Drugs and Heroes – A Bad Mix

Drugs. They started out fun in the 60s. Everyone was just trying to find themselves and get out of their parents house, discover a community that they felt good in, and take some drugs to help that sensation continue.

Ten years later, that fun little habit became quite the problem for many people. Alcohol entered the picture too, and the energy became overwhelmingly stimulating. The world was revving up, preparing for the oncoming 80’s, and the bright bronze sheen on the 70’s was just the beginning.

Comics began to express these issues in very blunt, and at times frightening, ways. There is no real analogous quality to the stories that exposed these sensitive cultural points.

Taking examples such as Kick, the synthetic smokable drug from Grant Morrison’s New X-Men, a clear, poetic expression of the effect of drugs used for the purpose of false acceleration.

However, when viewing issues of Green Lantern/Green Arrow such as the issue entitled “Snowbirds Don’t Fly,” there is nothing poetic happening. The story is not satyrical, but made to frighten and speak loudly in a direct voice to the audience with the honest situation at hand. Green Arrow’s ward Speedy had taken to using drugs, and the title characters of the book are left to decide how to punish the dealers. These “villains” aren’t depicted as bad guys as many of the comic book villains with emotional disorders are, but rather viewed with a certain edge of compassion, as victims of their own circumstance. In this way also, the poetry fades and shares space with the reality of the times.

Another example can be found in the powerful Spider-Man tale, “Green Goblin Reborn!” Stan Lee wanted to show the horrible truth behind the taking of drugs, and not sensationalize the growing glamour-appeal that was slowly taking hold of the wealthy, and trend-oriented. This story is regarded as the first comic book to seriously shed light on the drug issue of the 70s, and though this is a very large and questionable statement, the act of publication in itself was powerful, and tough-nosed enough to be recognized today.

Stan the Man has always been an outspoken character of his own story. In this particular tale, he is the hero, defending the art of expression from the CCA, which seemed to be a double-standards character throughout time until it was finally defeated as a stifling block rather than an aid for creative outlet.

The depiction of drug use in any form was forbidden by the CCA, without consideration of content or direction. Lee ultimately decided to publish the story without their blessings, creating one of the most impacting Spider-Man issues ever made, and the most crucial story of the 70’s to portray drugs within society.