The study of this boy did not reveal any special hostilities or resentments. During one talk with him, he told me that he liked Classics comics. "What are they?" I asked. "The Classics," he explained to me, "are the kind that tell a story, like under the water. -I can't remember them." When I told him I was very much interested in all kinds of comic books he confided in me that what he really liked and read a lot was crime comics. "I got a whole pile of Crime Does Not Pay!" Would it not be surprising if such a child did not have murder on his mind?
https://open.substack.com/pub/wertham/p/murder-in-mind?r=g524u&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
For the study of the effects of comic books, complete tests for reading ability were found to be of crucial importance. Many statements about children's reading have been made off and on which are not based on a really full and specific study of reading by the various tests devised for this purpose. The harmful effect of comic-book reading on children's ability to read is a special chapter and a sorry one.
You cannot draw true conclusions from any test if you ignore the broad educational, social, and cultural influences on the child, his family, and his street. These influences, of which comic books are just one (although a very potent one), favor, condone, purvey, and glorify violence. The violent meaning of the Rorschach responses is not the norm for the age of seven; unfortunately, it seems to be becoming the norm for a civilization of adults.
https://open.substack.com/pub/wertham/p/socially-unrealistic-generalizations?r=g524u&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
In cases where children confided to us that they belonged to gangs and gave us permission to speak to other gang members, we made an attempt to hear their story. As much as possible we tried to ascertain the recreational influences to which children are exposed: games, community centers, radio, television, and books. In that setting and with that perspective, we began to realize and ascertain the influence of comic books.
https://wertham.substack.com/p/what-do-children-actually-say?sd=pf