Polite Dissent

Mike mentioned the Popeye and Environmental Careers comic a few days ago, but it’s not the only career PSA comic featuring the spinach loving sailor. In fact, King Features published fifteen different “Career Educational Comics” in the early ’70s. Sadly, the only one I own is Popeye and Public Service Careers, so that’s going to be this week’s public service comic.

Popeye and Public Service Careers features Popeye and Olive Oyl (both strangely eloquent, if not downright loquacious) telling readers about different careers available for them. The comic is clearly written for the high school student planning for their future. The educational requirements, from high school diploma to an advanced degree, are spelled out explicitly for each career, as are the benefits including vacation, pay, insurance, and retirement. As you would expect from a comic from 1972, there is more than a little implicit sexism in the comic (for example, no female firefighters or college professors, and no male nurses or elementary school teachers).

It’s a hefty comic, 32 pages, that goes into detail on an impressive variety of “public service careers.” It’s a long list of occupations (and I’d argue that calling a few of them “public service” is really stretching the term): police officers, firemen, sanitation workers, civil service workers, public health nurses, sanitarians (environmental engineers, food inspectors, etc), public utility workers, elementary school teachers, secondary school teacher, college professors, librarians, postal workers, lawyers (no, really — lawyers are “public service”), clergymen, city managers, and members of the military.

Due to some unavoidable work and family obligations, my medical annotations of Vertical’s collections of Osamu Tezuka’s Black Jack were delayed, but now they should be back on track. Here are the annotations for the first seven stories from Black Jack, Volume 2. My medical annotations of Black Jack, Volume 1 (part one, part two) are still available.

For those of you unfamiliar with the character, Black Jack is a famous — or infamous — maverick surgeon. He is unlicensed, a fact which gets him into trouble frequently, but he is always able to avoid sanction due to his unsurpassed surgical skills.

The writer of Black Jack, Osamu Tezuka, attended medical school, but chose to become a mangaka rather than a practicing physician. Because of his training, his stories are quite accurate. Most of the medical discrepancies are due either to the advance of medicine in the three decades since the stories were written or to differences between Eastern and the Western medicine. Black Jack, like all of Tezuka’s manga, is phenomenal, so if you have any interest in manga or medicine, you should take the time to track down and read them if you haven’t already.

In my annotations below, I’ve added the year the story was first published. Consider this a strong Spoiler Warning as well. Click “Read More” to read the rest of the post.

In addition to watching the television show Fringe, I also read the Fringe comic published by WildStorm. The comic takes place years before the show, and features two stories per issue — one a continuing story featuring scientists Walter Bishop and William Bell, and a second stand alone story. This post is about the continuing “Bishop and Bell” storyline, the third chapter in particular.

When we meet William Bell in the first issue of Fringe, it is 1970 and he is a twenty year old college student at Harvard. He meets up with Dr. Walter Bishop and becomes his lab assistant.

The next issue takes place at some undetermined point later. Dr Bishop and William Bell are still working in a lab at Harvard. There is reference to experiments the duo performed “last year.” William Bell is also referred to as “Dr. Bell” which suggests he has had time to complete not only his undergraduate degree, but also his doctorate. Depending on how much credit you want to give him for being a genius, that would make it 4 to 8 years later, so the story takes place sometime between 1974 and 1978.

Why is this important? Because the timing seemed off to me — and it turns out I was right:

Neurontin is the brand name of Gabapentin, a drug originally developed to prevent seizures. Gabapentin wasn’t discovered until 1973 and was an experimental drug for years after that, so it’s unlikely that the doctors would be able to get there hands on any. Even if their mysterious “Soap Company” benefactors somehow managed to obtain a supply of the medication, it wasn’t known as Neurontin until 1983.

I’ll also point out that injecting serotonin into the body is not a good idea. It doesn’t cross over from the blood to the brain well (which one assumes is where they want it), and it acts as a potent vasoconstrictor (causes the blood vessels to clamp closed) in the bloodstream. High levels of serotonin in the blood have been linked with fatal lung and heart conditions.

Injecting LSD into the body — probably not the best idea either, but for different reasons (mainly due it being a potent hallucinogen). Speaking of LSD, it’s the chemical structure the worker holding the clipboard is looking at in the second story in issue #3.

