Friday, August 27, 2004

Going nuclear: The Albuquerque (N.M.) Tribune previews a lecture by University of New Mexico professor Ferenc Szasz called "The 60-Year Saga of Atomic Comics," which looks at how comic books have depicted "the peril and the promise of the atom" over the past six decades:

"The atomic bomb invented by Donald Duck in a 1947 Disney comic book causes no apparent damage - except that 'invisible rays' spreading outward cause passers-by to lose their hair.

"Donald's nuclear adventure also includes a couple of academic experts - Prof. Mollicule, who says the addition of 'two cat hairs' might make the bomb more powerful, and Prof. Sleezy, who turns out to be a foreign spy eager to steal the secret of the bomb."