The Strange Story of All-Star Squadrom #56
This bizarre back-up story from All-Star Squadron #56 has some definite mixed messages.
Due to strange circumstances1, Dr. Mid-Nite2 finds himself in an alternate dimension, traveling through space aboard a Nazi rocket towards the planet Neptune.
When the ship lands, he is quickly captured by the plant-like Neptunian tree people…
…and brought before their king, where is he is sentenced to slavery, doomed to spend the rest of his life toiling in their chemical mines.
Suddenly, a messenger bursts into the throne room, telling the king the Crimson Plague has returned3 — then he collapses on the ground, fat...
Source: Polite Dissent - October 20, 2016 Category: Primary Care Authors: Scott Tags: newtag Source Type: blogs
JLA #8 and #9: A Medical Review
JLA #8 and #9 “Power and Glory, parts seven and eight”
Brian Hitch, writer and penciler
Superman has taken a severe beating by the Kryptonian “god” Rao.
The rest of the JLA lures Rao into a trap which shocks him with a large current of electricity, breaking his connection with his worshippers and depleting his power. The plan works, and Rao is beaten. Unfortunately, the already injured Superman was also caught in the electrical bolt, and collapses in cardiac arrest, his heart stopped.
Wonder Woman leaps into action and starts CPR on Superman.
After fifteen minutes with no success, she pulls out ...
Source: Polite Dissent - October 18, 2016 Category: Primary Care Authors: Scott Tags: newtag Source Type: blogs
Monday PSA: Should I Give Up My Career For Marriage?
Click on the image for the full ad
This PSA is throwback to the 1950s, literally — 1952’s Love Problems and Advice Illustrated #15, to be precise. I’d like to think this page represents a quaint and unfortunate piece of history and that we’ve come a long way as a society in the past 60 years — but there are times I’m not so sure.
As for the central question of the PSA, let me just refer you to Betteridge’s Law of Headlines.
Click on the image for the full ad
This image is borrowed shamelessly from Sequential Crush, a wonderful blog focusing on classic romance comics.
More PSAs
Tags...
Source: Polite Dissent - October 17, 2016 Category: Primary Care Authors: Scott Tags: newtag Source Type: blogs
Yowwffff!
Let’s revisit Captain Herb Danner, protagonist of Death is a Green Man, and look at his near death experience. In the opening splash page of the story, his damaged plane crashes hard during an attempted landing. The rescue crew pulls him from the plane.
Don’t shock a flatline! It doesn’t work; physiologically, it cannot work.
However, if for whatever reason you decide to shock a stopped heart, don’t use wires from a plane’s ignition to do it!
1. I know it’s been a while, but remember that defibrillation (”shocking”) is used to convert a dangerous heart rhythm (such as ventr...
Source: Polite Dissent - October 13, 2016 Category: Primary Care Authors: Scott Tags: newtag Source Type: blogs
Pencillin and Karma
Captain Herb Danner, a fighter pilot during the Battle of Britain nearly dies during a botched landing. He is successfully resuscitated, but thanks to his near-death experience, he has gained a mysterious ability. If he looks at someone and sees a green cast to their skin and sunken eyes, he realizes they are doomed to die on the next mission. One morning, he looks in the mirror and is shocked to see green skin and sunken eyes looking back at him — it’s his day to die! Determined to cheat death, Danner fakes being sick to get out of the mission.
The next morning, during sick call, the doctor gives Danner a shot...
Source: Polite Dissent - October 11, 2016 Category: Primary Care Authors: Scott Tags: newtag Source Type: blogs
Monday PSA: We’ll Win!
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How could you ever doubt Captain America? Especially with him glowering like that?
From USA Comics #4 (May 1942).
More Captain America PSAs:
Wake Up Americans!
Captain America Goes to War — Against Drugs! (Source: Polite Dissent)
Source: Polite Dissent - October 10, 2016 Category: Primary Care Authors: Scott Tags: newtag Source Type: blogs
Your Weekend Moment of Psychic Nosebleed Zen: Quentin Quire
Quentin Quire tries to trap Wolverine in a mental construct he has made, but it’s not going well, so Quentin enters his own construct and things really go to hell.
All previous Psychic Nosebleed Zen posts.