A nice example of an incorrectly worn head mirror from Run #2, by Sturges and Williams.

Though as Dr. Milo admits, he’s more of a chemist than a physician, so maybe that’s why he doesn’t know how to position a head mirror (and actually seems to be wearing a small satellite dish).

1. He’s been in the hospital for nearly a week, his injuries consisting of an enucleated (and ultimately removed) left eye and a coma, and he’s still receiving blood? Any combat related blood loss should have been restored days ago, and the fact that he still requires blood transfusions means something else must be going on the cause the blood loss.

2. There are air bubbles in the blood bag. This is a closed system — it’s not like the water cooler at the office — so there is no air to escape cause the bubbles.

3. The IV seems to be situated in his left biceps — painful, not very efficient — as opposed the the more common placement in the crook of the elbow.

In this Public Service Ad from 1952, Superman gives a bicyclist and a couple of motorists a stern talking to. Yep — that’s about it. Not exactly the most exciting PSA ever. No wonder it was never repeated like some of the better ads.

So remember, Superman says “Check and Double Check” — and if you don’t, he’ll fly in and give you a lecture. I mean it. No kidding. So let that be a lesson to you. So help me, I’ll turn this car around right now!

This PSA was written, as always, by Jack Schiff. Art chores were handled by the talented Win Mortimer. This PSA was found in DC Comics from August 1952 including Adventure Comics #179 (you know, the issue where Superboy has a wacky adventure), the source of this ad.

More PSAs

Tags: comics psa superman bike jack schiff win mortimer

ad from Action Comics #171 (October 1952)

Polio was once considered a common enough disease that warnings were printed inside comic books. In recent years, thanks to vaccination, polio has been a thing of the past in the United States. Unfortunately, thanks to the ill-informed and ill-used anti-vaccine movement, childhood diseases once thought vanquished are reemerging into the population. How long until we see ads like this again?

Never trust a naked woman with a syringe.

Especially if they’re from Indianapolis.

I’m pretty sure the various Team 7 mini-series have more psychic nosebleeds per issue than any other series I’ve encountered.

All previous Psychic Nosebleed Zen posts

Tags: comics medicine nosebleed grifter team 7 chuck dixon

‘Remember how I mentioned that there were two New Teen Titans anti-drug PSA comics from the ’80s? It turns out I was wrong: there were three.

Jesse, trying to emulate his older brother Dave, has started to use drugs. After he shares some angel dust-laced marijuana with his friends, he heads off to an anti-drug rally his parents are making him attend. The Teen Titans (minus Robin, who is once again replaced by generic hero “The Protector”) are speaking at the rally — no, not Speedy, he’s probably back at Titan’s Tower getting high.

When the Teen Titans tell the audience that drugs are bad, and his parents chime in to support the Titans, Jesse throws a tantrum and runs out of the meeting in a huff. Beast Boy tails him, just to make sure he doesn’t get into any trouble and — wouldn’t you know it — there’s a tall cliff in the middle of town that Jesse almost tumbles over. Beast Boy turns into a rhinoceros and stops him from falling off the edge. At just that moment, the drugs Jesse’s been taking cause severe stomach pains, and Jesse falls off the cliff despite the presence of a green pachyderm. Luckily, Raven’s soul-self swoops by and saves him, but not before her empathic powers absorb the hallucinatory effects of the drugs and Raven begins to Freak Out. The other Titans are able to subdue her and they cart her off to the hospital. Seeing the effects of the drugs on Raven, Jesse swears never to use drugs again.

The Teen Titans now turn their attention to Jesse’s supplier: his older brother Dave. They track him down to an old abandoned shack at the end of town (where despite begging his supplier for a hit the page before, he’s now handing out drugs to half a dozen kids – for free). A brief skirmish ensues and Dave escapes , but that was really the plan all along. The Titans now follow him to his supplier. A bigger skirmish follows and the Teen Titans are able to capture the entire drug dealing gang. Furthermore, both Jesse and Dave have sworn off drugs for good.

Like the previous Teen Titan anti-drug comics, this one starts with a letter from Nancy Reagan. Several pages of confidence building and decision making exercises are included at the end of the comic. Unlike previous comics, this one is sponsored by IBM, so I’m not clear why Robin was replaced by the Protector, as I understood that was due to Nabisco/Keebler rivalries. The story is by Marv Wolfman and Joey Cavalieri with capable pencils by Adrian Gonzales.

