Polite Dissent

In this public service ad, Binky’s younger Allergy and his friends ponder the future — the far, far distant future — of 1976.

Let’s see how Allergy and his friends did in their predictions:
Moon crater tours. Nope, not there yet.
Video conferencing. Good call, though not quite as predicted.
Large bulky electronic machines. Passed it by and left it in the dust.

This PSA is found in DC comics from June 1956. The writer, as always, was Jack Schiff. Art by Win Mortimer.

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With Halloween just around the corner, I thought it was the perfect time for this public service ad featuring Binky and his giant-bowtie-wearing brother Allergy (and yes, he wears his bowtie even in costume).

I’ve mentioned how often these PSAs featured pro-United Nations themes, and this is a perfect example focusing on the United Nation’s Children Fund — better known as UNICEF. This is the third DC PSA featuring UNICEF (one, two), and here’s a bonus Casper PSA thrown in for free.

This PSA is found in DC comics from December 1957. Jack Schiff, as usual, wrote this PSA, with Ruben Moreira on art. I scanned this in from a copy of Adventure Comics #243 (which features “The Super-Toys From Krypton,” where Superboy’s childhood toys are sent to Earth. Is there anything Jor-El didn’t send from Krypton — other than more people he could have saved, I mean?) There is also a black and white version that can be found in some comics (Action Comics #235, for instance).

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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.

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I’ve had this public service ad for a while now — the Comic Treadmill sent it my way several years ago — but I’ve never gotten around to using it because for some reason it strikes me as a particularly odd PSA.

I can’t really put my finger on why I feel that way, but I think it has to do with how the teacher explains the situation to the class. There’s no reason the teacher needs to share with them precisely what’s wrong with Tod — if she even knows herself — because it’s none of their business. Still, the way she phrases her explanation seems awkward — if not vaguely creepy.

The moody art by Bernard Baily isn’t helping either.

You can pretty much sum up the lesson of this PSA in one panel: Don’t be a d*ck.

(If you Google “Invisible Handicap,” you’ll find a lot of conditions that lay claim to it: deafness, multiple sclerosis, dyslexia, fibromyalgia, depression, and autism, just to name a few.)

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Binky, his brother Allergy, and their dog Sport are back in this public service ad about dental care for both pets and people (though it seems Sports has changed from a black and white coat to a tawny color since last week)

I like the way Sport has his own toothbrush in the bathroom next to everyone else’s — yet still has to eat in a different room than the rest of the family.

This PSA is found in DC comics from March 1956. Like last week’s PSA, this ad was written by Jack Schiff with art by Win Mortimer. I found this copy was scanned in Adventure Comics #222.

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Because you demanded it, I’m going to end the summer’s public service ads with two weeks of PSAs featuring Binky’s younger brother Allergy, in all his huge bow-tied glory. And not just any Allergy PSAs, but two ads concerning Allergy and his pet dog (though, ironically, allergies to dogs is never mentioned).

This week, Binky and Allergy reveal that they are completely clueless about pets, which makes you wonder why their parents let them have one in the first place. They probably should have started them out with fish, a hamster, or a turtle. For example, based on the sixth panel, I’m wondering if they ever fed the dog before they had that chat with their neighbor. No wonder Sport doesn’t like them!

This PSA is found in DC comics from October 1953. Like nearly all DC PSAs, it was written by Jack Schiff. Art was handled by Win Mortimer, who did most of the Binky PSAs. This copy was scanned in from Adventure Comics #193.

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With summer vacation winding down and families taking a last ditch vacation before school starts up again, I thought a public service ad about camping would be appropriate. This PSA is fairly straightforward: Binky takes his unfortunately named brother Allergy and some of his friends on a camping trip and takes the time to teach them how to do it right.

There is something wonderfully poetic about a boy named Allergy destroying wildflowers.

This is the first PSA I can recall with a typo: I suspect Binky means to say “First Aid” in the final panel and not just “First.”

For a classic vacation PSA, check out How NOT to Enjoy a Vacation! It features a talking dog, what more could you want?

Ever notice how the title to every DC PSA ends in an exclamation point, whether it warrants it or not? It makes me think everyone at DC involved in making the PSAs was always very excited!

This PSA is found in the DC comics of May 1955, including Adventure Comics #212, where this was scanned in from. This strip was written by Jack Schiff with art by Win Mortimer.

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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.

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While I’ve published more public service ads starring Buzzy, DC’s other teen leading man Binky appeared in his share too. This one is about compromising to make things happy at home.

Seems to me that Mom and Pop screwed up, and are using fancy footwork to cover up their mistakes and suggest it’s the kids’ fault. Way to go Mom and Pop! (Once I would have meant that sarcastically, but now as a parent myself I simply stand in awe of their skillful maneuvering).

Binky’s younger brother Allergy has had the wool pulled over his eyes if he thinks his family constitutes a democracy. Another point to Mom and Pop.

This PSA was written by Jack Schiff and had art by Bob Oksner, Binky’s regular artist. I came across it in Action Comics #144, but it can be found in other DC comics from May 1950. It was also reprinted as the January 1954 PSA.

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Several common themes resurfaced time and again in DC Comics’ PSA ads. I’ve already mentioned the “stay-in-school” theme as well as the “United Nations” one. A third common theme is the “kids act while adults complain” theme. In these ads, the adults whine and moan and complain, but don’t actually take constructive steps; the kids, on the other hand, always decide to “act for the good of the community” by the end of the page. Today’s ad, “Know Your Community,” is a perfect example of this kind of PSA.

This PSA was written by Jack Schiff with art by Win Mortimer, who not only drew all the Buzzy PSAs, but the Binky ones as well. This ad could be found in a variety of December 1953 DC Comics including Action Comics #187, the source of this scan.

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Fed up with always being overshadowed by fellow DC comics hipster Buzzy, Binky finally makes an appearance in a PSA — though he’s basically a passive observer, with Tim and nameless-grocery-delivery-boy getting the attention.

This is at least the second PSA with a “stay in school” theme (the other was “Not Wanted: High School Dropouts“). I guess DC Comics and the National Social Welfare Assembly felt that this was a major problem among comic book readers in the ’50s and ’60s.

This particular PSA is from The Brave and the Bold #20, though it can be found in other DC comics from October 1958. It’s actually the second go around of this PSA, which first appeared in some October 1951 comics. It was printed yet a third time, in November 1966 comics. 15 years off a single PSA — that’s not too shabby. As usual, the script is by Jack Schiff (of course), with Win Mortimer on pencils and inks.

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