PSA Monday: The Flash and AIDS

March 27th, 2006

Filed under: Comics, Medicine

Flash AIDS PSA ad. Click for larger version.Taking a break from saving the world, stopping bank robberies, and stopping a variety of other felonies, Flash stops by the local schoolyeard to shoot some hoops and educate the kids about AIDS.

This public service announcement is from Flash #73 (February 1973 1993) and it looks like Travis Charest supplies the art (Update: And according to the Official Unofficial Travis Charest Art Gallery bibliography page, it indeed is his art). This is part of the same campaign that gave the suddenly stupid Robin the Boy Wonder ad — but then again, maybe he was playing basketball with these kids. There are several other ads in this campaign and I’ll post as many as I can find in the near future (next up: the JLA).

The advice is good, but I wonder if the audience may be a little young (though they’ve clearly got misconceptions, so it’s probably high time they got the facts) — look at their height compared to the basketball hoop, or compared to Flash’s thigh — they’re the size of three year-olds (I figure he must be standing on his knees in the panel where they come up to his chest).

Click on the image to the right for the full size ad.

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9 Responses to “ PSA Monday: The Flash and AIDS ”

  1. Bill
    March 27th, 2006 at 2:38 pm

    1973? Isn’t that a little early for an AIDS PSA? I thought AIDS wasn’t identified until sometime in the 1980s.

  2. Scott
    March 27th, 2006 at 2:41 pm
    Official Comment

    Oops, typo. Should be 1993, I’ll fix it. You’re right, AIDS per se wasn’t officialy defined until 1984 though it had been around at least since the late 70’s/early 80’s as a rare and barely understood immune disorder.

  3. Aaron Sapp
    March 27th, 2006 at 6:22 pm

    I’m guessing that the artist just doesn’t undertand perspective here.

    One thing though, even though you couldn’t catch HIV, there are lots of other lesser viruses you could catch. I don’t think I’d want to drink after him anyway.

  4. Anonymous
    March 27th, 2006 at 7:51 pm

    Why’s everyone gotta be worried about drinking after the black kid?

  5. Tim O'Neil
    March 27th, 2006 at 10:30 pm

    Because they don’t want to catch THE BLACK. Duh.

  6. JDoe
    March 28th, 2006 at 4:11 am

    Thank goodness the Flash was there to set those kids straight! I’m enjoying the web comic Dr. McNinja for its blend of medical and comic strip goodness. Because if no one else is going to give us clear medical or social information, superheroes should.

  7. BeaucoupKevin
    March 28th, 2006 at 7:28 pm

    Wally West told me I have AIDS.

  8. Maire Smith
    March 29th, 2006 at 2:27 am

    Goodness! And here in New Zealand we have health ads advising kids of the dangers of sharing saliva through drinks — too many other viruses, including meningitis, can be spread that way.

  9. Chris Arndt
    March 30th, 2006 at 1:26 pm

    The Flash says

    “Kid! Save some of your soda for ME! I will drink some of your soda.”

    Politeness is not one of his strong suits…

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