Paging Dr. Zeus

A well moustached man comes into the store and, without looking at anything says “Boy, comics sure have changed over the last fifty years.”

I smile. “That’s true.  Everything’s changed over the last fifty years.”

WMM: “But comic art.  It used to be…different.”

I smile. “Well, artists have a lot more technology at their disposal.”

Our conversation bounces around to comic book movies from the 90s like The Shadow and Dick Tracy.  And then he asks “I mean…comics..they don’t…they don’t have any…they don’t have any adult themes.”

I smile. “Some do.   To varying degrees.  Drugs, rel—”

WMM: “But there are horror books now.  There never used to be.”

I smile. “Sure there were.  That was one of the big contentions that led to  the comic book code in the 1950s.  Seduction Of The Innocent.”

WMM: “Oh, sure.  Sure.”  He wanders around a bit. “Did they…did they ever make…you know…dirty comics?”

I smile. “Always.  There was cartoon smut before there was Superman.  It’s tapered off quite a bit since The Internet increased in popularity.  But we still have some XXX books over there.”  I point to The Adult Section.

He smiles, weakly, as he makes his way to that section. “Well, curiosity killed The Catholic.” 

About forty-five minutes later, he walks back over shaking his head. “Dr. Zeus would be flipping in his grave.”

I do not smile. “Dr. Zeus?” 

WMM: “There’s a book over there called ‘Are You My Mother’.  I heard it was about lesbians or something. ‘Are You My Mother’ is a Dr. Zeus line.”

"Oh, the children’s book?  That’s not Dr. Seuss."  And I hit the S in Seuss as hard as possible. “I think it’s Eastman.  Bechdel’s book is unrelated.”

WMM:”I should hope do.  Dr. Zeus is supposed to be about kids.”

I smile. “And lightning.  And also swans.”