Drawings of Drawings | Haunted Horror #28

The next couple Drawings of Drawings (sketches might be more apt) are from Haunted Horror, a bi-monthly comic reprinting pre-Comics Code Authority comics that were censored in the 1950's. These comics were banned for the grotesque, lewd, and controversial imagery found within their pages. Parents, fearing the negative consequences these comics could potentially have on their children's young, fragile minds, organized public burnings to rid society of their influence. In all honesty at first glance one might understand their concerns. The comics do have some disturbing artwork at times. However, after reading many of the reprinted comics now republished in HH I think you could argue that the parents may have missed the overall point of many of these stories, likely distracted by the walking corpses, severed limbs and deceitful acts of murder. Like Grim's fairy tales (Hansel & Gretel come to mind) these stories actually serve as warnings. All, or at least nearly all, of the people who reap the vengeance of a mummy's curse, the teeth of a harpy, or a demon overlord are those who have brought their untimely end upon themselves through their own acts of violence, greed, adultery and so on. Many of the them simply show the consequences of being a bad person, in a manner that's a bit frightening and of course pretty fun. This then brings about the question: Is it possible that these comics are in fact good for kids?

​- D