Comments on: Detective Comics #848: A Medical Review

By: sfreadersclub

sfreadersclub — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 19:13:49 +0000

I always enjoy the medical reviews you do because I find out something new/interesting. But I’m replying to the Temeraire off-topic post; I stuck with it though I found the first couple of books, to me, were lacking something, especially for a series that received so much acclaim and attention. Then the end of Book 4 left me so cliff-hangered that I immediately bought the hardcover of Victory of Eagles as soon as I saw it and am eagerly awaiting the next book. Btw, Scott, is there any other way for us to post on off-topic stuff? PS, I enjoy your blog/site and always look forward to your medical reviews; your perspective on medical accuracy is hilarious in this context.

By: Catwoman Has a Heart | The Balls Room

Catwoman Has a Heart | The Balls Room — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 22:33:32 +0000

[...] Yes, Catwoman, a.k.a. Selina Kyle, had involuntary heart surgery in the most recent issue of Detective Comics, thanks to Hush, who is now apparently an evil doctor. Polite Dissent has a wonderful list of all the stupid doctoring/medicine that goes on in this issue here, including the totally impractical dozens-of-tubes-inserted-into-open-wounds machine you see above, as well as the sheer impossibility of taking out Catwoman’s heart, driving her to a hospital, and then doctors hooking her up to the doohickey and her still being alive. [...]

By: Chance

Chance — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 22:14:34 +0000

I don’t think this kind of deconstruction/very deserved criticism is necessarily a matter of getting older, as arkonbey indicates.

The key to why this is pretty stupid, while other comic book science like the guy with the gorilla body and the Lizard’s transformation (or the Hulk’s) isn’t quite as insulting to the intelligence despite being just as or more far-fetched, is that in the latter readers weren’t urged to think too carefully about it. And it was mostly based in obviously fictional premises like ‘cosmic rays” and super-mutations and so on.

But this is meant to be GRIM! and GRITTY! and REALISTIC! ZOMG! they took her heart!!11!! And so it’s presented as if it matters, so the brain automatically starts picking at the idea: “Hey… who put her on those machines, anyway? What are those wires? How’d she survive the ride? What about infection?” as Scott does.

By: Blog@Newsarama » Blog Archive » Variations on a Theme

Blog@Newsarama » Blog Archive » Variations on a Theme — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 01:37:25 +0000

[...] While Scott of Polite Dissent reviews Detective Comics from a Medical Perspective: Selina’s heart is missing, so she’s hooked up to either some sort of artificial heart or heart-lung bypass machine. Given the art, it’s hard to tell which. Selina has tubes bringing blood to and from the heart, and we can see blood in the various pumps, so that suggests a heart-lung machine. But on the other hand, why all the wires — especially that huge 220V cable — leading into the chest cavity unless there’s something in there requiring electrical power (and even so, that’s a hell of a lot of wires). I suspect the artist thinks that a heart-lung machine actually involves an artificial heart placed in the chest and doesn’t realize that all the pumping is performed externally. [...]

By: Mike Blake

Mike Blake — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 07:56:18 +0000

Man, this plot sounds like “Spock’s Brain.” Or that old Dick Tracy comic strip storyline where some villain was killing people, removing their hearts and placing them in little mechanical boxes that kept them alive (complete with glass sides so you could see them and a carrying handle on top).

–Mike

By: Scott

Scott — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 04:41:48 +0000

Nick F.,

I’ve just started the second book. I thought the first book had good characters, a great setting (I’m a sucker for alternate history Napoleonic era), and an enjoyable storyline. My only complaint was that the writing felat a little wooden at times, but I attribute that to it being her first book and suspect it will improve with each subsequent book.

By: chipsnopotatoes

chipsnopotatoes — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 23:23:17 +0000

Thank you so much! I was waiting for this post since the issue came out. LOL. When I read the issue, at first I was upset (at what’s been done to poor catwoman) then amused (at the ridiculousness of the premise). Hee!

I was also wondering about some of the things you posted, namely:
1. how she was transported to the hospital. i was assuming she was already attached to the keg, muffler and r2d2 but they didn’t look that portable to me.
2. batman just barging into the ICU without first disinfecting. maybe his costume has germ-repellent?

By: Kettch

Kettch — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 16:17:04 +0000

One more thing– open-heart surgery usually means a sternotomy, so the hole in Selina’s chest should look nothing like that nice round cavity.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 16:12:58 +0000

Selena looks like she’s bleeding spaghetti.
But anyway, it’s Gotham. Maybe in Metropolis they’ll have those fancy artificial hearts, here, they just stick a vacuum cleaner in there and hope for the best

By: Ben

Ben — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 15:26:59 +0000

Please don’t think that I’m nitpicking typos, but I had to say that the ‘heart-ling machine’ made me giggle. “What’s that panda doing in the OR?!”