Last weekend, my daughter and I saw the new play, “Innocence of Seduction” courtesy of the talented folks at City Lit Theater. The story revolves around the rise and fall of Horror and Science Fiction Comics back in the ‘50s and the birth of the Comic Book Code. I’m an enormous fan of EC Comics, having a small shrine of masks and reprinted hardcover editions in my apartment. Since  I’ve already discussed EC Comics in this blog (albeit nine years ago), I won’t delve too deeply into their history but, suffice it to say, when I learned of this play courtesy of John Siuntres’ Word Balloon podcast, I knew I had to see it. The timing couldn’t have been better.

This past summer marked a renewal of my devotion to comics of which I’d been a hardcore collector during my teens and twenties. This renaissance was inadvertently sparked by the horror host, Svengoolie, and began shortly after Flashback Weekend. During my recent coverage, I mentioned the Frank Miller Presents Svengoolie: Lost in Time comic book and its store-exclusive variant covers. There were six different covers in all, and I managed to track the remaining ones during a staycation I took in August. Looking back, that should have been a blog in and of itself but, since the first two covers were handed to me at Flashback Weekend courtesy of friends and third was the result of a trade, I didn’t think it would make for much of a story. If you’re interested, in an in-depth look at the comic book and a discussion of the two Svengoolie’s appearances associated with them (ones I missed due to my attendance at G-FEST) go visit Chris Connolly’s YouTube Channel, Mr. C. Dives In and watch his videos..

While visiting the other three participating comic book shops – Amazing Fantasy in Frankfurt, Illinois, Buy Me Toys and Comics in Mishawaka, Indiana, and First Aid Comics in Chicago – I felt that old comic book enchantment take hold. Soon, I was digging out my old collection (twenty-five short boxes) and began transferring them out of their old Polypropylene bags and into longer-lasting, Mylars.  It’s a process but talk about ASMR – it’s not only relaxing but bringing back lots of warm feelings of nostalgia. Although my collection is predominately MARVEL, I did collect the ’80s EC Comic Book reprints so, despite being thirty years late to their original run, they, too, bring about fond memories. 

“The Innocence of Seduction” is the second in Playwright/Director Mark Pracht’s Four Color Trilogy – a trio of plays dedicated to the history of comic books. Sadly, I missed his first one, “The Mark of Kane” which delved into the origins of Batman. This installment focuses on the ‘50s comic book witch hunt inspired by the German psychiatrist, Fredric Werthim’s, book “Seduction of Innocence.” Not only does this production flip that book’s title for its own moniker, but it also highlights the negative impact it had on the Comic Book industry and those working within it. 

This was definitely a story worth telling but, overall, I thought it was a good play if not a great one. The story was a bit all over the place with subplots that I felt detracted from what was important. The “characters,” although based on real people, seemed to be magnified versions of themselves. One of the first African-American artists, Matt Baker, was featured in this play. Baker died from a heart attack in his late thirties and was rumored to be gay. In this play, he’s engaged in a homosexual affair with his boss while constantly clutching his heart when under stress. These exaggerations made him come across more as a caricature not unlike the romanticized characters he penciled for Quality Comics back in the day.

On the flip side, Pracht’s use of Werthim was fantastic. In the grand tradition of The Crypt Keeper, The Vault Keeper, and The Old Witch from EC Comics, he’s used as the host for this real-life horror story and it’s fantastic. I laughed every time he’d pop out of nowhere carrying a (still-beating) human heart while dropping puns about the previous scenes. 

While The Innocence of Seduction wasn’t always perfect it was never unwatchable and kept my attention throughout. I encourage anyone in the Chicago area to check it and am really looking forward to the final installment in Ptacht’s comic book trilogy.

And now, back to bagging my comic books…

~Dave