Inspired by this post at Comic Book Thoughts, I found a copy of Tales of the Unexpected #1 and read the backup Dr. 13 story to see what all the fuss was about.
The good doctor is hot for his daughter. Real hot.
Now, I have no problem with the theme of incest being addressed in literature, including comic books. I don’t even mind if it is the main character who is struggling with incestuous impulses, like Dr. Thirteen is. I do, however, object to the lighthearted approach and flippant attitude towards incest that this comic contains. I believe, because this comic is a “general audience” title and not a Vertigo book, that the writers and editors refuse to examine the true horror of incest for the sake of making decent sales.
Let’s first get the incest out on the table so people reading this don’t think I’m just “reading into it” too much.
- First, the doctor dreams of his teenage daughter leaning over him as he lays shirtless in bed. She addresses him as “Daddy” and accompanying a close up of his seductive daughter is a word balloon saying “amazing.” Thirteen then wakes up, screaming and in pajamas. The fact that he actually wears clothing to bed appears shirtless (perhaps nude) in his dream adds more to the sexual nature of the scene.
- Later, in his narration, Thirteen says, “Doomsbury Mansion, our in — uh — ancestral home.” He was going to say “incestral,” a Freudian slip that proves that incest is very much on his mind.
- Again, in his narration, Thirteen lingers on the fact that his daughter is accompanying him on his investigation. There is clearly a fixation on her, emphasizing their father/daughter relationship.
- After a conversation about cannibalism, including a passing mention of the creation of “fantasies,” Traci asks her father if he would ever consider eating her. Thirteen is startled by the question, suggesting that he gave the girl’s innocent question a specifically sexual double meaning.
Let’s not fool ourselves. Dr. Thirteen wants to bone is daughter.
Like I said, I have no problem with incest as a theme, especially as a major character flaw in the main character. Clearly Thirteen knows his desires are wrong and I object to anyone suggesting that Traci is doing any manner of seduction. This is all in Thirteen’s fucked-up head. The problem is that, rather than confronting the awfulness of incest in a mature and constructive way, this comic uses incest for some easy laughs. It doesn’t help that this is also a mainstream, in-continuity, general audiences title. In other words, this book is totally open to the kids.
I’m trying to wrap my head around the fact that this is not a Vertigo title. Doctor Thirteen, a semi-obscure mystical character, seems pretty much perfect for Vertigo, and because of the lack of limitations on mature readers books, the theme of incest could have been addressed in a much more realistic and legitimate way. I would not mind reading about a parapsychologist who is being torn apart by guilt for his seemingly uncontrollable incestuous impulses. That would make for a good story. Hell, even a pitch-black comedy about the same theme would be better. But this isn’t black comedy. This is a “kid friendly” adventure story.
I am convinced that this story is not appearing as a Vertigo title due to the editor’s hopes to make a buck. Superhero comics sell much more than Vertigo books, which have been stigmatized as being “too smart” for most comic fans. Perhaps to cash in on some of the popularity of Grant Morrison’s Seven Soldiers Zatanna miniseries, in which Thirteen is killed, this rather unremarkable, obscure character is given a backup story in what is essentially a Specter miniseries. Now, I don’t think too many kids will be picking up Tales of the Unexpected since they would rather be reading about characters with recent blockbuster movies or TV shows, but some very well could having seen the Specter all through Infinite Crisis. This leads me to believe that TotU was made into a non-Vertigo book only to appeal to adult superhero fans but because kids might pick it up, the maturity of the story had to be drastically scaled back.
I think it is now time for an episode of “Hypothetical Fly-on-the-Wall Theater!”
Editor: So you want to do a Dr. Thirteen story, huh? He was just in Zatanna! Why don’t we make it a backup for the Specter miniseries?Writer: But my proposal involves incest. Don’t you think that is a little inappropriate? I mean, I was thinking this would be a Vertigo book. Should I take it out?
Editor: No! We’ve got to appeal to the capes fans. Only snooty English majors who only call comic books “graphic novels” buy Vertigo titles. We need to make money on this. Just lighten up the incest stuff. Don’t make it so serious.
Writer: But a kid might read it…
Editor: No, they won’t! They’re too busy figuring out their Identity Crisis trades.
I don’t know if I’m giving the writer too much credit or just demonizing the editor, but the fact remains that PG-rated TotU is the wrong place to address a R-rated theme. Why this isn’t its own Vertigo miniseries and the Specter story not the only feature in TotU will forever boggle my mind.
Oh, and I predict that all the incest stuff is coming from a demonic influence on Thirteen and is not a genuine character flaw. Someone let me know as I’m not going to bother reading any more of this crap.
Me as Two-Face, Gary as Batman, Clara as Black Canary, Joe as the Joker (as played by Caesar Romero) and Jessica as Robin (Stephanie Brown).
