Second only to Dr. Fredric Wertham in decrying the so-called dangers of comic books in the 1940's and into the 50's was the Catholic Church. Bishops and other Catholic clergy were pervasive in their outcries during this period and their anti-comics campaign included a number of publications that enumerated their distaste with the objectionable material they claimed was rotting the souls of children who read them.
Timeless Topix was one such publication. Printed under the auspices of the Catechetical Guild Educational Society it strove to provide the proper guidance for youngsters by publishing what they considered a wholesome alternative to mainstream comics. In addition to comics, they published "educational" material for grown-ups intended to further their anti-comics agenda.
Shown below is one example, "The Case Against the Comics", a 28-page pamphlet published in 1944 written by Gabriel Lynn.
One would think if they were so fastidious abut children's education the Guild would have gone through the trouble of spelling "topix" correctly!
The Catechetical Guild also published several comics that are prized by "esoteric" comic collectors: IS THIS TOMORROW? (1947), BLOOD IS THE HARVEST (1950), and IF THE DEVIL WOULD TALK (1950; 1958). On a side note: Charles Schulz, the creator of PEANUTS got one of his first jobs lettering for Timely Topix.
NOTE: The image at the top of this post is from an 8-page summary of the full version below that was used as a supplement in other Guild publications.
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