Wednesday, July 28, 2004
(1:31 PM) | Adam Kotsko:
Comic Blogging
In Harper's this month, I find the following quote from a 50s-era version of Dr. Dobson, Dr. Frederic Wertham, regarding Batman and Robin:They live in sumptuous quarters, with beautiful flowers in large vases.... It is like a wish dream of two homosexuals living together. Sometimes they are shown on a couch, Bruce reclining and Dick sitting next to him, jacket off, collar open, and his hand on his friend's arm.I really think that Dr. Wertham is on to something. One thing that he missed, though, is that there is a significant age difference between Bruce and Dick -- Dick (was that slang term current in the 1950s?) is, after all, Bruce's ward. So Batman and Robin don't simply promote homosexuality: they promote pederasty.
The article goes on to say that although such remarks strike us modern folk as ridiculous, comic book sales fell dramatically as a result of campaigns by people like Dr. Wertham.
The Batman scholars among us may wish to do some research into whether the age difference between Bruce and Dick was more clearly emphasized after they were accused of being gay.
