A Perfect 50’s Image: A Myth
I read issue #22 of Crime SuspenStories for a few reasons. One being that its cover caused so much controversy upon its production, including the means for the comic code, and second I wanted to see how it differed from comics in The Vault of Horror in regards to its intended audience.
I was shocked reading this comic. It was so much more grotesque than any comic I have read before and it was starkly different from The Vault of Horror. In a previous post I distinguish the intended audience for The Vault of Horror title that I read as a younger audience, children. This issue from Crime SuspenStories gives the opposite impression, however. I can understand why there was uproar when this comic was published and why it was used as a deciding factor in constructing the comic code so that other comics like it were not published. This title is disturbing, Norman, the killer, is immediately depicted as plotting the murder, and carrying it out just as quickly. While some of the imagery was disturbing, the actual thought bubbles, and text bubbles were horrendous.
I think it is actually this sharp contrast in words and picture that are what make the title so daunting and unsettling. There is a panel about halfway through the title that depicts a very normal scene, something very typical of the 1950’s. Norman is shown in drivers seat, steering the car while, Sally, is depicted cuddling up to him. At first glance, not acknowledging the text bubbles, the image depicts one of the most mundane and ordinary tasks that a person could carry out. Then, after reading the text bubbles, more depth is added and one sees that Sally is inquiring about the murder that Norman carried out to which he responds “It was all right. I kept thinking of you and that gave me strength”. His response is also so mundane that her question could have been, “How was work, honey?” There are many layers to this title, and to this panel alone.
This panel portrays a myth by Barthes definition. The first interpretation of the panel is that this happy couple is driving around and the man had to do something horrible, but it was all okay because he did it for a woman and he did it for love. This description is sort of the first denotation derived from looking at the image and text. Upon second glance however, the connotation derived from the image is more so of an attempt to normalize murder. Throughout the title, the images depict many mundane task, Norman cleaning the floor, packing for a trip, leaving home and saying goodbye to his wife. Were an ax not drawn into some of the panels one could honestly find a story of a man and woman from the 50’s enjoying a nice trip to the city. The text bubbles are what drive the intensity of the story, though.
This is seen specially in this panel of Norman driving with Sally cuddling up to him. A rather dark connotation is applied that murder is almost normal in this world, that crime is normal. One might even conjure that this is how society deals with crime. It is talked about on the ride home and it is never brought up again and people move on to their normal lives. Perhaps the myth in this panel is that despite nice suits and a new nose, crime is still occurring, murder still goes on, war still goes on, and putting a pretty bow on top of them doesn’t mean they don’t exist, it just means we’ve accepted them into our daily routine as humans.
