WANTED "Mania for Murder"

Who says comics cause juvenile delinquency?

Well, the NY State Joint Legislative Committee to Study Comics did!
And this tawdry tale was one of their prime examples!

Like the classic "Murder, Morphine and Me", this sordid story from Orbit/Wanted's Wanted Comics #27 (1950) was reprinted in the report issued by the New York State Legislative Commission on Censorship in Comics as an example of the "trash" that was "corrupting innocent American youth"!
But, only select panels were presented, not the entire tale!
And, this story has never been reprinted in any of the numerous hardcover or paperback compilations of horror comics since then!

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UNKNOWN WORLD "Serpent Queen"

Wertham wrote "In ordinary comic books there are pictures for children who know how to look."

While you gaze at this magnificently-rendered splash page, ask yourself "What is the significance of a leashed one-eyed snake in this panel?"

(You'll know by the end of the tale...)

The writer of this never-reprinted tale from the one-shot anthology Unknown World #1 (1952) is unknown, but the illos are by little-known artist Bob McCarty, who did over a hundred stories in the 1950s, but rarely, if ever, signed them!

BTW, though this title was a one-shot, the numbering continued with a new title: Strange Stories from Another World, for four more issues (#2 to #5).

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AUTHENTIC POLICE CASES: VEILED AVENGER "White Death"

Another example of Fredric Wertham taking a panel out of context...

...I didn't know the writings of the Marquis deSade were "forbidden"!

By who, I wonder?

At any rate, here's the tale that panel was taken from...

This story first appeared in Red Seal Comics #16 (1946) by Chesler Publishing, but Wertham probably used the reprint in Authentic Police Cases #3 (1948) by St John Comics, who had bought out Chesler the year before.
The good doctor had taken panels from several other issues of Authentic, for use as examples in Seduction of the Innocent, so this seems the most likely scenario.
Wertham has become notorious for doing this sort of thing, taking images out of context to make specific points without providing reference as to where the pix originally came from, and figuring that it would be too difficult for anyone to trace them.
BTW, the illustrator was Gasparo "Gus" Ricca, who was also the art director for Chesler Publishing!

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AUTHENTIC POLICE CASES "Human Cat Trapped by Death Gun"

A classic example of how Fredric Wertham cherry-picked comics for images...

...this tale from Authentic Police Cases #6 (1948) features one of the more notorious examples!

The image, as shown in the book Seduction of the Innocent, is cropped and the caption reads "An invitation to learning!"

When the story was retitled and re-presented in Fugitives from Justice #3 (1952) and a later issue of Authentic Police Cases, the girl was redrawn with a much more discreet nightgown...

...here's the rest of the tale...

Wertham has become notorious for doing this sort of thing, taking images out of context to make specific points without providing reference as to where the pix originally came from, and figuring that it would be too difficult for anyone to trace them.

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PHANTOM LADY "Stinging Whip"

At long last, from the issue Dr Wertham vilified in Seduction of the Innocent...

...that fine filly, Phantom Lady, spends a day at the races in this tale from Phantom Lady #17!

Though the GCD lists Jack Kamen as the artist, I suspect he did pencils only, as there's a lot of Matt Baker influence in this art, especially the rendering.

Here's Adam Hughes' take on the cover for this issue, Phantom Lady #17
from the HTF trade paperback Phantom Lady: Crime Never Pays!

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featuring goodies emblazoned with cover art that Fredric Wertham railed against in Seduction of the Innocent.