Barron YoungSmith of The New Republic says:
I think you and your readers at Boing Boing will enjoy The New Republic’s fascinating slide-show: Terrifying Early-1950s Comic Book Covers.
These grim, pop-art images of severed heads and disintegrating human beings were selected by cultural critic David Hajdu, author of The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How It Changed America, to illustrate the comic book culture that created mass panic during the 1950s.The lurid content led to congressional hearings, widespread comic book burnings, and ultimately the censorship of the industry.
In addition, check out Part One of TNR’s debate between Hajdu and American culture guru Douglas Wolk: Are these grim images responsible for the marginalization of comic books throughout the late-20th century? Are we, just now, coming into the golden age of American graphic novels? Find out here.