New York Times, January 30, 1965 pg 31
It was a sequel of sorts to an earlier New York Times article from Dec. 1964.
New York Times, December 6, 1965 pg 141
The first story above is one of the earliest media mentions Dr. Jerry Bails, who of course, is one of the founders of modern comic book fandom. Soon after this article, Jerry Bails is in the Newsweek of Feb. 15 article about fandom titled "Superfans and Batmaniacs". The media starts to notice comic books in a different light than as a problem to be solved.
Bill Schelly, in his excellent Golden Age of Comic Fandom book, says that this New York Times article "was reprinted in scores of newspapers across the country". Unfortunately I couldn't find any other papers that carried the article in Google News Archives or the the online database of New York state newspapers. I did find other articles later in 1965 and 1966 where you could see how Jerry became a spokesman for fandom. His professorship at Detroit's Wayne State University made him the voice of authority.
He again was the voice of authority in the newspaper in March. (Sorry the bottom line is missing)
Watertown NY Daily News, March 24 1965 pg 33
And again in June from an article reprinted from the Los Angeles Times.
Watertown NY Daily News, June 10 1965 pg 4 & 6
Then again in a UPI syndicated story a year later in July of 1966.
News And Courier, July 3 1966 pg 8B (Charleston SC)
At the end of 1966, he was even mentioned in an article about Golden Age artist Jack Binder in the Warrensburg-Lake George News.
Warrensburg-Lake George News, December 8 1966 (New York)
Jerry was a voice of reason and knew how to deal with the media. He appeared in countless other articles and gave a mature, professional face for comic books. His stature helped turn around the negative impression of comic books. He has been missed.
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