time, I want to say he and his wife were vacationing... either in Italy or Greece.  It was somewhere Mediterranean... I really think it was Greece.

I jumped at the opportunity.  Not only was I a huge fan of the site... here was a guy, whose work I respected and enjoyed... asking me to contribute.  It was one part elation... another part dread.  I was so scared that I was going to wind up letting him down.  With very few exceptions, I have little confidence in the quality of my work... even to this very second.  I wanted this piece to be good... and, more than that, I wanted Reggie to be proud.  This is a dude who I didn't really know... and his approval meant a lot to me.

What followed was an incredibly stressful weekend, where I pushed off schoolwork (I was at the tail-end of my Junior year of college at that point)... but, I got the Bloodlines piece done and sent over before the deadline.  And... Reggie loved it.  Everyone on the site did.  I think it was here, that Reggie saw that I can be pretty detail oriented... which, was something he was looking for.

I was invited to sit in on the Bloodlines segment of the Weird Science show... another one of those, one-part elation... one-part dread situations.  I was, folks... I was petrified.  Despite my not having a microphone (I was using some cell-phone headphones with a mic built in to the cord), and the fact that Reggie had an electrical outage during the session... it went about as well as you might imagine... at least the second time through (the first recording... well, didn't record).

During the recording (both times), Jim from Weird Science asked if I'd be down with doing a weekly segment with Reggie.  I don't think I even let him finish the question before answering.  But again... this is another one of those one-part elation... one-part dread things.

I still didn't know Reggie.  All I knew was that he was a very intelligent, passionate, and professional guy, with a booming baritone voice.  To be completely honest... and this is something I'd eventually tell him (to which he'd laugh... a lot), I was totally intimidated.  I mean, at my best, I'm a stammering idiot.

I remember reaching out to him the following day to see what he had in mind for our segment.  It was presented to me as, basically, talking about old comics... but Reggie had another idea.  We're both sort of kindred spirits in our love and appreciation for comics history... and, I come to learn... his idea all along was to cover (in brief) some of the more interesting bits and pieces from the history of the industry.

And so, Weird Comics History was born.  We put our heads together to figure out what would be the best "opening salvo" for the segment... and, considering we were going to be on a DC Comics podcast, ultimately settled on the DC Implosion.

This was before there was a great big TwoMorrows book on the subject... so, information was pretty "piecy" online.  This was also a time when we were wanting to keep the segment to fifteen minutes or less... so, we knew we weren't going to go quite as deep as we wanted.  A deeper-dive/revisit of the DC Implosion is actually one of the topics on our most recent "to-do list".

I'm usually quite the digital packrat, but I can't find our outline for that episode.  If I come across it, I'll be sure to add it.  From what I recall, it was very sparse... certainly unlike anything we'd do in the future.  Again, we wanted to keep this to, ideally, 10-15 minutes as to not cause all of Weird Science DC Comics' listeners to hit "stop" on their devices.

I remember getting that script, via Google Docs.  You would've thought I'd just gotten my "star" on the Podcasting Walk of Fame.  I was on cloud nine... it felt like I was "somebody", which is equal parts hilarious and sad.  Just such a surreal feeling to be "accepted" by someone you respect and admire so much.  Even though, I'd only been listening to his work for... I dunno... four months at this point.  This show had become the only show I was listening to, which gave it a bit of a "larger than life" sort of feel... if that makes any sense?  Maybe it does... maybe it doesn't.

I'm going to include the show here... this isn't an attempt at getting anyone to listen to the thing.  It's more for me, if and when I revisit these pieces down the line.  It's been a little while since I've listened to these "oldies"... but, my main takeaway... and it's going to sound weird, but... for audio that's less than a half-decade old... we both sounded so young.  It hurts to think about.



The segment... was interesting.  I was terribly nervous... and really kind of "in my own head" about wanting to make sure I a) didn't misspeak, b) didn't make a fool out of myself, and c) showed a little bit of personality... despite my iPhone cable "microphone", and most importantly, d) didn't let Reggie down.

He knew that... and he did his damnedest to ensure I was comfortable.  Sure, there were a lot of starts-and-stops early on.  Even to this day, I have a big problem when it comes to "opening" a show... it's kind of the only part of a show that doesn't sound right being completely scripted... and so, it's kind of the only part of a show where I'm "without a net", ya know?  I stammered my way through the earliest seconds of this recording... and, boy... we had to start over so many times.  Around the fifth time, I was so embarrassed... and worried that Reggie was going to realize I was a lost cause... and just "call it".

He didn't.  And an hour-plus later, we had ten or so minutes of usable audio.

After hitting "stop" on the recording... I was closing out of some of my tabs, when he asked me if I had a minute to talk.  I immediately figured this was it... ya know?  I thought this was going to be a one-and-done, considering all of the trouble I had getting words out... my sometimes hard to understand accent... and my overall lack of vocal charisma.

But it wasn't that.  He wanted to actually talk.  He knew that I was intimidated... and wanted to fix that.  We talked for about an hour, sharing our "secret origin" stories.  How we got into the hobby... other hobbies we had.  I learned what I big collector of New York and World's Fair ephemera he was.  I learned about his wife, his family... his love of cats... his real name.

