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Post by Deleted on Oct 14, 2023 8:12:27 GMT -5
I was reflecting on comics that I read as a kid that were about conditions in the real world and were specifically published to educate, influence, and/or even fund-raise like the example below (one I remember really well):  Of course, similar content was on the rise much earlier even in regular titles like this environmentalism example from the start of the 70's:  Hunger, pollution, drug awareness, etc., all topics that society were reflecting on much harder and found their way into our comics as we all know. My thought for discussion is what comics of this nature (of either type per the examples above) made an impression on you back in the day? My one very earnest ask is please not make this thread too political! I think we can reflect on the positivity we may have found without making overt political statements. And on the flip side, I think it's fair game to criticize some of these efforts where you may have found the execution lacking, but again, without making it a political statement. Very interested to hear thoughts on this! |
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Post by MWGallaher on Oct 14, 2023 8:26:55 GMT -5
This one got my attention by being one of the few comics not from DC to feature work from Jim Aparo, at least after his Charlton days:  It was just a pin-up page, but at least it was Aparo pencils, unlike his contribution to the DC Hunger book, where he only inked 2 pages of Sal Amendola pencils. |
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Post by foxley on Oct 14, 2023 8:28:24 GMT -5
Batman: Death of Innocents: the Horror of Landmines was a 'landmine awareness' comic published by DC in 1996. It was by Denny O'Neil (writer), Joe Staton (pencils), Bill Sienkiewicz (inks), and Ian Laughlin (colours) and it is a real gut-punch of a comic. 
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Post by Deleted on Oct 14, 2023 10:45:03 GMT -5
Since we're discussing the merits of Art Adams in the "there, I said it" thread, I'll post this one as well. I think Adams did a great job on this one, and what a great way to bring attention to a special book.  |
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Post by james on Oct 14, 2023 10:54:42 GMT -5
One of the best examples were Wolfman /Perez Teen Titans 26-27. I wonder how those issues specifically would be sold if released in the last 5 years. In poly wrap bags, behind the counter? The first comics I read that I truly found very disturbing at 13 as they had kids my age being abused etc. but they definitely opened my eyes to life outside West Chester Pa in 1982
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Post by tarkintino on Oct 14, 2023 11:37:30 GMT -5
I was reflecting on comics that I read as a kid that were about conditions in the real world and were specifically published to educate, influence, and/or even fund-raise like the example below (one I remember really well): Of course, similar content was on the rise much earlier even in regular titles like this environmentalism example from the start of the 70's: Hunger, pollution, drug awareness, etc., all topics that society were reflecting on much harder and found their way into our comics as we all know. My thought for discussion is what comics of this nature made an impression on you back in the day? My one very earnest ask is please not make this thread too political! I think we can reflect on the positivity we may have found without making overt political statements. And on the flip side, I think it's fair game to criticize some of these efforts where you may have found the execution lacking, but again, without making it a political statement. Very interested to hear thoughts on this! So I take it you're talking about PSAs, no stories that were interwoven with the regular runs of comics such as the drug issues of Green Lantern / Green Arrow and The Amazing Spider-Man?
If that's the case, then one of the more well-known was The New Teen Titans - Drug Awareness issues published in 1983. In partnership with--as the covers announce--the American Soft Drink Industry, IBM, Keebler & the President's Drug Awareness Campaign:
More of a curiosity than anything else, the issues were written by the comics writer of the era--Marv Wolfman, with art provided by Ross Andru (#1), Adrian Gonzalez (#2) and George Perez (#3), and as the issues attempted to do--steer kids away from drugs during a period of one of American history's worst eras of drug and weapons trafficking across the country.
