DC COMICS’ 1966 ‘Brotherhood’ Survey Was Well-Meaning — and Utterly Bonkers
SUNDAY FUNNIES WITH KERRY CALLEN Meets 1966 WEEK! — Welcome to 1966 WEEK — a 60th anniversary celebration of an extraordinary, landmark year in popular culture. For seven days, we’re bringing you a whole host of features on everything from Star Trek, to Batman, to the Beatles, to the Monkees, and much, much more. (Just check out Walt Grogan’s latest fab banner, above!) Click here for more of the far out fun! — Dan — By KERRY CALLEN 1966 was filled with cultural touchstones, and it was an important time for me personally: It was the year I discovered comic books! First I saw them at a barber shop, and even though I couldn’t really read, I was soon begging to buy my own. 1966 was also a turbulent time. Aside from political unrest over an increasingly unpopular war in Vietnam, the US was experiencing rapid discontentment with inequality, race relations and decaying urban landscapes. The world wasn’t a perfect place. (As Dan chronicles all the time in RETRO HOT PICKS — and as you’ll see again on Wednesday.) DC Comics, God bless ’em, wanted to stay relevant and, I suppose, “hip.” In February 1966’s The Brave and the Bold #65, as well as other comics, the editors included a PSA page called “What’s your B.Q*? (*Brotherhood Quotient.)” Written by Jack Schiff, with art by Bernard Baily, it was an incredibly ham-fisted “survey” designed to get kids to think about their own prejudices and the world around them. DC’s hearts were probably in the right place, but the result was downright bananas, even without the perspective of 60 years. The most astounding section has got to be Section A: Got give them credit for trying, I suppose. Still, something in me really wants to mock how random the categories seem. Someday I’ll curb my urge to poke fun at things — but not today! By the way, things haven’t changed enough. There is still a Brotherhood Week, but no Sisterhood Week! — Want more 1966 WEEK? Click here! Want more SUNDAY FUNNIES WITH KERRY CALLEN? Come back next week! Want a commission? Send an email to KerryCallenArt@gmail.com. You can also find other work at linktr.ee/kerrycallen. — MORE — That Time When QUISP Terrorized the American Countryside. Click here. — GHOST RIDER: Eat the Rich! Click here. — KERRY CALLEN spent much of his career as an...
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