Polite Dissent

One of the most fascinating part of the old medical comics from the 1960s is the filler material they added to the books. The inside covers and the back cover often contained little one page articles or vignettes. These one-pagers do a good job of showing the practice of medicine back then, and how it compares to current medical practice. Presented below are two inside back covers from Dr. Kildare comics. Click on the images for a larger version.

First a look at First Aid, 1962 style, from the inside back cover of Four Color Comics #1337. Some interesting advice here — most of it is fine, but look at the “prone method of artifical respiration” — kids, don’t try this at home! (I like how the article is ostensibly about first aid, something anyone should be able to do, but readers are warned to only attempt the artifical respiration if properly trained).

Next, from the inside back cover of Dr. Kildare #4 is a look at “Doctors for the Young.” Look around the doctors’ offices, then compare them with the office when you visit your doctor. Quite a bit different, eh? Well, this comic is over forty years old. I like the chemistry set on the counter in the first panel, the fact that the doctor can diagnose diaper rash without actually removing the diaper (in the second panel), and in the third panel we see the correct use of the flip down mirror — doctors are always drawn with these and this artist actually gets it right!