Mr. Civil Defense is an advertising mascot designed by Capp. He’s short and blond haired, with the stylized “CD” civil defense logo making up most of his body. He’s a little cocky, and wears a civil defense helmet, which tilts forward, covering up one eye.
Of course, the real star of the comic book is Li’l Abner, the star of Capp’s popular syndicated comic strip. Li’l Abner appears prominently on the cover, but by page two (in a good example of bait-and-switch) he is shown riding off in the distance on a donkey, heading back to Dogpatch (for a first-aid lesson) and turning the story over to Mr. Civil Defense.
Mr. Civil Defense then narrates the story, appearing on every page to interact with the citizens of a typical small town to offer educational tidbits about preparing for natural disasters and other emergencies.
Here is the book in its entirety. It’s copyrighted 1956.
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The comic book gives you a lot to think about.
For me, the scenes of the flooded city strike home. Living in Vermilion for the past few years, I’m easily reminded of the massive flooding that occurred as a result of the notorious July 4, 1969 storm. Those illustrations of the city under water also bring to mind the Vermilion River overflowing its banks when December snow melts too quickly during a warm, rainy January.
Although I’m skeptical that any of the local communities are as well prepared as the city depicted in the comic book, at least Lorain County has the Lorain County Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security.
1 comment:
Thanks - I enjoy these type of things. It reminded me that I had a Reddy Kilowatt comic book that was about the same vintage as this artifact. It would be just your kind of thing.
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