Peter Hoskin wrote the Bookends column for the latest issue of the Spectator. Here it is for readers of the blog:
Did you know they once burned comic books? And in America, no less. In schoolyards. It was shortly after the end of the second world war, and legislators and parents were all shook up about what these ten-cent publications with their scenes of violence and distress were doing to the minds of their children. So on the concrete they went, in messy piles. A sprinkling of fuel, a lit match, and the fire soon caught hold. Some of the kids even cheered the flames on.
I know this last detail because there is a photo of one of these bonfires in Paul Levitz’s new history of DC Comics (the home stable of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and countless other superheroes and mega-villains) published by Taschen at £135.
Britain’s best politics newsletters
You get two free articles each week when you sign up to The Spectator’s emails.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just £1 a month
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for £3.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just £1 a monthAlready a subscriber? Log in