This, of course, isn't to say that McCarthyism and the comic book panic were comparable in their human toll. Some 60 years ago, during the era of McCarthyism, comic books became a threat, causing a panic that culminated in a Senate hearing in 1954. But it's also - often unknown to comics fans - a blunt reminder of one of the worst things to ever happen to comic books. It's a chilling insult that the stuff they read - the stuff they love - never advanced beyond its funny-page beginnings. One of the most hurtful things you can say to a comic book reader is that comic books are for kids.
