The Presentation and Representation of Police Officers in comic books – The 1950’s

The Presentation and Representation of Police Officers in comic books – The 1950’s

Guest blog by Sergeant Clayton Brown

 The 1950’s – Decline and Resurgence – the ‘Silver Age’ of Comics

In the 1950’s, traffic safety began to be a concern in New York State. In 1951 Superintendent Gaffney wrote “traffic congestion on summer weekends has reached the saturation point, particularly on parkways and highways leading to the States metropolitan areas”. In 1954, the New York State Thruway was opened and the New York State Police assumed sole responsibility for policing the thruway. The authorized strength of the New York State Police Service (NYSP) was increased from 899 to 1201 members in 1953 in order to provide additional patrols. As the amount of people driving while intoxicated in New York State increased, it became clear that this was becoming a major safety concern. So much so that in 1953 a law was passed that allowed the securing of blood, breath or urine from a driver to determine blood alcohol content. In 1954, 1,000 arrests for driving while impaired were made for the first time in history. By the end of the decade the Breathalyzer was in widespread use. In Ontario, the OPP Radar was used for the first time in 1954 for traffic enforcement and in 1956 the Breathalyzer was put into service in Whitby, Ontario to combat the threat of impaired drivers. In 1956, the New York State Police used unmarked police cars, referred to as ‘concealed identity’ cars for the first time for traffic enforcement. The year 1956 was also the first year that NYSP used helicopters to observe heavy traffic conditions. In 1957, the NYSP determined that a nationwide network of organized crime existed when they uncovered a conference of organized crime leaders in Apalachin, New York. Subsequent investigations began the war on organized crime and in 1958 the Division created its first Criminal Intelligence Unit with 26 members.

The middle of the last century was not a good one for the comic industry. After the war, sales dropped dramatically for comic books and then continued to slide through the 50’s. Super-hero comics died out between 1950 and 1955 to be replaced by Western, Romance, Horror, Science Fiction and Crime comic books.  Only Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and a few other super heroes continued to be published during that time. As the 1950’s drew to a close, DC comics entered what would be referred to as the ‘Silver Age’ as many classic comic characters were revitalized with new origins and updated identities tuned into the ‘modern’ age of the 1950’s. Today many of those characters are still around and thriving (Flash, Green Lantern, the Justice League, etc.).

In 1952 until 1954, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Officer, Sergeant Preston, dealt with issues such as fur thieves, claim jumpers and other criminals of the frozen north of the Yukon Territories in the comic book Sgt. Preston of the Yukon. The book was published by Dell Publishing and was also a popular television series that was set in the 1890’s. Often pictures of the actor would be shown on the comic’s cover. The Sergeant was aided in his mission and often rescued by his Husky, Yukon King. In the short Canadian summer, the Sergeant traded his dog sled for his horse Rex, but he was always accompanied by his dog regardless of the season. The television series was popular from 1955 to 1958.

In 1956 we were given the Exciting Adventures of the Rookie Cop published by Charlton Comics and which were about the adventures of a Rookie Cop. These stories were meant to, for the time, reflect the actual job of policing and lasted for many years.

In 1956, we were also were introduced to the Flash. The interesting thing about this character is that before he was struck by lighting and gained super speed making him the ‘fastest man alive’ (in Showcase #4) he was already a hero and possibly ahead of his time based on the appeal of modern forensic policing (TV’s CSI franchise etc.) TV shows.  The alter ego of the flash is Barry Allen and before he put on his red suit and gained super powers, he was an employee of the police department as a brilliant forensic scientist. He was what today would be known as an IDENT Officer or SOCO or ‘CSI’. He was already solving crimes and making his city safer even before becoming a costumed super-hero. He was looking at fingerprints, hair fibers and other evidence at crime scenes that would assist with putting criminals behind bars. While the character became well known in his flashy costumed identity, the idea of him being a CSI in 1956 was already pretty cutting edge when you consider the advances in technology and popularity of those types of shows over the last few decades. Even though he went on to join the Justice League, his policing roots and sense of justice have remained part of the character that keep showing up in his stories and personality. The character has the ability to dissect an investigation and conduct thorough research while being attuned to detail and how it supports the investigation.  After all, what good is super speed if you can’t figure out who it is that you are supposed to be chasing?

 In 1959 DC comics editor Julius Schwartz decided to reinvent the 1940’s superhero Green Lantern, but updated him for the new modern age as a science fiction hero. 

He overhauled the look and image of the character. Whereas the original character was a lone vigilante and his powers were based on magic, the new Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) was one of a group of interstellar law enforcement officers. Each member is assigned a different patrol zone of the galaxy to protect (much as we have patrol zones in policing), they have standardized training (as we have annual block training) standard (for the most part) uniforms and standard use of force. Specifically, each member is provided a ring that changes their thoughts to reality. And, in terms of working for an inclusive organization that values and appreciates different backgrounds and cultures, the Green Lantern Corps consist of people with blue, green, pink and yellow skin. They feature people from all over earth and they have people from different planet, speaking multiple languages and often have two arms, four arms and no arms — sounds like a very inclusive and diverse place to work. The Green Lantern Corps act as an intergalactic law enforcement agency that patrols the galaxy under the direction of the Guardians. The group operates in partners (usually) among the 3600 sectors of the universe. At first glance the costumes may not seem very police-like and the ring may seem very science fiction, but the para-military structure, training and team dynamic of this character and the Green Lantern Corps draw so much from policing that it is impossible not to include them in an essay about police representations in comics.

Join us next month when the ongoing special about Policing in Comics continues with a look at the 1960’s