Tuesday PSA: Binky Shows ‘How To Make New Friends!’
Filed under: Comics
It’s once again time to visit with Binky and his strangely-garbed young brother Allergy to learn something important from a public service ad. This week, Binky teaches his younger brother how to make friends.
The advice is nothing new: Talk to new people.
There is something ironic about Allergy not wanting to talk to someone “square” — has he looked in the mirror lately?
Given the usual grasp of slang of Silver Age comic book writers (and I’m looking at you in particular, Bob Haney), I suspect that by the time this PSA was published, kids had long since stopped saying “square.”
This PSA is one of DC’s double hits: PSAs that proved popular enough (or deemed important enough) to be published twice. It can be found in DC comics from both July 1957 and July 1965. This particular page was scanned in from Adventure Comics #238. As always, Jack Schiff handled the scripting of this PSA, with Bob Oksner (the artist from the Binky comic) providing the art.
More PSAs
September 30th, 2009 at 7:18 am
I think Binky looks older in this PSA…
Also, it’s funny how angry Allergy looks in the first panel, just by the thought that Binky is suggesting that he should talk to a square boy. Kids are just like that.
September 30th, 2009 at 8:34 am
I would suspect there was some blowback from this ad: A kid is persuaded to talk to a square kid, thinking that this square has some undisclosed treasure…..the square kid got nothing…..square kid gets the stuffing kicked out of him.
September 30th, 2009 at 8:49 am
Exactly what does “square” mean in this context?
September 30th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
Isn’t bowling kind of — you know — square?
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