Tags: comics medicine nosebleed x-men wolverine quentin quire psychic (Source: Polite Dissent)
Source: Polite Dissent - October 8, 2016 Category: Primary Care Authors: Scott Tags: newtag Source Type: blogs
Another Reason to Learn CPR
Archie probably learned CPR due to the healthcare crisis in Riverdale.
Tags: comics medicine archie cpr (Source: Polite Dissent)
Source: Polite Dissent - October 6, 2016 Category: Primary Care Authors: Scott Tags: newtag Source Type: blogs
Head Mirror Theater: Sad Sack
In this (massively abridged) scene from Sad Sack #220, there is a perfect classic cartoon example of a doctor with a head mirror. The kicker? The doctor is question is psychiatrist, who wouldn’t know how to use a head mirror if his life depended on it.
Refresher: A head mirror is piece of medical equipment that hasn’t been in widespread use for decades. Before modern lights and optics, they were the best hands-free way of looking down a patient’s throat, but there was a definite art to using one. I doubt if more than a handful of readers of this site have actually seen a doctor use a head mirror.
Howeve...
Source: Polite Dissent - October 5, 2016 Category: Primary Care Authors: Scott Tags: newtag Source Type: blogs
Delay
Due to some (now resolved) pet-related drama last night, Wednesday’s post has been postponed until Thursday… (Source: Polite Dissent)
Source: Polite Dissent - October 4, 2016 Category: Primary Care Authors: Scott Source Type: blogs
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I always liked this PSA, simple, yet eye-catching.
From Marvel Comics of the early 90s — Avengers West Coast #90, in this case.
More PSAs
Tags: comics psa (Source: Polite Dissent)
Source: Polite Dissent - October 2, 2016 Category: Primary Care Authors: Scott Tags: newtag Source Type: blogs
Your Weekend Moment of Psychic Nosebleed Zen: The Stepford Cuckoos
The Stepford Cuckoos push their telepathic powers to the limit and pay the (nasal) price in the quasi-Morrisonian E is for Extinction #1.
All previous Psychic Nosebleed Zen posts.
Tags: comics medicine nosebleed x-men stepford cuckoos psychic (Source: Polite Dissent)
Source: Polite Dissent - September 30, 2016 Category: Primary Care Authors: Scott Tags: newtag Source Type: blogs
Mockingbird #4 and #5: Medical Annotations
Finishing up my medical review of the first storyline from Mockingbird. The review of issue one can be found here, and the review of issues two and three is located here.
Mockingbird #4
Chelsea Cain, writer
Kate Niemczyk, artist
Number of times we’re reminded Bobbi is a scientist: 0 (though she uses a lot of big words this issue)
Back to the Antelopes
In 2015, a majority of the antelopes — including almost all the breeding females — in a large population of Saiga anteolopes in Kazakhstan suddenly dropped dead.
After months of research and hair pulling (not necessarily in that order), scientists ultimate...
Source: Polite Dissent - September 27, 2016 Category: Primary Care Authors: Scott Tags: newtag Source Type: blogs
Monday PSA: Life Expectancy
The average life expectancy in the United States was 75.6 years in 1992, when the comic I scanned this in from was published.
Today*, the average United States life expectancy has risen to 78.7 years. So, great job guys**! Keep up the good work! (But think how much better it would be if we could work on our obesity and sedentary lifestyle issues…and fix that embarrassingly high infant-mortality rate.)
* Technically, this data is from 2012, the last year for which I have full data — but projections show the US life expectancy rate will continue to rise — though bear in mind, 42 other nations have a highe...
Source: Polite Dissent - September 24, 2016 Category: Primary Care Authors: Scott Tags: newtag Source Type: blogs
A New Disease Threat
When new and emerging diseases are discussed, most people think along the lines of Zika, or Ebola, or West Nile Virus, but not Grandin Gender Reversal Germs. Well, now you know better than everyone else.
Image from Legion of Substitute-Heroes Special #1, starring perennial favorite Infectious Lass
Tags: comics medicine disease infectious lass legion of substitute heroes (Source: Polite Dissent)
Source: Polite Dissent - September 22, 2016 Category: Primary Care Authors: Scott Tags: newtag Source Type: blogs
