The Innocence of Seduction
written by Mark Pracht
directed by Mark Pracht
Aug. 25 - Oct. 8, 2023
The second play in Mark Pracht's projected “Four-Color Trilogy” of plays set during the early years of the comic book industry. The first play in the trilogy, The Mark of Kane, opened City Lit’s forty-second season. The Innocence of Seduction examines the 1950s Congressional investigation into the supposed link between comic books and juvenile delinquency, and the effect of the investigation on the careers of three persons: William Gaines, the originator of the horror genre of comic books; Matt Baker, a Black closeted gay artist of romance comics; and Janice Valleau, creator of a pioneering comics feature starring a woman detective.
