Show t. t J. J Yourself Yourself- To ToA 1 H T A SLICE AT LIFE By Katherine S. S Hart I I w w very young when I found out all about about- literary censorship i ifor for during my whole childhood I Iwas was was forbidden forbidden practically on I pain of death 1 to read comic Even bookS book Even lEven though some of my best friends had countless stacks at of them them themI I never so GO much as I sneaked a peek look at them Instead Instead In In- stead I- I meekly accepted my Parents parents parents' parents parents' par par- sweeping statement that books weren't nice and that proper proper never read them Why for years I thought that the word strip In the phrase comic strip referred lo to Illustrated pictures of people undressing un un- dressing Censorship Questioned I My J 1 to comic books however was the only kind of 01 censorship I was exposed to for I was allowed even strongly encouraged to read any other kind of DC book regardless book regardless of content con can tent cover or reputation So while other while other children naively naively- poured poured pour pour- ed over the innocent adventures of Donald Duck Mickey Mouse Mighty Mouse and Superman I Iwas was waa avidly reading books books' about witchcraft vampires P pirates pirates' i 1 r rat a t e a 3 l I blood Wood and barbaric savages savages all savages all i of which dealt with horrors and atrocities that comic i books never even hinted at Nor was there any question of television censorship either I Ire remember remember re re- member that the mothers of friends of mine would buy heaps of Lulu and type Nancy comic books expressly ly to dissuade their children from the TV set when the afternoon horror sl shows were on I on the other hand had no choice but to watch the TV shows And in those beginning days or ar television the programs always involved some some demented mongo laid bid who with rapacious ferocity would reach his gloved hand out of some secret wall passage to choke to death at the evil hour of midnight fair damsels who lay asleep in bed To this day I still stin sleep with the bed three feet from the wall which fear I ascribe not to the TV shows I saw but to the evils of literary censorship for if Id I'd been allowed to road read about Dag wood and Blondle instead of al allowed allowed al al- lowed to watch to-watch watch horror movies horror movies Id I'd probably get up In the middle of the night to make huge sandwiches sand rather than wake up at midnight to await the stranglers strangled attack Catching Up UpWell UpWell UpWell I Well it wasn't until unU I was I seventeen and in college that I finally discovered comic books books- and what a heart Tending discovery discovery discovery ery that wae Wyss I all 1 but wept with joy And ever since then Ive I've been trying to compensate for all allI I mISsed in my childhood so much so that while others devour 1000 page Russian novels I am eagerly absorbed in the latest Superman and Elastic I Man comic book adventures This my private indulgence ties has lately become my undoing One fine day several weeks ago Just before I was to tutor a student in the fine line points of English literature I began readIng reading read read- Ing the monthly edition of Superman Super Super- man comics I became so engross ed in Superman's perennial battle against that when the student entered and saw what I Iwas Iwas Iwas was reading he fled tied in shocked alarm And UJ there re fled my lecture on the finer tiner points of ot English literature I Now if Jr my reputation l la is ruined and if this addiction to comic books continues Ill I'll have only I the evils of censorship to blame had I been permitted comics when I was young Id I'd never have my present present problem A Thought I dont don't want to preach a mora moral lesson against censorship but I once knew an old shrewish woman woman wo wo- man who for the sake of her hor young darlings used to censor all the magazines in her house cutting cut cut- ting ing out all advertisements which pertained to lingerie and under under- wear You guessed it both her sons song dreamed of and finally became became became be be- came came salesmen of products And I know a family down the street whose children arent aren't allowed to watch the Fri day Nightmare movies Directly as lIAS a result of this censorship the I I children hildren sleep only during the theay day ay pretend they're bats at night have an unnatural affinity for the tha local ocal cemetery and are are I think quite quickly turning into Dra Dra- cular |