Impression: At the time, I was living in Los Angeles, one of the epicenters of the drug trade, so aside from being a major New Teen Titans fan, this trilogy's message--held up against the realities' of 1980s America--rang as naive and hollow, which was a bizarre outcome from a writer such as Wolfman. Then again, Wolfman also adhering to the directives of the book's sponsors (commentary withheld), so this was not going to feel like a story hitting at both the more in-your-face and boiling undercurrent of societal and personal troubles that might lead kids to drugs. In the end, as a cautionary / tragic tale, this paled in comparison to the drug issues of Green Lantern / Green Arrow and The Amazing Spider-Man from a decade earlier.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 14, 2023 11:41:45 GMT -5
I was reflecting on comics that I read as a kid that were about conditions in the real world and were specifically published to educate, influence, and/or even fund-raise like the example below (one I remember really well): Of course, similar content was on the rise much earlier even in regular titles like this environmentalism example from the start of the 70's: Hunger, pollution, drug awareness, etc., all topics that society were reflecting on much harder and found their way into our comics as we all know. My thought for discussion is what comics of this nature made an impression on you back in the day? My one very earnest ask is please not make this thread too political! I think we can reflect on the positivity we may have found without making overt political statements. And on the flip side, I think it's fair game to criticize some of these efforts where you may have found the execution lacking, but again, without making it a political statement. Very interested to hear thoughts on this! So I take it you're talking about PSAs, no stories that were interwoven with the regular runs of comics such as the drug issues of Green Lantern / Green Arrow and The Amazing Spider-Man? No, anything is fair game, that was my goal in showing examples of both, but I just changed the wording in my initial post to make that clearer. "Formal PSA's" or stories in regular runs...anything that fits the theme. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 14, 2023 11:43:45 GMT -5
tarkintino - the Titans drug PSA really haunted me with the testimonials of the individual Titans. I didn't know about the older classic Speedy storyline yet, so him and even Cyborg talking about usage kind of shook me.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 14, 2023 11:54:39 GMT -5
Speaking of the classic Spider-Man drug awareness storyline, it was reprinted in this Fireside volume and how I first read it. I was pretty tiny (and had never even heard of drugs before), but the message came through loud and clear.  |
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
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Post by shaxper on Oct 14, 2023 12:01:12 GMT -5
American Honda Presents Supergirl #1 (1984) is a PSA for buckling your seatbelt. It sees Linda Danvers' boyfriend end up in a coma after taking his little sister for a drive and arguing with her that she doesn't need a seatbelt. Supergirl ends up using some whacky Fortress of Solitude device to enter her boyfriend's dreams in an effort to get him to wake-up, but the guilt and shame of potentially killing his young sister has sent him into a spiral. Meanwhile, his mind keeps concocting these truly fun new takes on classic films, only the boyfriend is always the protagonist, and it always ends with his little sister getting into the car and the two getting struck while Supergirl is powerless to watch. Haunting message that makes seatbelt safety relevent, and It's way waaaaay better than it has any right to be.  However, don't waste your time on the second issue, published two years later. It's truly bad. So what about comics that don't directly address real-world issues, but which are clearly sending an indirect message about them? 
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Post by Deleted on Oct 14, 2023 12:05:21 GMT -5
So what about comics that don't directly address real-world issues, but which are clearly sending an indirect message about them? That feels to me like a very natural extension of the theme, that was a powerful work and certainly made an impression on me. Great addition, and I certainly welcome anything else folks want to add that they feel like fits in spirit. |
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Post by james on Oct 14, 2023 12:42:12 GMT -5
Just out of curiosity, which company did more or these PSA comics?
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Post by tarkintino on Oct 14, 2023 12:51:21 GMT -5
Speaking of the classic Spider-Man drug awareness storyline, it was reprinted in this Fireside volume and how I first read it. I was pretty tiny (and had never even heard of drugs before), but the message came through loud and clear. Despite having every issue reprinted in this TPB, it was a great collection (one of a few, excellent "starter" books for the uninitiated) with one of the most iconic images ever created of Spider/Parker, courtesy of the great Bob Larkin. |
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Post by Rob Allen on Oct 14, 2023 13:00:30 GMT -5
Marvel produced this for Planned Parenthood in 1976 to promote safe sex.  |
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Post by MDG on Oct 14, 2023 13:35:05 GMT -5
Wasn't that the whole point behind these?   (Though "better" may be in the eye of the beholder.) |
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