Monday, April 7, 2008

Now we understand why we weren't allowed to read them

Libby Purves is simply incomparable! Host of The Times' blog Faith Central, she finds things no one else does. Today it's a website with an analysis of the religious affiliations of comic book super heroes. Superman's a Methodist ("unsurprising given his work ethic and general strict personal regime") and Batman's lapsed from both his Catholic and Episcopalian roots.

Which may help explain Dr. Fredric Wertham's post-WW2 campaign against comic books on moral grounds.

Doc Wertham was a psychiatrist who believed comic book superheroes sowed the seeds of depravity in America's youth (there seem to have been so many different sources of depravity lying in wait for America's youth after the war, it's no wonder people were a bit fraught). Superman, far from being a work-drive, upright Methodist, reminded Wertham of "Nazi Germany's SS (a cadre of self-styled supermen)."

And Batman? Well, here's what the shrink had to say about him:

'Wertham noted, "Sometimes Batman ends up in bed injured and young Robin is shown sitting next to him. At home they lead an idyllic life. They are Bruce Wayne and 'Dick' Grayson. Bruce is described as a 'socialite' and the official relationship is that Dick is Bruce's ward. They live in sumptuous quarters, with beautiful flowers in large vases, and have a butler, Alfred. Batman is sometimes shown in a dressing gown. … [I]t is like a wish dream of two homosexuals living together." For this reason, "only someone ignorant of the fundamentals of psychiatry and psychopathology of sex can fail to realize the subtle atmosphere of homoeroticism which pervades the adventures of the mature 'Batman' and his younger friend 'Robin.' "

The Religious Affiliation of Comic Book Characters makes one thing very clear indeed: if you're a Presbyterian, your chances of being a comic book super hero are slim- slim indeed. All that predestination and delayed gratification, there's just no time left for saving anyone from the folly of their own choices.

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