More PSAs

Tags: comics medicine psa teen titans

Or you could just use CPR.

It’s the first thing you should try to get a “stilled heart” to beat again (and this is at least a decade before AEDs were available).

So, CPR. Right now.

Seriously, if you’re going to whisk Tony Stark away to the Avengers Mansion to play guinea pig for the Ultra-Rejuvenator , at least give him CPR in the meantime to keep the blood circulating — especially to the brain.

And that look apparently of consists fake facial hair…

ad from Iron Man #16 (August 1969)

Tags: comics ad beard moustache iron man

For a place that was also supposed to be a school, the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters doesn’t seem to have done a very good job of actually teaching — or at least teaching chemistry — for Magma to think that purely physical processes like erosion and grinding could break molecular bonds.

Though to be fair, Magma also spent some time at Emma Frost’s Massachusetts Academy, so maybe they did an equally poor job of teaching there as well.

Ultimate Wolverine Vs Hulk #6
Damon Lindelof, writer
Leinil Francis Yu, artist

Wolverine doesn’t seem to have a very good grasp of anatomy. It is anatomically impossible for Wolverine to injure She-Hulk the way he’s suggesting.

I’ve included a couple of anotated images to demonstrate. Wolverine has one claw in her spleen (left side of her abdomen), a second claw in her left kidney (far left part of her abdomen), and threatens to put the claw in between them in her liver — which is found on the right side of her abdomen.

As for the rest of Wolverine’s threat: he’s right, injuries to the spleen bleed, and they bleed a lot — after all, the spleen is basically just a blood-filled sponge. On the other hand, a puncture wound to the kidney will cause some damage, but as long as the renal blood vessels and the ureter aren’t damaged, it’ll continue to function (plus, as he points out, she’s got a second one). Similarly, a puncture wound of the liver would bleed, but not as much as the spleen. More importantly, Wolverine seems to be forgetting that She-Hulk has a healing factor — just a few issues before she jumped out of a supersonic jet without a parachute and survived. She’ll survive two or three claws.

With today being the first day of summer, I thought it would be a good time for a summer-themed public service ad. Here we have Binky, one of DC comic’s humorous teen characters from the ’50s, showing us how to have a good summer week. Actually, Binky barely shows up — his friend Pete is the star, and Pete shows us how not to spend a summer week.

And what’s with Pete’s blond friend? Why was he always hanging out with such a sad sack? And why was he always wearing red?

This PSA was written by Jack Schiff. Pencils and inks were by Win Mortimer, though Bob Oksner, Binky’s usual artist, contributed the image on the title. This PSA was found in DC comics of August 1953 including Action Comics #183 (I’m sure you remember it, it’s the one where Luthor comes up with a scheme to kill Superman), the source of this ad. It was a popular enough PSA that it was reprinted and can also be found in DC comics from October 1956.

More PSAs

Tags: comics psa binky summer jack schiff win mortimer

After last week’s brief discussion of CPR¹, I felt it would be a good time to look at CPR as practiced in a variety of comic books. First up, DV8 #3 (1996), by Warren Ellis² and Michael Lopez.

Evo and Frostbite stumble across the body of a young woman who has suffered a drug overdose. They proceed to CPR.

Evo is shown using a sit-on-top-of-the-patient style, as opposed to the correct off-to-the-side style. I don’t know why he’s chosen this stance, but it’s going to make it more difficult to move the patient and I suspect it will restrict some of the blood flow to the legs. It would also be a bad idea during a code blue because those femoral veins and arteries he’s blocking are good places get vascular access (plus it’s mighty hard to balance like that on a hospital gurney).

I have absolutely no idea what Frostbite is doing with the patient’s arms, unless he’s trying to use an older and for-good-reason forgotten resuscitation techniques. Whatever he’s doing seems to make her sleeves appear and disappear though.

Even though rescue breathing is no longer recommended for standard CPR, it was when this book was published, so it’s unusual that Evo and Frostbite are ignoring it — especially since they remarked earlier that she is suffering from respiratory arrest.

Successful resuscitation? Yes (though they then leave the scene, leaving the patient alone to suffer the other potentially fatal effects of her drug overdose. After all, the drug is still in her system.)

