Frederic Wertham is infamous for his scathing criticism of content being published in American comics. No doubt he contributed to that but eventually his opinion softened when he discovered fanzines.
Oddly enough, if it weren’t for his influence we wouldn’t have gotten Batgirl, Hal Jordan, Legion of Super-Heroes, Barry Allen, Doom Patrol, 1960s Marvel Comics and Teen Titans in the first place.
When Batman and Robin were accused of being gay, writers have to create a female counterpart to deflect this beginning with the first Batgirl (technically Batwoman) Kathy Kane and Bette Kane, the first Batgirl proper.
Then we get to the most popular Batgirl of all time, Barbara Gordon. Despite all the Batgirls that came before and after her, she’s the go-for Batgirl as she’s seen in the 1966 Batman programme.
Once Wertham faded away in influence we get regrettable stuff like The Killing Joke, Rob Liefeld’s comics and other forgetable 80s and 90s artefacts.
So we shouldn’t judge Wertham too harshly when people like Stan Lee and Jack Kirby were making comics in their peak when the CCA was active.
Underground comics emerged as a reaction to CCA, paving way for publishers like Dark Horse, Fantagraphics and Image Comics.
In short no Wertham, no Batgirl, no Barry Allen, no Hal Jordan and no Fantastic Four. Without him, we wouldn’t have gotten these characters in the first place even if they could be introduced without his influence but it still says a lot about the odd side effects of his criticisms.
fynm 