It was a very special conversation... and it's one I won't forget.  It was the first time, in a very long time, that I'd made a friend.  It was exactly what I needed at that moment... and, from that point on... the switch just flipped.  Recording with him and "working" with him... just felt natural.  Just felt right.

Weird Comics History would last as part of the Weird Science DC Comics Podcast... around eight or so weeks, before we "outgrew" the format.  We could no longer keep the segment to 15 minutes... even if we broke the subjects up into different "parts".  Weird Comics History was about to become its own standalone program... but, we still had a segment we wanted to produce for Weird Science... but, I think that's a story for another day.

If you're still reading, I want to humbly thank you for letting me share this memory with you... and also for allowing me to work through and process this, in one of the very few ways I know how.  This piece, if it were on paper, would be bespeckled with "smiling tears"... which, is definitely a (small) step in the right direction.

Reggie

I wasn't sure how or if I should even write this today... and to be completely honest, right now I'm not sure I'll ever hit "publish" on this piece.  Just really need to get some of my thoughts and feelings out regarding the loss of my friend and partner-in-crime for the past near half-decade, Karl (Reggie).

This past Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, he passed in hospital from complications from congestive heart failure.  I try to keep "real life" out of this space as best as possible, and just keep on keepin' on... but, right now... I'm at a real loss.  The idea of writing about a comic book and rushing off to share it on social media... it feels meaningless, ya know?  Even more meaningless than usual.

Reggie, although we never got the opportunity to meet face-to-face, is the person I've probably spent the most time with over the past several years, besides my wife.  We talked a lot, we worked closely together to create some of the deepest-researched stuff we could.  Much of our content was completely scripted, just to ensure we delivered the facts... some of those scripts, for a 60-90 minute program, were hundreds of pages.  The joke we'd always make was... our script for Crisis on Infinite Earths was longer than... Crisis on Infinite Earths (and it actually was!).  We took great pride in what we did... and, devoted a lot of time to it.  Time we spent... together.  Countless hours occupying the same Google Doc, while running Twitter DMs or a Skype call in another tab.  Bouncing ideas off of one another, filling in each other's blanks, just shooting the breeze... it was magic.

I first "met" Reggie... and I remember the date, which is weird.  It was December 5, 2015.  My wife had a Christmas party at a friend's house... a friend who lived about an hour and a half away.  The plan was that she'd catch a ride out to the party... and later that night, around midnight... I'd pick her up.

Knowing I would have such a long drive ahead of me, I thought it would be a good idea to take a podcast with me.  We didn't have unlimited data, so I would have to download the shows on WiFi to make sure they were actually on my phone before heading out.  I was in a current-year DC Comics mood... was trying to play catch up, and so... I found myself coming across the blog of the Weird Science DC Comics Podcast.  I decided to download them.

Man, even sharing this story doesn't feel right.  This really isn't "about me"... I'm still just trying to process this... and tell a story in writing that I don't think I can get through verbally.

In listening to this program... I was surprised that it was so long.  Back then, it was probably a 3-4 hour show.  As I sat outside my wife's friend's house that night, the hosts Jim and Eric they sent to another segment.  A segment that was introduced by a few moments of classical music... which would morph into a hip-hop beat.  This was Reggie's Recklessness.

It couldn't have been more than five minutes, but it was so tonally different than everything I'd heard before it... it couldn't help but to stand out as something special.  Whereas the "main" show was sort of unserious/a little silly... this segment felt completely different.  Not only in subject matter, but with Reggie's booming baritone almost lyrically leading you into whatever he was discussing on a given week.

Reggie's Recklessness would become a real highlight for me, I devoured the back-catalog and I would look forward to it every week... never, in my wildest imagination, would I ever believe this man was going to become my partner-in-content-creation just a handful of months later.

Maybe I'll share more stories soon... I just don't know.

I last spoke to Reggie on Monday morning (probably noon EST).  First thing he did was apologize for missing our call on Saturday.  He told me he was back in the hospital with pneumonia.  He was excited to get home... and said the Doctors had given him the all-clear to go home on Wednesday or Thursday.

Considering every hardship he had gone through over the course of this past year... an aortic dissection last May, the resulting loss of his mobility, and loss of several months... to his stroke on Christmas Day... he was much more optimistic than I would've been in the same position... at least when we spoke, he was optimistic.  He'd overcome so much.

He was always talking about what was "next" for the Chris and Reggie channel.  I always assured him that the channel wasn't going anywhere... it would always be there, whenever he was ready.  We had big plans... even to our last conversation.  As we speak, I still have a Google Doc up in another tab, with the outline for our next episode... that I just can't bring myself to close.

Our last conversation on Monday was cut a bit short, as a Doctor came in to speak with him.  The last thing I said to him was "Talktoyasoon, brother..."

If you've ever talked with me one-on-one (digital or real life), it'd become apparent very quick that I call everyone "brother".  Today, it feels as though I've actually lost one.

Don't take those close to you for granted.  I am blessed to have had the opportunity after his recovery last year to tell him how important he is to me... how much I respected him... how much I wished I could be more like him.  Make sure the people you care about... know that you care.  I am extremely lucky that I was able to.  If I hadn't, I'd probably be even more of a wreck right now.

Thank you for everything, Karl.  For your friendship... for the belly laughs... for everything.  This still doesn't feel real.  Will it ever?

I miss you, brother.