Classic Ads: Be a Good Citizen!

A common feature of comics published from the 1940s through the 1960s were their earnest Public Service Ads (PSA's), which sought to teach a variety of social and moral lessons to young readers.  However, their undeniably good intentions sometimes produced unintentionally amusing or even surreal results...such as the day in 1962 when Superman taught two youngsters the virtues of good citizenship.

Our lesson begins as John and Billy arrive at the
local community club to do some charity work.
Hey!  That sounds like good citizenship to me!  What's the problem?

(click on the panels for a larger view)

Ah....yes.  Billy's careless placement of his bike, like the Serpent lurking in Eden, foreshadows troubled times ahead.

In panel three, Billy casually dismisses a dropped gum wrapper...signaling his plunge into the abyss of mindless anarchy!  Luckily, Superman is on the case!

(click on the panels for a larger view)

An indeterminate amount of time "later", the boys exit
the community center and behold a shocking sight!

(click on the panels for a larger view)

Despite Billy instantly making sense of the madness before him, Superman's "lesson" raises a number of uncomfortable questions:

1.  Isn't there a bank robbery or a sinking ship somewhere with Superman's name on it?

2.  Whose bikes are those?  More importantly, are they even ridable after Superman's ramshackle pileup?

3.  Assuming he could be seen by the naked eye, how insane did it look while Superman was unwrapping and flinging hundreds of gum wrappers?

4. In the final panel, Superman states that "we must be thoughtful of others in little ways, too".  Yeah, like stealing the bikes of dozens of children to prove a point...or completely freaking-out young Billy and John.

Despite these troubling questions (and Superman's disturbing surplus of free time), the Man of Steel's little stunt not only taught youngsters a valuable lesson, but may have also inspired the invention of the renowned Kryptonite Bike Lock.

Comments

[Elcer Marcel]

Greetings from an comic books enthusiast here in the exotic Brazil.
Only today I encountered your blog and I must say you have great insights in this article.
Congratulations and tks.

[Mark Engblom]

Hi Elcer! Glad you liked the post...and happy to have a reader from Brazil! Welcome!