Polite Dissent

In 1992, Antarctic Press published a free comic starring its Ninja High School characters and discussing sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). It was drawn by Ninja High School creator Ben Dunn, and written by his brother Joe Dunn M.D.

Just to show the reader that nothing is out of bounds in this comic, the introductory scene features Ninja High School main characters Jeremy, Ichi, and Asrial in a totally irrelevant discussion about the menstrual cycle. Ichi and Asrial then exit stage right and Jeremy runs across his friend Rick who is bragging about how he scored with a girl the previous weekend. In a fit of karma, he is immediately laid low by severe abdominal pain.

Jeremy takes Rick to Dr. Hanson, who — throwing the very idea of patient confidentiality out the window — loudly informs Jeremy that his friend has a sexually transmitted disease. She then proceeds to lecture Jeremy about STDs (when it seems she would be better off lecturing his infected friend).

Dr. Hanson discusses Urinary Tract Infections, Gonorrhea, Chlamydia, Syphilis, and HIV/AIDS. I dispute the fact that urinary tract infections are sexually transmitted. Certainly, in some people, they can be related to intercourse, but even then it is not sexual transmission. Otherwise, the information is good, if overly didactic at times (and the choice of using a typed font rather than hand-lettering only emphasizes this lecture-like aspect). The HIV/AIDS information is out of date, but was correct at the time when the comic was published.

The comic does a good job educating its audience about when to seek treatment for sexually transmitted diseases. As a family physician, I would have liked to see more of the comic devoted to prevention. As it is, just the last page addresses this issue, and then only in a cursory manner. This is unfortunate as prevention is the cornerstone of dealing with STDs. (As memory serves, author Joe Dunn is an emergency department physician, and as such he’s naturally more focused on treating diseases that are already present rather than trying to prevent new ones).

The art is in Ben Dunn’s typical faux-manga style, which either you care for or you don’t. Personally, I have always enjoyed his work and he does a good job here illustrating difficult subjects in a humorous manner.

For more standard superhero fare, Joe Dunn also wrote Metadocs, about a hospital for superheroes and supervillains.
Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean tackle HIV/AIDS in the PSA Death Talks About Life