When Nani and I embarked on some research into the 1954 book by Dr. Frederic Wertham, Seduction of the Innocent, we were expecting to delve into a nostalgic instance of “Satanic panic” in the form of a moral crusade against comic book horror by a crusty establishment social scientist. But what we uncovered was a playbook for using corporate consolidation and culture war schisms to drive a censorship agenda in the free market–one that has been used time and time again to control the media without direct involvement from the state. Join us as we delve into Wertham and his text, and hypothesize what it was about the legendary EC Comics that may have provoked such opposition from the permanent societal bureaucracy.

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And Apple music:

https://music.apple.com/us/artist/wrong-circles/1516494308…

The Comics Code Seal of Approval - aka Free Market Censorship

From Wertham’s Seduction of the Innocent:

https://archive.org/details/fredricwerthamseductionoftheinnocent19542ndprinting

EC Comics

The Crypt-Keeper: TV vs. Real Life:

Page from an issue of the Vault of Horror, a story told from the perspective of the grave:

SHOCK and CRIME SuspenStories were two highly influential titles to Pool in his formative years:

The first EC Comics Poolhouse purchased, from the 1990s Gladstone EC reprints. The Haunt of Fear (reprinted issue #3)

And the Vault of Horror (Gladstone reprint #4):

Nani’s original tribute to HCTB:

https://twitter.com/thenanistate/status/1663617150727094274

Episode Mixtape:

Dirty Sanchez - Really Rich Italian Satanists (Poolhouse Dub)

Ministry - Every Day is Halloween

Fischerspooner - The 15th (Felix da Housecat thee Black Light Remix)

thenaninstate - Here Comes the Backklash

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