NOTES:
1. What I’ve read suggests CPR as we know it was developed in the late ’50s and early ’60s, but not taught to the public until the early ’70s. I’d like to think the Avengers would be ahead of the curve and trained in CPR by Iron Man #18. In 2008, it was switched to a chest compression only style.

2. Yes, Ellis is British, and they may have CPR taught slightly differently there, but DV8 takes place in the US, so I’m going to hold him accountable for the standard American Heart Association CPR.

Today’s example of bad comic book CPR comes from Superman/Supergirl: Maelstrom #3. In this scene, Superman and Supergirl are on a “family bonding” camping trip to a planet under a red sun. While there, Superman breaks his arm and then falls into a river and nearly drowns before Supergirl rescues him.

Superman/Supergirl: Maelstrom #3 by Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti, and Phil Noto

Another example of the straddle-the-chest style of CPR seen in comics — definitely not the recommended position in real life.

You’ll notice that Supergirl is giving rescue breaths. As I mentioned yesterday, rescue breathing is no longer recommended for most CPR situations, but this is a near drowning scenario — one of the instances when rescue breathing is still recommended.
But how can she give rescue breaths as shown when she’s sitting on his chest?
And to really nit-pick, she needs to tilt his head back to open the airway better. And keep her arms straight when giving compressions.

On the other hand, we know that Superman has some bizarre internal anatomy, so maybe this is Kryptonian style CPR…

from Adventure Comics #191 (August 1953)

Just look how far we’ve come with regards to polio in the past 56 years.

(And whatever happened to that Cambodian psychic, X’ing X’iang? As of the last issue of the final Team 7 mini-series, she was imprisoned within the Internal Operations building. Is she still there?)

All previous Psychic Nosebleed Zen posts

Tags: comics medicine nosebleed team 7 chuck dixon

Uncanny X-Men #512
Matt Fraction, writer
Yanick Paquette, penciler

Beast and his team of scientists have traveled back in time to the San Francisco of 1906 looking for Nicola and Catherine Bradley. They find Catherine just in time to rescue her from an attack by goons from the Hellfire Club — immediately afterward, Catherine Bradley suffers some significant vaginal bleeding. The doctor who examines her diagnoses her with placenta previa and places her on bedrest.

Placenta previa occurs when the placenta, instead of its normal location along the side or top of the uterus, implants along the bottom of the uterus, covering up the opening to the birth canal. It is a fairly common cause of vaginal bleeding during later pregnancy, but is very, very rare in the first trimester (the first three months of pregnancy).

More common causes of first trimester bleeding include implantation bleeding, miscarriage or threatened miscarriage, or an ectopic pregnancy. Trauma can play a role as well, as can non-uterine causes of vaginal bleeding.

There is nothing a physician or mother can do to cure placenta previa. Minimizing the recurrence of bleeding from the previa is wise, so that is why bed rest is recommended. Luckily, most placenta previa resolve by themselves — as the uterus grows during pregnancy, it pulls the placenta up higher. For a placenta previa discovered during the second trimester, there is a 90% chance it will resolve by the delivery date.

Currently, a cesarean (c-section) is the preferred method in the United States for delivering the baby when there is placenta previa. If c-section is not an option — for instance, in certain more remote parts of the world, or at the turn of the 20th century — the baby can be delivered vaginally, but it is a bloody mess. While there is a risk the mother may die due to placenta previa, it is the baby who faces the greatest risk of death. Currently in the United States, the maternal mortality rate from placenta previa is 0.03% (I don’t have the data, but I suspect the risk was several orders of magnitude larger in 1906).

With the 2009 Tour de France starting this weekend, I thought it would be the perfect time for this bike themed public service ad from 1960. There’s not much too it: a few take home points and then a quick quiz. Can you pass? (I missed one, but I blame the art — I thought the kid on the bike was intentionally trying to run over the pedestrians).

As usual, this PSA was written by Jack Schiff. Pencils and inks were by Bernard Baily. This PSA was found in DC comics of September 1960, including Adventure Comics #276. And for the record, the winner of the 1960 Tour de France was Gastone Nencini, the “Lion of Mugello.”

More PSAs

Tags: comics psa bike tour de france jack schiff bernard baily

There are days when a gorilla practicing medicine makes as much sense as anything else.