I apologize for my anemic entries of late. Filming on the picture has been in full swing, and with the Fall semester is starting very soon, I have been busy preparing for that. (I’m teaching an exciting new course on the  creative economy!) Also, please extend this apology to this week’s update, for it will be lean as well.

It does, however, come with another video teaser. So at least there is a multimedia aspect.

This week’s video teaser contains some excellent footage from our interview with James Reibman as well as a selection from a curious episode of Confidential File. CF was a documentary / news, tabloid-style television program that ran from 1953 to 1958.  If you haven’t seen this and aren’t already a “fan,” I’m sure you will like its depiction of what reading horror and crime comics may lead to. Doesn’t it harken back to your own childhood days with the fellas?

I am hoping to, in forthcoming updates, start teasing out other types of media that are going to be used in the film much like this episode of Confidential File.

But back to this week’s video teaser.

My purpose for posting this clip is to motivate you to do one thing: read Seduction of the Innocent.

If you are a comics fan, if you are interested in history, media, or cultural studies, it is a must read.

The arguments against Wertham and the book have become so simplified over the years. The book’s thesis, to those that haven’t read it, has become a hand-me-down diluted hate message.  Even if you just examine the complexity of the relationship between message and era, the contextual value of that alone is rich enough to sustain a reading.

But more than that, to argue against the book, you should read the book. If you do, you will, I can almost guarantee, come away with conflicted thoughts about what is being written between the covers. What those thoughts are… I will leave for you to discover.

There are a few ways you can read Seduction of the Innocent these days. For a long time, it wasn’t so easy to get your hands on this controversial book. In the past your were lucky if a library near you had a copy. Now you have four readily available options.

1. You can buy yourself an original copy with the dust jacket at a not so modest price on eBAY here. It’s BUYNOW for $1,062.50!

2. You can buy a handsome hardbound copy with a forward by today’s guest star Dr. James Reibman here. The foreword is loaded with excellent and insightful biographical information on Wertham.

3. If you are web savvy (and I know you are) you can download a PDF of the entire book online.

4. You can read Seduction of the Innocent online. This online version is peppered with illustrations not used on the print version but inserted by the online editor / host. The online version can be found at http://www.dreadfuldays.net/soti.html. It’s great for doing fast searches to locate topics to cross reference in the printed version!

The crew leaves to interview Al Feldstein on Monday. Needless to say, we are excited beyond words!

Now… on to the show. Please watch All Factors:

Diagram for Delinquents is an upcoming documentary film, produced by Sequart Research & Literacy Organization, in association with Gambino Boys Studios and Scifidelity Pictures. For more information, visit fredricwertham.com.